HOW long a month can be ... four weeks, 30 days or 720 hours?

Saying goodbye to a dry and cold winter, we welcomed spring this April in Lexington, where it was nice and warm, and we saw everything turned to green.

We continued our farm rotation in the morning and had various lectures and visits in the afternoon.

These rotations provide the best opportunities to build up horsemanship skills and develop knowledge of farm management. In April, I worked with mares, foals and yearlings, shadowed veterinarians, and took care of injured racehorses at the rehab barn at Keeneland. The Flying Start programme has given me fantastic opportunities to gain these practical skills.

In this nice warm season, more and more foals were born in the farm; by working with them I understand better on how to take care of these young babies. Regular temperature checking is important as any unusual temperature might indicate some problems, and the earlier we find the problem the better for the foal.

During the breeding season, teasing and veterinary check are the major activities in the farm. How those mares teased, which one broke down in the stall, what is the size of follicle and which one needed flushing. All these conversations were repeated everyday. In this environment, I unconsciously learned the farm’s routine, along with being able to estimate a mare’s breeding date and the use of medication for broodmares.

During my time at the rehab barn, I saw various treatments for injured horses such as acupuncture, shock wave therapy and massage. The combination between eastern and western medications for racehorses was fascinating and expanded my vision of veterinary technologies.

INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS

Apart from gaining practical skills from farm rotation, we also gain industry knowledge through various visits and lectures from industry professionals covering wide areas such as breeding, racing, marketing, financial, grassland management and nutrition.

The speakers came from different states and countries and their lectures gave us in-depth understanding of the industry. The lecturers answered many questions and also interacted with the class allowing us to build up a good relationship.

As part of the schedule, Godolphin Flying Start course manager Clodagh Kavanagh flew over to America to have an individual review and coaching meeting with each of us. These meetings were aimed at reviewing the first half of our American phase, setting up goals for the next phase and finding the areas where we could improve. Additionally, we also discussed where we would have our placement in America, which is something we are all very much looking forward to.

On April 7th, we had the Godolphin Flying Start Alumni Conference, where more than 40 graduates and six speakers from all over the world gathered at Lexington to discuss subjects such as leadership, professional education, business networking and knowledge sharing.

We were deployed as a support team at the conference and it was a great experience for all of us to be able to listen to the speeches.

A week after the conference, we were honoured to be invited, alongside some other Flying Start graduates and industry professionals, to have dinner by Barry Weisbord, the president of Thoroughbred Daily News.

STRATEGIES

During the dinner, we talked about the strategies of attracting young generations to the racing industry. Everyone was able to give their opinion and it was a great atmosphere.

We also attended the Consignors and Commercial Breeders’ Association (CBA) Symposium at Keeneland. We reviewed the recent industry development in Kentucky and discussed strategies to develop it. Two of our first-year trainees, Jack Carlino and Megan Hebbert, represented the younger generation on a panel to express their ideas of this industry.

The last session of the CBA symposium was an hour-long toast and roast of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

He was surrounded by former assistants and current trainers including Todd Pletcher and Kiaran McLaughlin. It was truly an unforgettable moment to see eight top trainers in America together and listening to their fun stories.

This month we have learned a lot from practical work, lectures and visits. We are now looking forward to the next month, where we will take on a two-week horse-shoeing module and go to our work placements.

See godolphinflyingstart.com for more information on the programme