TWO weeks ago 12 of us trainees, many of whom have never met one another before, entered Kildangan Stud to embark on the next chapter of our career and possibly the biggest to date for us.

Meeting the other trainees who I will spend the next two years with was a daunting experience. Considering I am local to the area, I can’t imagine how nerve wrecking the experience was for rest of the group.

Clodagh Kavanagh and Martin Larkin have been fantastic in helping each of the students getting settled in. This year’s members comprise four Irish, three Americans, two New Zealanders, one Chinese, Swedish and British. Luckily enough the group, all with a common passion for the thoroughbred industry, have gelled well.

Our first two weeks have been action packed. Each day has consisted of a lecture on a certain aspect of the thoroughbred industry along with some directed learning. Despite the busy schedule, our Chinese colleague Michael has taken it upon himself to watch Mrs Brown’s Boys and Father Ted on a regular basis in an attempt to “learn the Irish lingo!’’

Some of the lectures we have had to date include pedigrees from Gerry Duffy, anatomy and physiology through University College Dublin Veterinary School, IT workshops from Eoin Lynch and horsemanship in RACE from a very patient Niall Byrne and Katie McManamon.

One of our first days saw us being brought to some of the picturesque Godolphin farms in the local vicinity. Firstly, we went to Ragusa Stud just outside Ballymore Eustace. Here we were greeted by James Keogh who brought us on a tour of the stud before explaining the weaning process to us in great detail. Since many countries have different methods of doing this, it turned out to be a valuable lesson to all.

After Ragusa we had the chance to see some yearlings and hear the history of Old Connell Stud from David Brophy before being treated to some great advice on pedigrees by Michael Murphy when viewing yearlings at Blackhall Stud.

The group also availed of the opportunity to have a tour of Kildangan Stud from Gerry Duffy. After the farm tour, Gerry brought us to see the stallions, and among them were leading sires’ such as Shamardal and Slade Power.

We got our first taste for Irish racing as a group at the Curragh for the Longines Irish Champions Weekend trials. These days of racing gave the trainees a fantastic taste for what Ireland has to offer. This weekend we will return to the Curragh and to Leopardstown for Irish Champions Weekend. Some of the eye-catchers for the group were Success Days for Ken Condon, who put up a fantastic performance on his favoured ground, and the Royal Ascot winner Churchill, who impressed many of us.

Before starting the course, I got a lot of advice from past trainees, many of them used the phrase “you will hit the ground running.” I didn’t think it was meant literally until the 12 of us, still somewhat unfamiliar with one another, headed off to tackle the 5km/10km Jog for Jockeys run at the Curragh before racing on Sunday, August 21st. This was a fantastic bonding experience and for an excellent cause. I congratulate the organisers who are making it bigger and better year on year.

We were also kindly treated to a cultural trip to Dublin to see the musical Once. The night was greatly enjoyed by all and gave a fantastic insight in to Irish culture.

What makes this course so unique is the opportunity to meet and work with industry leaders worldwide. The course has granted us this opportunity that would have been impossible if it wasn’t for the kindness of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Each of us on the course greatly appreciate his generosity and are excited to embark on the next two years on Godolphin Flying Start.