MY interest in racing grew when I began working at Tipperary Racecourse in June 2017. Before then I never really had an interest in the sport, mainly due to a lack of understanding of how the sport worked.

My job at Tipperary entailed graphic design for their marketing and digital content. Working with Robert, Andrew, Perry and the team really propelled my interest in the industry and was one of the motivating factors in going for the Horse Racing Ireland Internship.

I am currently in my third year of college in Limerick Institute of Technology studying Interactive Digital Media, with six months of work placement involved, so it was a no brainer to try gain some more valuable experience in the racing industry.

My placement was split into two sections, three months based in Fairyhouse and Navan Racecourses, and three months in HRI’s head office at Ballymany.

Getting the chance to work with the team in Fairyhouse in the lead up to the Irish Grand National was very exciting, albeit a small bit nerve wrecking, but a huge opportunity for me.

Easter Festival

In the lead up to the Easter Festival I attended the weights launch in Gordon Elliott’s yard, capturing photos and videos. It was a great experience to see the scale of everything and to meet such horses as Tiger Roll and General Principle up close was surreal compared to seeing them on TV.

I was also responsible for updating Fairyhouse’s various social media platforms and website. I also implemented a new page on the website which allowed customers to purchase tickets in a more straightforward manner. This was challenging and a learning curve but ultimately it further extended my knowledge of how the backend of the websites work.

I attended a photo call unveiling Una Healy as the Most Stylish Lady judge for Irish Grand National day, capturing behind the scenes photos and video content, and I also attended the official BoyleSports Irish Grand National launch. This was a great experience as I got to record interviews with the MC and guests including Willie Mullins and Barry Geraghty.

When the Easter Festival came around it was all go. I was involved in the set-up pre-raceday, making sure all trophies were in place and distributing race cards throughout the racecourse. As soon as the gates opened, I began recording videos to put together highlight videos at the end of each day, once these were made I shared them across the various social media channels.

During my time with Fairyhouse and Navan I also got the opportunity to design in-house graphics and created a highlight video for their ladies day.

My time in Fairyhouse and Navan racecourses was a great experience for me and the teams there couldn’t have made me feel more welcome.

Marketing department

The second half of my work placement is in the marketing department of Horse Racing Ireland. I have been given several daily tasks such as uploading raceday photographs and scheduling content on the various social media platforms for GoRacing.

I also update the GoRacing websites meta data and other content. I’ve been creating social media graphics for the Longines Irish Champions weekend which is an exciting event to be working on.

Over the course of the last few weeks I have been focusing on other projects such as the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards, Kids Club, the WiFi rollout and Galway Racecourse’s 150th anniversary. There is always something to be done around the office.

It has been a great experience so far and has really opened my eyes into what goes on behind the scenes. I’d like to thank all the teams in Fairyhouse, Navan and Horse Racing Ireland for taking me on and having patience with me.

I would definitely recommend the Horse Racing Ireland Internship programme to someone who is involved with, or thinking about getting involved in the industry! I have learned so much that will certainly help me down the line.