I GREW up on a mixed farm in Leap, West Cork. My father had a great knowledge of horses and there was always a mare and a young horse coming on. An Agricultural Science graduate from UCD, I work as a nutritionist with Southern Milling.

I studied a number of elective subjects such as Animal Breeding, Genetics and Equine Science in university and in my Agricultural Extension thesis, I presented the role of the Irish Draught and Connemara to the Irish Sport Horse industry to Prof. Joe Mannion. Later, I did a Masters in Genetic Engineering and Micropropigation, which really went into the depths of breeding.