I SPENT my whole working life in racing. I have met some wonderful, inspirational people along the way and enjoyed some fantastic times. I’ve got a son working in Simon Crisford’s and two gorgeous granddaughters. So I decided to give a little back. Last year my wife and I headed to Tanzania to work as volunteers in a kids’ home.

I grew up in Rosses Point, Co Sligo, an area not synonymous with horse racing. However, one man, Billy Boyers, was a legend in the locality and achieved great success with a small string. He enjoyed big wins win horses such as Sir Barry (Galway Plate), Artistic Prince (Powers Gold Cup) and Kilcoleman (County Hurdle). I was introduced to racing by Billy and led up the latter horse when he won at the 1977 Cheltenham Festival. I started out with the trainer aged 15 and came and went at various intervals over a 12-year period.

I completed the Irish National Stud Course after finishing school, then returned to Billy’s for a time before going to work in Germany. I was based at Gestut Rottgen in Cologne, where I oversaw all the weanling and yearling barns.

After a year and a half at the stud I came home to Sligo and spent five seasons working with Billy. At 23, I then went travelling again; this time to Kentucky, where I worked alongside Gerry Dilger. The latter now owns Dromoland Farms who went on to pinhook a Kentucky Derby winner. In all I spent two seasons in the US, before finding my way back home to Rosses Point.

In 1984, I went to Britain where I got a job as head lad to Ian Balding. It was an exciting time to be involved in the yard, which housed leading horses such as Silver Fling, Selkirk, Forest Flower and Lochsong. Again, as with my previous roles, I gained invaluable experience in this position and was able to call on it in later life.

After 10 years in Britain, I made my way back to Ireland in 1994, with all my worldly possessions in the back of a Rice horsebox. On one side I had all my material wealth, while on the other stood a horse named Two Lumps. I had bought him cheaply from Balding’s and hoped he could provide my first winner.

Billy [Boyers] was just finishing up training at that stage, so he allowed me to move into his vacant stables in Rosses Point. I was very fortunate to meet with Eddie McAllister, a solicitor from Belfast, who had a couple of horses with Billy. He agreed to support me and later became both my main patron and a lifelong friend.

I trained my very first winner for Eddie, a mare named Cormac Lady, who sprang a 25/1 surprise at my local Sligo track. Two Lumps, the horse I brought home with me, finished second at Roscommon in July 2004 on his first start. Although he was later awarded the race after the initial winner was disqualified, it didn’t have the same excitement.

I found it extremely difficult to make a living as a racehorse trainer based in the west of Ireland. I would liken it to launching a boat off the beach, constantly struggling against the tide and even when you think you are in safe waters the waves bring you back in again.

I am proud to say I trained close to 50 winners in my career, including Mull On The Run, who became the first two-year-old winner to be trained in Sligo.

Golden Fact was the best horse I trained; he was just touched off in the Topaz Mile at Galway and rose from a rating of 70 to over a 100.

In order to help keep the wolf from the door I was always looking for alternative ways to keep afloat and on the suggestion of Michael Osborne, Eddie McDermott-Roe and I set up a track riders course from our yard. This was essentially a training programme which taught young people how to ride to a standard that would enable them to work in racing stables. The course ran for three years and we helped many people find employment as a result.

SUCCESS

My wife Anne, who I met through Special Olympics Ireland, has always played a huge part in my success. Despite being employed by the HSE, she rode out for me every morning before work and was always involved in the running of the yard.

After I retired three years ago, we talked about volunteering and agreed it was something we both wanted to do. I remained involved in racing for a time after handing in my license, moving to Andy Oliver, for whom I went racing regularly.

Last November, Anne retired after 36 years working for the HSE and we decided to volunteer in Africa. She had met a lady from Cork named Mary Notman, who alongside her husband Rob, set up a charity called Kidzcare Tanzania.

This particular charity really appealed to both of us, as it was very small, had no overheads and everything that was collected went directly to the cause. Registered in Tanzania, the charity works to assist children in distressing circumstances, in particular those who are HIV positive and those who have been orphaned by the virus.

The middle generation are the one most affected, with some having been cared for by ageing grandparents in desperate circumstances. Kidzcare provides a home for 22 such orphaned children and assists 600 children in remote villages with nutrition, basic medical and dental care and with education, which the charity believes to be the key to survival.

Our motto is “child by child, we build our nation.” Kidzcare has built five pre-schools which give a solid early foundation, breakfast and health monitoring. They are now in the process of building a primary school. We rely completely on donations to fund all the projects.

As an example, €1,000 can feed, clothe and staff the children’s home for a month. A similar amount will also provide education, one meal a day and basic medical care for 300 children or buy school uniforms and books for 100 children, while €10,000 would build six classrooms and keep the home going for a full year.

HUMBLING

Anne and I found our work with Kidzcare a very rewarding and humbling experience. The Irish racing community were very generous and helped fund our journey and pay for the work that we carried out over there. I worked alongside the maintenance man at the orphanage, helping to build a security fence and harvest rain in a country that only sees six weeks of rainfall each year.

We also had the use of a really old jeep to take the kids on days out, including to the beach. Although they are based less than half an hour from the sea, many of them had never been before. It was wonderful to witness their reaction to something that we probably take for granted here at home.

Since returning to Ireland, I have been working in Kildare for Michael Halford. I have known Michael for many years and he has been very good to me. I am only there for six months and then we are going back out to Tanzania in January.

I am really enjoying working at Copper Beech Stables and find it a very special place; everyone knows what to do and are extremely good at their job, under the watchful eye of Fabian [Burke].

I have been filling in whenever anyone is out sick or off on holidays and it has been a great experience. Despite my time in Kildare, I am very much looking forward to our next trip to Tanzania and hopefully we can continue to contribute to the sterling efforts of Mary and Rob.

To read more and view photographs Charity in Tanzania - KidzCare Tanzania visit www.kidzcaretanzania.org

KidzCare Tanzania provides underprivileged children and orphans in Tanzania with education, nutrition, and medical programmes.

If you would like to donate to Kidzcare contact Michael on 087 4019528

Michael McElhone was in conversation with John O’Riordan