THE Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association’s Educational Programme for 2022 gets underway on Monday next, May 9th.

The Ask The Expert Series, which runs throughout the month of May, will address a number of key stud farm-related topics. Two in the series of workshops are being dedicated to the timely and very relevant topic of the ePassport and the digital platform which Weatherbys specifically developed to support it.

These workshops, the first of their kind, will see Sharon O’Regan, Weatherbys Ireland’s general manager, highlighting and demonstrating to breeders the extensive benefits of the new equine digital lifetime document for vaccinations, movement and ownership update.

In preparation for these workshop attendees are encouraged to submit any questions they may have related to the ePassport in advance of the workshop when registering to attend.

Breeders are also invited to submit questions relating to the trio of workshops being delivered by experts from the Irish Equine Centre, which will cover a number of practical and important stud farm topics, namely biosecurity, probiotics in equines and parasite control.

To register your attendance for any of the Ask The Experts workshops email kryan@itba.ie

ASK THE EXPERT SERIES

Title: ePASSPORT/DIGITAL

PLATFORM DEMONSTRATION

Date/time: Monday, May 9th, 7pm-8pm

Format: Online

Delivered by: Sharon O’Regan, General Manager, Weatherbys Ireland

Title: STUD FARM BIOSECURITY

Date/time: Wednesday, May 11th (7pm-8pm)

Format: In-person at ITBA offices, Kill, Co Kildare

Delivered by: Alan Creighton, Head of Environment & Nutrition, Irish Equine Centre

Title: PROBIOTICS IN EQUINES

Date/time: Wednesday, May 18th (7pm-8pm)

Format: Online

Delivered by: Kerrie Kavanagh, Senior Microbiologist, Irish Equine Centre

Title: ePASSPORT/DIGITAL

PLATFORM DEMONSTRATION

Date/time: Monday, May 23rd, 7pm- 8pm

Format: Online

Delivered by: Sharon O’Regan, General Manager, Weatherbys Ireland

Title: PARASITE CONTROL

Date/time: Wednesday, May 25th (7pm-8pm)

Format: Online

Delivered by: Dr James Gibbons, Head of Microbiology, Irish Equine Centre

WHO ARE THE EXPERTS?

Alan Creighton, Head of Environment & Nutrition at the Irish Equine Centre

Alan was educated at the CBS Naas and received his degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the Dublin Institute of Technology. He joined the IEC in June 1995 to work in the microbiology unit. He took up the role of environmental scientist in 1999, and as Head of Environment and Nutrition in late 2017. He works with trainers and stud owners at home and internationally on all aspects of equine biosecurity, nutrition and performance. He is a former show jumper and has a massive interest in all aspects of thoroughbred racing, is a breeder and pinhooker.

James Gibbons, Head of

Microbiology, Irish Equine Centre

James qualified with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree from University College Dublin in 2000. After graduation, he spent several years in practice in Ireland, the UK and overseas before returning to UCD to complete a PhD in veterinary microbiology in the area of antimicrobial resistance. In 2011, James moved to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies where he worked as lecturer in veterinary microbiology and public health with responsibility for diagnostic microbiology. In 2013, he returned to UCD as lecturer in veterinary public health and spent the following five years teaching and researching in this area. He joined the Irish Equine Centre in 2018 as Head of Microbiology. In 2021, James was awarded diplomate status by the European College of Veterinary Microbiology (ECVM) and is a European Board of Veterinary Specialisation (EBVS) recognised specialist in veterinary microbiology.

Sharon O’Regan, General Manager, Weatherbys Ireland

Sharon is General Manager of Weatherbys Ireland. She was previously Head of Operations at Weatherbys Ireland – a role that involved the digitalisation of the General Stud Book and deployment of large scale digital projects in Ireland, UK, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Sharon is a Council Member of the European and South African Studbook Committee and is also a Stud Book Regional Reviewer – a role which sees her supporting international stud books on matters of governance, compliance and data integrity. With over 20 years of thoroughbred administration experience, Sharon is a regular contributor to industry workshops and programmes.

Kerrie Kavanagh, Senior

Microbiologist, Irish Equine Centre

Kerrie is a senior microbiologist at the Irish Equine Centre. She has worked at the IEC for the last 22 years, previously working in quality control in the food industry. Kerrie is responsible for managing the INAB-accredited microbiology lab at the IEC where a team of nine scientists anlayse a large range of samples from the veterinary, agricultural, food and pharmaceutical industries.

Kerrie’s work involves dealing with outbreaks as well as liaising with and advising clients. Kerrie has developed a keen interest in the microbiology of the gut and the microbiome across all species of animals and is a PhD candidate with the University of Limerick where her research focuses on studying the equine microbiome and developing autogenous probiotics.