TALENTED young Longford horseman Nicholas Hay is about to embark on a journey that he hopes will guild his dream of carving a career out of the thoroughbred breeding industry.
Hay, 21, is one of 12 inductees into the 2010 Darley Flying Start program that offers a two-year working scholarship to young people who have a passion for the thoroughbred industry.
Darley Flying Start is an international management training program specialising in thoroughbred breeding and racing. It was founded in 2003 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai and is widely regarded as the best of its type in the world.
Hay’s parents Ian and Linda Hay have been involved in thoroughbred racing for most of their lives with Ian a successful trainer and Linda a breeding expert.
“I have been involved with horses for as long as I can remember so there was always a chance that I would want to have some involvement in this industry,” Hay said.
“When I first heard about the Darley Flying Start program I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity but at the same time I thought it might be a bit of a pipedream to think I could actually get a scholarship.”
“But it happened and I can hardly wait to get started,” he said.
Sheikh Mohammed is a world leader and visionary who believes education and training are the keys to building an individual’s success and in doing so will enrich the industry.
His love of the thoroughbred inspired him to develop the Darley Flying Start management training scholarship to provide young people, committed to leading the thoroughbred industry, an opportunity to learn at the highest level.
Scholarship holders study in Ireland, England, USA, Australia and Dubai.
It is an intense program that covers every aspect of the thoroughbred industry.
The horse management module comprises practical horsemanship, sales preparation, racehorse training, stud management, nutrition, and the study of horse anatomy and physiology along with pedigree analysis.
Hay knows the two-year itinerary like the back of his hand.
“We arrive in County Kildare in Ireland on August 16 and start training the next day and then in late October we move to Newmarket in England to study and work at Dalham Hall Stud until mid December.
“After a short holiday break we then head to Lexington Kentucky where we stay for six months before heading back to Australia for a four-month stint at Darley Stud in the Hunter Valley in NSW.”
“In 2012 we are in Dubai for the first four months and then we head back to Kildangan Stud in Ireland where we graduate,” he said.
Darley Flying Start scholarship combines a dynamic range of lectures, visits and hands-on experience.
There is continual assessment throughout the course which includes appraisals and a challenging series of projects, assignments and examinations on the theoretical and practical material covered.
“I expect this will be the toughest two years of my life but by far the most rewarding,” Hay said – click here .