DERMOT and Malachy Ryan are not the only siblings to complete the Irish National Stud Thoroughbred Management Course, but their subsequent career successes have placed them among the elite who have gone on to secure positions of great influence within the industry.
Dermot was in the class of 1984, a group that included John Durkan, Henry Beeby, Pat Downes, Brendan Gallagher, Garrett O’Rourke and more, while Malachy’s class of 1996 also had its coterie of well-known names. Malachy and his 20 fellow students on the course celebrate a quarter of a century since they entered the gates at Tully for six months.
Today, Malachy runs the world-famous Moyglare Stud near Maynooth, a position he has held since 2013. Coincidentally, he went to the Irish National Stud in the same year that Sadler’s Wells’ daughter Dance Design, bred at Moyglare and carrying their colours, won the Group 1 Irish Oaks, having been runner-up in the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas.
Another piece of synchronicity is that today Malachy has a framed picture in his office, showing him being presented with his award, given upon graduating, for yard management. The man offering his congratulations to the star student is none other than Dermot Weld, Moyglare’s long-established main trainer. Malachy said: “The award is something I am very proud of, because I take pride in making sure that work surroundings are kept to the highest standards.”
Malachy has great memories of his time at the Irish National Stud, and for him the best recollections are of the people. “My classmates, the management team and the staff have gone on to become some of my closest friends. We made so many great memories that year on the course that it’s hard to pick just one.”
Funniest memory
However, Malachy did mention one memory, and he is the first of the course graduates to respond positively to my call to tell me something funny that happened and can be told. Most interviewees claim the Fifth Amendment, or cite the phrase that ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’!
“I remember the evening Reddy Coffey [Springfield House Stud] returned home from Kildare county football training. Myself and the lads threw him into the lake outside the office, forgetting that he had his keys and wallet in his pocket. Let’s just say it was a long night trying to find the keys and a wallet in a lake!!”
Going to Tully was inevitable for Malachy after his brother Dermot, now manager of Ashford Stud in Kentucky, had been there. He told me: “The Irish National Stud course was always on my pathway into the breeding industry.
“I worked at home in Tipperary for my dad, who trained at the time, and got plenty of experience with racehorses, show horses and a few National Hunt mares.
“In the summer of 1995 I went to Coolmore America, worked the yearling sales for Camas Park, and returned to Coolmore America for the November Breeding Stock Sale. In January 1996 I started in Tully.”
The following six months were to provide a real foundation for Malachy’s future. “The course really gave me a solid grounding, and invaluable industry contacts. I always believed in hard work, something my parents instilled in us.
Coolmore
“Along with the academic side of things in the Irish National Stud, it was a great foundation for heading to Coolmore in Fethard for five years, and then on to Coolmore America for 12 years.”
Students on the course are given access to some marvellous tutors and mentors, both among the staff at Tully and from visiting speakers. While he could give a long list of people he learned a great deal from, Malachy found that master farrier Martin Leahy, Helen Boyce and veterinary surgeon Warren Schofield delivered especially engaging lectures.
Malachy’s fellow graduates 25 years ago included event rider and producer Daisy Duggan, artisan food producer Joanne Hepburn, Coolamurry Stud’s Paul Mernagh, SF Bloodstock principal Tom Ryan, and Charel Park Stud’s Vanessa Teehan Rouzier.
“I keep in touch with quite a few of my classmates, and often meet them at the sales and racing. Martin Walsh of Kiltown Stud and Michael Shefflin of Annshoon Stud would be good pals of mine.”
Breeder of the Year
Recently, Malachy was in the news when Moyglare Stud was named the Connolly’s Red Mills/The Irish Field Flat Breeder of the Year for 2019-2020, while Paul Mernagh’s father Jim was given the National Hunt equivalent.
Malachy said: “I was absolutely delighted for Mr and Mrs Mernagh. It was great to see them receive the recognition they so truly deserve. Wexford can be very proud of their contribution to the industry.
“It was a tremendous honour for Moyglare Stud to receive this award. Eva-Maria [Bucher-Haefner] and her team are very proud of this recognition. Awards like this make it all worthwhile.
“Although I was a very ambitious young man, I could never have envisaged my current position with the Moyglare team. I am very grateful to Eva-Maria for placing her trust in me, especially given the immense pride she takes in Moyglare Stud and its team.”