MY final apprenticeship is in Tattersalls Ireland in the bloodstock office. Tattersalls is an international firm offering over 13,000 horses each year at 32 sales at Newmarket, Ascot and Cheltenham in the UK and at Fairyhouse in Ireland.

Tattersalls has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of the industry’s leading names both in the flat industry and the National Hunt industry.

I assisted Margaret O’Neill, bloodstock manager, and Orla McKenna, bloodstock administrator, in the office.

It took a few days to settle in as working on a computer in an office was all new to me, but thankfully Orla and Margaret were very patient and their mentoring and guidance helped me to get the hang of the job.

I assist with entries and acknowledgments for both the August National Hunt Sale and the September Yearling Sale. I worked at the Derby Sale where tasks varied from vetting, to working on the sales day in the merchandise shop with Sarah Talbot.

That aspect of customer service in itself was a big learning curve. I dealt with customers directly and assisted them in selecting the products they wanted and completed the sale by taking payment. I thoroughly enjoyed working face to face with leading clients/buyers at the sale, which broke previous records.

For day one the aggregate of €7,981,500 was an increase of 13% on 2016. The aggregate for Part II of the sale – €2,042,200 – is a record for the sale and a significant improvement of 41% on previous years. By the end of the day two trade, 33 horses had sold for in excess €100,000 over the two days.

THREE-DAY EVENT

Tattersalls is not only home to the thoroughbred but also holds an International Three-Day Event, which was held during the second week of my placement.

I assisted with the set up for the event, which involved helping to arrange the area for the merchant stalls.

In July, a show was also held which had many classes from showing and show jumping to the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Series Qualifier. This show was hugely successful. At this event, I was in charge of managing the stabling, which included taking payment and allocating the stables to the competitors.

This apprenticeship has allowed me to focus on and improve a different set of skills from my previous placements. I am meeting customers face to face and talking to them on the telephone as well, so I need to provide excellent customer service on behalf of Tattersalls Ireland.

Working behind the scenes on event management requires office skills, including good computer skills and attention to detail inputting information into spreadsheets.

This is my first experience of working in an office environment in the equine industry and I am delighted to have the opportunity to do so. It has given me great insight into the event management side of the industry and gives me further options to consider for my future career.

I would like to thank Margaret, Orla and Roger Casey and all the staff in Tattersalls Ireland for giving me the opportunities to expand my skills and learn valuable knowledge. There is a great team within Tattersalls Ireland who all work together and are very pleasant.

Overall, the apprenticeship has opened my eyes to a whole other side of the thoroughbred industry, from sales prep to the foaling of stock to the event management side of the industry. Each part plays a huge role in the industry and they all have key roles in making the industry so successful.

I would like to thank the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association for giving me the opportunity to gain such valuable experience within the industry over the last year, which has allowed me to improve my skills as well as gain some new ones.

The year has given me great insight into additional areas within the industry, and has flown by. I have been very fortunate to work with the leading associations in the industry and have made some valuable contacts, which is all thanks to the ITBA. I look forward to continuing to work within the thoroughbred industry and my skills and extensive experience to date will allow me to travel and further my career at home and abroad.

I would like to wish Joanne Lavery and Lynne McLaughlin the very best of luck in the year ahead as the 2017 ITBA Next Generation Apprentices.