EMMELINE Hill grew up with horses. Her father bred horses and had horses in training with Jim Bolger and Paddy Mullins, while her grandmother bred Dawn Run and rode in point-to-points into her 60s.

Emmeline, however, made her mark not from her exploits on horseback, but through the study and practical application of equine genomics. Her science studies at Trinity College Dublin focused on genetics which formed the basis of her PhD.