From an early age it was evident that I had an interest for
all things equine-related however it wasn’t until one day I attended the sales at
Goffs with my Dad and brother that I knew the thoroughbred industry was where
my real passion was. I have just completed a four year degree in UCD in
Commerce and Chinese and therefore felt the HRI Internship was the ideal
stepping stone for me.
Being selected as the Longines Irish Champions Weekend
intern has allowed me to combine my knowledge of the industry with what I’ve
learned throughout my college days. It is a wonderful opportunity and an eye
opener to see what it takes to organise and collaborate with various
stakeholders in order to plan and execute a weekend of premium Flat racing. The
marketing team led by Michael O’Rourke welcomed me from day one. Jane Davis the
Racecourse Marketing Support Manager is the project manager for Longines Irish
Champions Weekend and is who I report directly to. Jane works tirelessly
liaising with official sponsors, racecourses and everyone in between in
ensuring that Ireland’s premium Flat racing event will run according to plan.
My roles in the office vary from website maintenance to
organising promotional events along with increasing our awareness on all social
media platforms. However a great thing is that it’s not all office based, the
role requires me to work off site too. These off site days vary from attending
various photoshoots to utilise for publications, volunteering for the Irish
Injured Jockeys, assisting at our 2016 launch event or to working at our
Longines Irish Champions Weekend stand at the Dubai Duty Free Derby festival at
the Curragh.
Just two weeks ago we held our 2016 launch evening in
O’Reilly Hall UCD where the room was full of my racing heroes. I was rubbing
shoulders with the who’s who of not just the racing world but also the sporting
world with the likes of Aidan O’Brien, Ronan O’Gara, Willie Mullins and Sean
O’Brien present. It was fantastic evening lead by the panel consisting of jockey
Chris Hayes, trainer Johnny Murtagh and rugby legend and Longines Irish
Champions Weekend Sport Ambassador Ronan O’Gara discussing what’s required to
excel and become a champion in any discipline. It wasn’t all serious chat with
Ronan O’Gara telling us some humorous stories of life in France.
It’s not all just Longines Irish Champions Weekend for me,
there are always plenty of tasks to be done in the marketing and communication
department. I assist fellow intern Hannah Berry in the production and
distribution of weekly newsletters by carrying out weekly interviews with a
range of industry figures. I’ve had the lucky chance to interview the likes of Robbie
McNamara, Andy Slattery and Ana O’Brien. I really enjoy this aspect of the role
as I get to engage with the people who help make this industry what it is. I
also assist our Content Editor Shane Redmond in producing the weekly “News and
Reviews”, a racing column that’s published in regional newspapers all around
the country.
We’ve also had fascinating trips organised by Sophie O’Hare
and Claire Rushe which included days out to Darley’s Irish breeding operation
Kildangan Stud, the ITBA, the Irish National Stud and to the final Bulmers Live
event at Leopardstown racecourse.
I’m delighted I decided to apply for the HRI internship and
am grateful to HRI for offering me the opportunity to learn more about an ever
changing industry. I’ve personally improved my overall skillset but have also
met some great people on a really friendly team. I’ve learned the greater
impact HRI has on Irish racing through its subsidiaries, Tote Ireland, HRI
racecourses and particularly Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) who promote
Irish bloodstock on a global scale. For now I look forward to enjoying my final
few weeks here in HRI but also to attending one of European racing’s marquee meetings,
Longines Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown and the Curragh.