25 October 2024

Equine jumping from strength to strength at Gurteen College

As the second group of equine students start their course, Molly Parry writes on how the future looks bright for equine studies at Gurteen College.

September always sees a flurry of activity as a rush of new, fresh faces arrive through the college doors for the start of term, and this September has been no different at Gurteen.

The beginning of this term saw a very special group of students arrive though, with 16 first year equine students joining the Gurteen community. These students are from across Ireland, and from a mix of backgrounds, while all sharing a shining passion for equine – something we at Gurteen can absolutely appreciate.

The arrival of first years means we now have Level 5 and Level 6 Equine students onsite, in our yard and working on making their equine futures happen.

With growing student numbers, so too has the number of horses in our stables grown. As one of the key elements of their education, we know it’s highly important for us to have a wide range of horses on hand to use with the students. Whether it’s young horses who may require a different approach when riding, larger horses whose care takes a bit more attention or young horses that are only beginning their career in the equine world, we’ve made sure that the students get to work with them all.

Insightful visits

To start off the academic year, we had a wonderful visit from Ellie and Cathy Rogan and their wonderful Connemara Pony Tullaree Fear Bui, also known as Patrick, as they prepared for the Horse of the Year Show in the UK.

During this demonstration, the equine students got to ask some very insightful questions regarding: the designated show piece that was used in the show ring; turnout of both the horse and rider; and the preparation in the run up to the big day including feeding, transport and even exercise regimes.

Combining practical and theory

As well as incredibly insightful talks and demonstrations, students have been getting stuck in with classes – both practical based and theory based. From being out in the yard, or in our arenas, learning grooming skills, tack fitting, building on their riding skills and lunging to being in the classroom focusing on learning about the equine skeletal system or Irish breeding industry, it’s fair to say our students are completely stuck in and getting their hands dirty.

The future of equine at Gurteen is incredibly bright and strong. Looking ahead we have some more educational trips and speakers planned for our equine students to explore and broaden their knowledge as the year progress – and we can’t wait to get started.

For more information, visit the Gurteen College website here.

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