Writing this blog marks the completion of my fourth month, and in turn, means I am over halfway through my scholarship! I arrived in the UK with a lot of nervous energy. I was eager to experience new areas of the industry, but unsure what to expect as I had, up until that point, only worked on studs alongside the horses. In those moments though, I reminded myself that this is the entire point of the management scholarship. I am here to develop a deeper understanding of the industry and experience as many aspects of the industry as I can. During my interview for this scholarship, I was open around that, despite having been around horses my entire life and possessing management experience in the stud industry, I lacked a bit of knowledge in pedigrees and the racing industry. Improving in these areas has become a major focus for me, and I couldn't think of a better place to start my new learning chapter on this scholarship than at Goffs, based in the UK offices. Goffs is a prominent sales company and auction house, selling approximately 10,000 horses to the European market and beyond. They have offices in Ireland and Hawick, Scotland, along with auction houses in Doncaster, UK, and Kildare Paddocks, Ireland.
My first stop with Goffs was a jump in the deep end! I was starting straight off with Goffs at their annual ‘Spring Store and Point to Point/Horses in training sales’. As I walked through the complex for the first time, it struck me how large the store market was, and also how different they were to my normal definition of a store at home. The store horses that I was observing being moved into the complex were strictly 3-year-old unbroken geldings and fillies of National Hunt breeding.
I started in the Repository, helping sort through the Store horses’ passports. As a condition of sale, all horses that go through the ring need to hold a valid Health Declaration, a Negative Coggins test, and have received at least their first two vaccinations within the correct period. A Coggins test is a blood test to detect antibodies for equine infectious anaemia, a fatal viral disease for horses, which as far as I understand, is not present in New Zealand yet. This is required so the horses can meet export requirements immediately if sold to be exported outside the UK. As you can imagine, it can be quite a mission to collect and sort all 273 passports and file all the relevant paperwork in only 3 days. But we made it with time to spare! The day before the sale, I ventured out for an afternoon with one of the Goffs auctioneers to inspect the lots he would be selling, as well as a selection of horses he accepted into the sale. The auctioneers and bloodstock agents recruiting the horses for the sale have a great interest in following up on the horses they inspected, which to me highlights the passion in the industry. There is a large emphasis placed on the horse’s action and this is highlighted in the fact all the horses are trotted up in hand on top of the normal parading you would expect at a yearling sale. Buyers are looking for straight movement and a ground covering loose trot as well as clean legs.
During the 3-day sale, I was a part of the bid spotting team. This was a daunting prospect at the start as this was the first time I had done such a job. Those who know me know that I am the most comfortable with a horse in hand or at the back of a crowd. So, this was an effective way to push myself out of my comfort zone and be right upfront and involved in the action. I was placed on online bidding at the start, which eased me into the task. I then moved on to bid spotting the live bids in the auditorium. After overcoming my initial nerves, I started to properly enjoy the job. Bid spotting, as I came to find out, is an excellent way to get involved with clients and a way to start to put names to faces. Because the auditorium is on the smaller side, all the bid spotters stand behind the auctioneer, and often the bidding is subtle. You come to learn the signs of someone who was about to bid, they often come in with a straight face and stand off to the side, often just before a lot comes in, often to the same area every time. At times you would even spot a bidder trying to find his more subtle underbidder in the crowd to see who he was up against. I didn’t know how I would enjoy bid spotting, but again it's another thing that has surprised me.
After a week at Doncaster, we headed up to Scotland to join the rest of the team at Goffs HQ in Hawick. Scotland Is beautiful, and very similar to NZ regarding the landscape. At Goffs, I spent time putting together statistics from the sale in Doncaster as well as the Arkle sale in Ireland, shadow grading pedigrees for the upcoming premier sale, filing blood results and putting together client details for unsold lots. As the bloodstock agents were in full swing doing farm visits for the upcoming Doncaster Premier sale, I also spent a couple of days in the Scotland countryside looking at potential yearlings. There was plenty of good discussion to be had between visits on the yearlings that we saw and I enjoyed gaining insight into what type of horse they are looking for.
During my time off, I accompanied the family I was staying with to the Kelo Racecourse, to watch their daughter and their family trained, Hunter Chase horse. We were absolutely soaked by the end of the day (R.I.P. to my favourite pair of High heels, you will be missed!) But there were many good laughs to be had, and again it was a good example of the racing spirit over here in the UK. The weather did not dampen anyone’s spirits. There was still a good turnout, with the trackside packed six or seven people deep, all carrying race cards and fully engaged in the event. It's something I've come to love about attending race meetings here.
My time at Goffs and in Scotland has flown by, and I am now preparing to head back to Newmarket this weekend. I'll have a bit of time off, during which I plan to explore more of the UK before starting my next placement with a bloodstock agent. I'm excited to experience Tattersalls from a customer's perspective, as opposed to working behind the scenes at Goffs! Catch you next month with a summary of the Tattersalls sales, Weatherbys and hopefully a trip or two to the Newmarket races!
