Growing up on a stud farm called Grenane House in the Golden Vale near Tipperary town, it was little surprise that Adrian Mansergh-Wallace pursued an equine career. It has proved to be a passport to a successful international career in the industry, working for Coolmore’s operation based in Kentucky.
Mansergh-Wallace credits his mother, who ran the family farm, for his love of horses. “She’s the one who taught me to ride and who instilled my lifelong passion for the industry and every type of horse. She would take me to the shows every summer along with my siblings and I’d go racing with my father and grandfather too, so it was always the big interest in my life.”
School in Glenstal Abbey brought him into contact with the Magnier family and Coolmore.
Coolmore, headquartered in Fethard, Co Tipperary, had been developed by John Magnier, pools magnate Robert Sangster and legendary trainer Vincent O’Brien, and has a long history of standing champion sires. It had acquired a farm in Versailles Kentucky called Ashford and gradually built that into the major operation it is today at the heart of the US equine industry.
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When the opportunity arose for a gap year in 2001 to go to the Ashford facility, the teenager jumped at the opening, starting out as a groom.
“I landed there a few weeks after 9/11. My parents didn’t seem to worry about me going at such a young age. Looking back, I think they were as excited as I was at the opportunity.”
After a brief return to Ireland, he headed stateside permanently in 2003 and has progressed over the years to a senior role in sales and nominations. Ashford is one of the leading stud farms in the US, with Coolmore having steadily expanded the facility over the last few decades. Its enduring success on the racetrack includes two US triple crown winners in American Pharoah and Justify.
His role involves advising what will work best for various bloodlines, whether it is breeding for sale or to race. The results are visible to see on the racetrack with the aim of breeding generations of future champions.
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“It takes time, patience and dedication to run an equine operation. One of the reasons I like it is that it encompasses so many disciplines. You’ve got the agronomy and horticulture part, the horse husbandry part, the bloodlines and the constant updates about what’s happening in racing.
“Ultimately it comes down to the people and the horses and if you’ve got a good combination of those, you’ve certainly got every chance of success.”
Any yearning for home is offset by the large Irish population he lives among in Kentucky, driven by the equine industry. Many of the local senior management team in Coolmore also hail from Ireland, including the general manager, chief financial officer and director of sales.
Coolmore employs more than 1,300 people in Ireland, and 150 in the US, and also has an operation in Australia. “We’re very keen on promoting from within the group and also generally encouraging as many people as possible to come over from Ireland and the rest of Europe.”
He met his wife Michaela when playing soccer locally. She hails from California and was working for a competitor farm at the time. Now raising three young children, the family lives in a house on the Coolmore estate beside the small town of Midway and not far from Lexington, Kentucky’s second city. He finds the quality of life good with access to good schools and healthcare, and says it is an excellent place to bring up a family.
“It’s an incredibly friendly place. Americans have a great can-do attitude and are generally very accepting of new people. I can’t say that I’ve been homesick, although you are aware of the big days you miss like weddings and christenings. There are also plenty of Irish bars in Lexington.
“The great thing about this industry is that it is very sociable. You find yourself watching racing with others on your days off. It’s an all-encompassing interest.”
While happy and with no plans to return to Ireland in the foreseeable future, he does not rule it out totally in the longer term. In the meantime, Mansergh-Wallace’s work involves travel which takes him back to Ireland several times a year as well as to Argentina, among other places.
He also retains an involvement in the family stud farm back in Ireland along with his older brother, Mark.
