Working with horses has always been a popular choice for young people and St Patrick's college in Naas has all the courses to enable that. Elaine Larkin reports
Horses for courses" may be the better-known saying, but in thoroughbred horse environs of Naas there are also, it seems, courses for horses - or horse-lovers anyway.
This September St Patrick's Community College in Naas, which has one of the longest-running PLC equine studies courses in the State, will have first and second-year students on its business administration and equine studies course for the first time ever. September 2001 saw the expansion of the course from one to two years. Three-quarters of students will go on to second year this year.
The reason for this, says John O'Sullivan, PLC director at St Patrick's, is it was felt there wasn't enough time in one year to give students the skills they needed. "The two years gives us a better chance and it gives the students a chance." Within the course there are four separate courses: trainee riding instructor, assistant thoroughbred trainer, assistant stud manager and equine nursing. The latter is the most popular by far. With the exception of the riding instructor course all the other courses are unique to St Patrick's.
Because the course is situated in Co Kildare, in the middle of the horse industry, O'Sullivan says, "We have the best practitioners in the game in the area and you've people coming from all over the world to learn in Kildare. So basically we get the benefit of that." Only a handful of the St Patrick's equestrian students come from Co Kildare - most come from the State and a few come from abroad. Of the 24 students taken on each year, the dropout rate is two or three students a year. O'Sullivan attributes this solely to homesickness.
The difference between St Patrick's course and other courses, says O'Sullivan, is that St Patrick's also gives them IT skills. "This is not only opening other doors for them within the industry and giving them more mobility within industry, it's also giving them a great safety net in the event that this is not what they want or they change there mind about it in two or three years' time," he says.
O'Sullivan has found that "an awful lot of parents are driven demented that their teenagers want to work with horses. The parents are terrified, because there is no money effectively in horses, unless you are very cute or very smart or very lucky. They are terrified that their child would have nothing by the age of 20 or 21. That's where we come in." The business administration side of the course prepares students for work in the likes of a bank or a building society, and the non-equestrian workplace, says O'Sullivan.
Students take business modules 2½ days per week and Thursday and Friday in the equine nursing option of the course, for example, is spent at the veterinary hospital, where the student is exposed to training in all aspects of pre-operative and post-operative care. Students are effectively working with the equivalent of the Blackrock Clinic or the Mater Private on their onsite training at the likes of Anglesey Lodge and Troytown veterinary hospitals, he says. "If any sheikh has a horse worth €50 million, that's where they'll go. In other words, they are the best equine hospitals in the State and our students are there."
A student offered a place on the equine nursing course must complete a two-week work experience programme in the summer before the course starts. This is to make sure they are suited to this option.
Apart from the learning side of the business, St Patrick's is very strong in what O'Sullivan calls an "after-sales service". He often stays at the college until 10 p.m., trawling through jobs and trying to match students up with work.
O'Sullivan invites those interested in the course to call him or e-mail him and he will find the time to advise them about applying for any of the four options on offer. Although the college open day isn't until Good Friday, applications are continuous and interviews held every few weeks. By the time open day comes along, most of the places will be filled.
Contact John O'Sullivan at: 045-897885/899886, e-mail: equinestudies@eircom.net
