Writtle University College launches new stud operations course

As the bloodstock industry continues to wrangle with its ongoing staffing crisis, there is a glimmer of good news as Writtle University College in Essex has launched the first complete thoroughbred stud operations course in Britain.

Writtle claim that, while thoroughbred short courses and modules of larger degree courses are available elsewhere, their's is the only full-time course dedicated to the rearing and care of thoroughbred horses at stud.

The inability to find appropriately qualified staff, and to retain them long-term, has exercised stud owners in recent years.

Hillwood Stud's Tracy Vigors summarised the concerns of many employers in the Racing Post this year, saying: "The staffing situation is at crisis point.

“I wouldn’t want to be a trainer. I don't know how they're managing to get horses done. People are walking in and out of yards left, right and centre.”

The new Thoroughbred Stud Operation course taught at Writtle, one of Britain's leading providers of land-based, animal, and environmental education, will run from 2019.

Available for those with appropriate academic qualifications or industry experience, it is designed to develop students' understanding of breeding racehorses.

It will, a statement by the college said, “be achieved through a combination of practical and theoretical studies, with the aim of producing holistically-educated, industry-ready candidates for the stud sector”.

As part of the course, students will also develop their knowledge of the wider thoroughbred industry, including various business aspects, in order to improve their prospects of employment and fill a range of vacant roles in the sector.

Caroline Flanagan, head of school for Equine and Veterinary Physiotherapy at Writtle College, said: “The thoroughbred industry is a vibrant, exciting environment to be working within and this award will provide exceptional opportunities to develop a career working with some of Britain's most valuable bloodstock.”

The courses will be administered, in part, in Writtle’s purpose-built stud facility, part of a £1.5 million renovation to its existing equine facilities, giving students access to state-of-the-art equipment and learning tools.

Education will be supplemented with work experience placements at studs including Shadwell, the National Stud, Juddmonte and Highclere, allowing students to gain first-hand experience in the rearing of young thoroughbreds.

James O’Donnell, assistant stud director at Shadwell, added: “We are extremely encouraged by the Thoroughbred Stud Operations course that Writtle University College has launched.

“We feel it is an important and timely initiative and we are excited to be working with them. Writtle has some fantastic facilities and the course syllabus will give the students many of the skills they need to make a positive contribution to the thoroughbred breeding industry, from the moment they enter their placement studs.

"We look forward to welcoming Writtle students to Shadwell in the near future.”

Click here for more information about the Thoroughbred Stud Operations course at Writtle University College