'A virtual graduation is a far less tangible way of bidding farewell'
Annise Montplaisir gives an update on second-year trainee life in lockdown
I was riding in the car with my parents last Sunday when it finally hit me: I might not see many of my fellow Godolphin Flying Start trainees for a long, long time.
I was watching our most recent ‘Trainee Views’ video – a highlights reel of our favorite memories and experiences. Clips about meeting each other for the first time in Ireland, traveling to Washington DC and the Preakness Stakes, and overcoming fears to ride ex-racehorses at the British Racing School flashed across the screen.
If life were 'normal' in that moment, I would have been thousands of miles away, probably having a dinner with the team, or talking about finishing our business plans. Instead, I was going home to have dinner with my parents near Fargo, North Dakota in the US, where I’m finishing our Godolphin Flying Start coursework remotely.
My heart squeezed, and I wished that instead of waving goodbye and saying “see you in a couple weeks” as we left Dubai in a hurry, I would have given my friends the final hugs and well-wishes they deserve. Resuming the final phase in Ireland was not to be.
Having a physical graduation date on a calendar gives you time to plan, or at least mentally prepare for having your family of two years disbanded. A virtual graduation, as we will experience on July 1, is a far less tangible way of bidding farewell to our nearness – living, studying, working and socializing shoulder-to-shoulder, and observing each other’s individual strengths develop.
In a way, we’ve been training for this moment – the adaptation to being uprooted from one country and suddenly living in another, wondering about the job market and resumption of racing and sales calendars. For we all had to adapt to living with 11 strangers, and moving to unfamiliar countries.
Through work rotations and externships, we adapted to new bosses and integrating with various international teams.
Even with our abrupt departure from the experiential aspect of Godolphin Flying Start, I recognize that we in no way have it as tough as many. There are horsemen struggling to make ends meet, praying for whatever this 'new normal' is going to be. But horse people are some of the most adaptable, resilient folks, because the only thing we can ever count on is for nothing to go according to plan.
Horses are living beings we cannot predict, just as life is an unsurmountable force we cannot control.
You can track a mare’s 'normal', how many covers it usually takes for her to get in foal, or whether she usually foals before, close to, or much later than her anticipated delivery date. But we really have no idea.
You can set a projected path of races, building a horse up to its very best for a particular target. But it might pull up sore tomorrow. You can watch the big colt develop into an absolute beauty of a specimen out in the pasture, and dream of him raking in the money at a premier sale. He could get cast in his stall tonight and end up with an ugly scar.
This makes you question, does 'normal' even exist? Through the surprises, the setbacks, and the unexpected changes in direction, it won’t all turn out bad.
The mare, whenever she foals, might have a belter of a baby. The racehorse might need some time off, but return even stronger the following season. You might have to race the colt yourself instead of sending him to the sale, but maybe he’s the one you’ve been waiting for.
Racing and sales will return, Royal Ascot will again be crowded, and the Kentucky Derby will run on the first Saturday in May.
Just as I believe Amélie Lemercier, Lucy Blake, Corbin Blumberg, Samantha Cripps, John Bourke, Luke Evans, Issy Paul, Anna Power, Niall O’Connor, Liza Hendriks, Nico Archdale and I will all meet again someday. We just don’t know exactly when.
More Godolphin Flying Start news:
Godolphin Flying Start programme unveils latest intake of students
Getting to grips with the racing programme and local culture in Dubai
Godolphin Flying Start courses and interviews move online for lockdown
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- Royal Ascot winner Arizona on the move as Coolmore sire joins the exodus to Turkey
- Something different for Burrows as Group 1-winning trainer consigns at the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale
- Breeding right to Blue Point sells for €430,000 on Darley winning bid platform
- Classic hero Metropolitan set for strong home support with Etreham busy at the sales