Witness New Beginnings this Spring at Ireland's National Stud

Tina Orr, National Stud, County Kildare

It’s March and across Ireland, the air is alive with birdsong, beckoning the daffodil bulbs and bluebells to push their heads out of the ground and welcome the light of early spring. At this time of year, the island awakens from its winter slumber and starts to teem with life, and nowhere is this more evident than the Irish National Stud and Gardens in County Kildare, one of the island’s most popular visitor attractions.   

Here, in the heart of what is known as Ireland’s “Thoroughbred County”, spring foals grapple with the challenges and wonders of their new life. It’s hard to imagine that these awkward and adorable newborns will one day become champion racehorses, but as you wander around the stud farm, you soon realise that these are not just any foals – they are the elites of the racing world.   

For Foaling Attendant Tina Orr, originally from the small country town of Lomersheim in Germany, it’s one of the busiest times of the year. Foaling season is in full swing, and the fields around her are dotted with mares and their wide-eyed offspring. “The breeding and foaling season is from January to June,” Tina explains. “They start covering the mares on Valentine's Day. Foaling season starts a month before that, typically around 15 January, and the last foal is born in June. Last year, we delivered 276 foals.” 

National Stud, County Kildare

A busy working day 

At the Irish National Stud, the process is simple: horse owners pay the stud to allow champion stallions to sire their mares in the hope of creating champion thoroughbreds of the future. Given that the hopes and dreams of many in Irish horse racing depend on the work of Tina and her team, she takes her role very seriously. 

“I come in around 6.30 in the morning and check all the mares,” Tina explains. “I see how big their bag is and that tells me how close they are to foaling. Then I catch up with my night staff to see how many have foaled the night before. Most mares give birth at night. Then I’ll ring the owners and update them.” About an hour later, students come in to assist, as well as watch the mares and help with the vet check. “Every foal that’s born has to be checked to see if they are OK,” Tina notes. “We need to look after the mare too. They usually stay two nights and then they go home. Essentially it is like a maternity hospital for horses.” 

A visitor experience with a difference 

For Tina, the stud offers visitors a unique opportunity to get under the belly of Irish horse racing.  

“You’re allowed to go nearly everywhere,” she says. “There is no other stud farm where you could get a real working experience like this. Nowhere else would let you visit their foaling unit for example. You’re unlikely to see any births because that usually happens at night, but you will see newborn foals as they come to terms with life: trying to stand, trying to stay with their mothers and feed.”  

For those who have never visited a stud farm before, it’s most definitely a memorable experience, as Tina explains. “You can visit the different yards where you’ll see the yearlings and the foals growing up and you get to see the vets checking them and helping them. Then there’s the covering sheds and the standing stallions out in the paddocks. I think it’s nice to see how well we look after the horses. They have a great life here and we love them.” 

Of course, while the foals are a main attraction, the Irish National Stud also offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy a variety of attractions including the Irish Racehorse Experience, where you can try your hand at buying, naming and training a champion thoroughbred of their own at the Irish Racehorse Experience. This excellent interactive virtual experience is both highly engaging and educational. It ends with a virtual four-horse race where would-be jockeys mount their very own stead and race to glory in front of a large screen that replicates the track at Leopardstown in County Dublin.  

National Stud Gardens, County Kildare

Stepping into a different world 

As if it hasn’t got enough surprises up its sleeve, the Irish National Stud is also home to Japanese Gardens, which are among the finest of their kind in Europe. Created just six years after the stud opened in 1900, the gardens are the creation of Japanese master horticulturalist Tassa Eida, who was invited to come to Ireland by the stud’s eccentric owner Colonel William Hall Walker.  

Laid out by Eida to portray the soul’s journey through life, the gardens begin to blossom in March with bright whites, pretty pinks and vibrant azalea reds that sparkle gloriously against the luminous green moss-covered stones and carefully manicured trees. You are encouraged to take your time, to sit, relax and contemplate all that nature has given you before passing through the Gateway to Eternity. 

For visitors, it’s a lovely way to top off a morning or afternoon visit to the National Stud and, when she can, Tina takes time out from her busy schedule to relax amongst the garden’s trees, rocks and babbling streams. Given that she lives on site and this is essentially part of what makes up her back garden, it is little surprise that she has no intention of leaving these pastures anytime soon. 

“I love living in Ireland,” she says. “People are relaxed and friendly here. I’ve made some really good friends and that has helped along the way. My own family also loves visiting Ireland and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if my parents move here in the future.”