Joe Moore -Final Blog

This week, we caught up with our 2026 Irish National Stud Scholarship Gold Medal winner, Joe Moore, as he shares one final update from his time in Ireland, reflecting on his final few weeks, favourite experiences and advice for anyone considering the course.

Just like that my time at the national stud has come to a close and I get to begin another chapter in my career.

Over the coming 6 months I will be spending the season working for Trelawney stud, who kindly give young people like Zania and I the opportunity to embark on the National stud course and then further learn and build experiences and connections through their own farm for the Southern Hemisphere season. 

Reflecting on my final few weeks at the National Stud I am able to confidently say that I made the most of my time on the course. I made incredible connections, I pushed myself to learn and work hard in both the yards, and in my studies.

Reflecting back to the start of the course I remember how I felt. I remember being very optimistic and grateful for the opportunity I had been given but I was also really keen to get into it, do my part, learn and improve my skills and knowledge and then take it back to NZ and settle down. Since doing my time on the course and reflecting of my time on the course I have come to realize just how incredible the course is.

This course took a young NZ boy from someone who was keen to just settle down and do what he loves in a place he loves, and turned me into someone that is keen to go out, explore more opportunities, learn more, talk to more people, experience the great industry from other points and use this to improve myself and one day hopefully improve the industry we all love.

To be given this opportunity to do so I can’t be more grateful to the Taylor Family, The NZTBA, as well as the team over at the Irish National Stud. Those mentioned have all played a role in me both getting over there, learning while I was over there opened up new experiences and opportunities that I never would have imagined myself doing 12 months ago.

My final few weeks on the course were simply incredible. Everyone on the course had the same idea, to make the last few weeks the best time we had. Whilst under plenty of pressure with studying for exams, and completing final assignments, we all made sure that we were enjoying ourselves, learning off each other and making the most of what we had left. From Barbecues and missions up along the country we found that over the last few weeks of the course our connections grew immensely and leaving was going to be tough. 

Working over the last few weeks was quiet but that's life on a stud farm for you. From going from being so busy to so quiet was something that wasn’t easy for a guy like myself always looking to be doing something but thanks to the help of the yard foremen and National Stud staff I was able to find work doing things I wouldn’t think I would be doing, such as driving tractors, doing maintenance work, and most importantly continuing to watch the young stock grow and see further parts of their development and issues that came along the way. 

A highlight for me over the last couple of weeks whilst on the course was the opportunity to show yearlings to Goffs and Tattersalls for their pre sale inspections to place them in their catalogues. This was a great experience to showcase these horses in front of some of the world’s most astute judges, and to further improve my skills with young stock.

Another highlight for me was the field trips we took. We were lucky enough to get tours around the best private training facility in the world; Ballydoyle, as well as tours of Coolmore, Kildangan Stud, as well as Ballylinch and other historic training yards and stud farms.

Meeting the likes of Aiden O’Brien, and stallions such as Lope De Vega, and Night of Thunder were experiences that I was amazed with. To be given the opportunity to ask Aiden questions was unbelievable and the lessons I learnt there will be used continuously throughout my life. 

Assignments over the final weeks were great. I was able to put all the learning I had done over the last 6 months into play and felt I did really well in these.

I found studying for the Equine Business exam was incredible, I was able to find out so much more about the industry whilst studying for that exam and through talking with class mates, trainers and breeders, as well as the National Stud staff I was able to learn so much and improve my knowledge massively. 

The final week was a major highlight for me. It was a really special time for the group but I am incredibly grateful that I was able to share it with my Dad too.

My dad joined me in Ireland for the final week and got to experience a slice of what I had been raving on about for the last 6 months. He was able to experience the Irish stud life and just how incredible the industry is over there (an experience he missed out on thanks to my older sister arriving 22 years ago). To have him over there and experience it was incredible and with all the class welcoming him into our group was something I found really special. 

When the final graduation came it was one of the greatest days I have had. We started out with a big awakening that we were still on a functioning stud rising at 6am to go and muck out Blanford for one final time. We then began the ceremony with a stallion parade which I was lucky enough to be chosen to speak about Pheonix of Spain.

This was a great opportunity for me as I was able to speak about a stallion I had worked so closely with, and try and sell him to the high quality group watching. This was an experience I thoroughly enjoyed and am grateful for.