The Role of the Trainer

The trainers of today are multi-faceted individuals, as much at home in front of a television camera as they are in the stable. New Zealand trainers have long been reknowned for their hands-on approach to working with the animals in their care but these days it is not enough to be a consumate horseman, the trainer must possess a range of other skills.

Trainers are psychologists who recognise that each horse is an individual with its own special characteristics, the trainer's job is to find the key which enables each animal to reach its full potential.

Providing the perfect fuel is an important part of achieving maximum fitness and, in this regard, trainers must understand the nutritional requirements of the athletes in their charge, no easy task with a variety of brands on the market. Forward planning is probably one of the most important tasks a trainer faces. It takes considerable skill to ensure that a horse arrives at an event, pinpointed some months earlier, at its peak.

With horses there are often disappointments, occasions when a setback means a change of plans, so a trainer must always have an alternative in mind. Another daily aspect of the trainer's life is that of man management. Good staff are the backbone of every successful training operation.

New owners do not always just walk in off the street so the trainer must ensure he is also a marketing expert. Every person with whom he comes into contact is a prospective client he must therefore ensure he provides an approachable and professional face of the industry.

Given the huge popularity of the country's free-to-air racing channel Trackside the trainer must also present himself as a television personality giving freely of his time and opinion when requested to appear on-camera. In addition to this publicity the trainer also provides comments and quotes for those involved in other forms of media.

Add to the above requirements accounting and office skills, sociability and good hospitality and you pretty much have the mix required for the horse trainer of the present.