Blog Takeover by Vicky

This weeks blog is written by Victoria Harrington-Groves. 

​Hi! My name is Victoria (Vicky to most!) and I’m a stud hand here at Byerley. This will be my 4th season here at the stud after being in racing for nearly 10 years previously. I have been asked by Laura to give you all my perspective of stud life, but it also gives me the chance to tell you more about my favourite babies, mares and of course past graduates of Byerley Stud!

So I currently work part-time at Byerley which consists of 3 days one week and then 5 days the next. This gives me the chance to be involved with day-to-day life at the stud, but also run my own small business on the side. A typical week at the stud consists of getting all the boxes on the yard mucked out and bedded down and ready for the week. It tends to take us Monday-Wednesday to get these done but after learning how to drive the tractor and trailer - taken me long enough - I’m hoping this will help when other staff members are off on covers or on the vet round. The rest of the week is pretty straightforward and gives us the chance to get other jobs but it’s the weekends I find the busiest. The weekends are no different to the week, however, there tends to be only 3 or 4 of us working but between me, Laura, Bruce (Laura's dog, and chief morale supporter) and Matt we’ve got it down to a fine art! From the vet round to mucking out, it’s always all systems go at Byerley, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My favourite foaling season ties in with my favourite furry graduates, as they were both born in my first season at Byerley. A filly by Adaay, out of a Mr Clifford owned mare, and a Fulbright colt who I nicknamed Nugget as a foal. Now the Adaay was the sweetest filly I have ever met and like her dam was just a dream in every sense. I was lucky enough to do a lot of her groundwork before she went off into training. As for Nugget, he is the love of my life (my fiancè knows he comes 2nd to Nugget!) and at every opportunity I see him for cuddles. After he spent a bit of time in the field with Coole Cody and Annsam, both of which are multiple race winners, I've told Nugget he has no excuses not to win a race for himself.

But my list of favourite mares continues to grow each season. From Madame Rouge and Nuptials to Break Time and Kaminari, they all have their own quirks and personalities and have all had foals with the best attitudes. Outside of stud life, my life is still very much lived around horses. From running my own small business called Lucky Soles, to riding out for a 5* eventer, it's safe to say horses run my life!

I'm sure you've all noticed by now from Laura's previous blogs, I love to bake. From sprinkle cake to savoury swirls there's not a lot I won't try and not a lot the stud staff won't eat! In fact I'm pretty sure I'm only employed for my baking skills. I also love to play cricket in the summer for our local team Lacock, but once again I'm pretty sure I'm only on the team for my baking.

Racing has been the forefront of my life since I was 16 and I have been lucky enough to grow up with and know some amazing jockeys. Josephine Gordon has been a long-time friend of mine as in my eyes is such an underrated jockey. She’s kind and compassionate, giving youngsters and nervous horses the best chances possible. On the jump side of racing been inspired by rides from Adam Wedge and Tom O’Brien when they both rode Coole Cody at Cheltenham because it just shows that determination and hard work really does pay off. Plus I've been lucky enough to go racing numerous times on behalf of Wayne and Sarah Clifford, with visits to the Festival and November meeting which were incredible experiences. 

So there you have it, a bit about me, stud life and my favourite Byerley graduates. It’s been an exciting start to the season and although it’s going to be busy, the class of 2024 are sure to be just as wild and mischievous as previous years.