By Laura Jane Martin, BSc (Hons) Equine Management graduate from Enniskillen Campus

Hi, I am Laura Jane Martin and last June I graduated with my BSc (Hons) in Equine Management from CAFRE’s Enniskillen Campus. CAFRE’s equine degree programme is validated by the University of Ulster and the qualification is widely acclaimed across Ireland, Great Britain and further afield.

Achieving my Honours Degree was the culmination of a challenging but brilliant three years for me. I particularly enjoyed doing the research for my final thesis. My research was based on equine obesity which has become a big problem over the last few years. What was amazing was the lack of awareness on the topic area within the equine sector. So raising awareness will be a key issue here going forward. This knowledge will prove very beneficial in my future career. I was also delighted at the graduation ceremony to be awarded the Vaughan Trust Award and Tullyraine House Cup for the top final year student as well as the Irish Draught Horse Society Cup for the best final year dissertation. So yes, a very busy but rewarding year!

Now I am living in the States where I am one of two successful candidates, selected internationally for the prestigious Kentucky Equine Research (KER) Internship. This programme is very difficult to get onto and the KER receive applications from all over the world, so I am absolutely delighted with this opportunity. During my year at Kentucky I hope build upon what I learned on my BSc Equine Management course and to develop my equine research skills. So it looks like it is going to be another very busy but hopefully fruitful year!

Laura Jane Martin being presented the Irish Draught Horse Society Cup by Mr. Tom McGuigan, Chairman of the Irish Draught Horse Society.