Flying Start Q & A With Brianne Sharp

In this ongoing series in the TDN, current Godolphin Flying Start trainees catch up with the program's graduates. Today Samantha Cripps sits down with Brianne Sharp, Market Research Coordinator at Godolphin's Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.

SC: How did you get into horseracing?

BS: My interest in racing was first sparked when I was 16. My mom and I were channel surfing one day and we happened upon the 2003 Belmont Stakes. I hadn't seen a horse race before and had never been particularly interested in horses. Funny Cide was going for the Triple Crown. The television coverage was fantastic. It really drew me in. We cheered for Funny Cide to win. Even though he got beat, I had experienced the thrill of racing and I was hooked. From that day on, I read everything I could to learn about horse racing. That summer there was a show on CBS every Saturday called the “NTRA Summer Racing Tour,” showing the major races from across the country. I would look forward to it all week. By the time the Breeders' Cup rolled around, I knew all the horses and I was a die-hard fan.

The next year I followed Smarty Jones and he became my all-time favorite horse. So when he retired, I asked my parents if we could take a summer vacation to Kentucky to meet him at Three Chimneys. We drove from Arkansas to Lexington and spent a week visiting all the farms and seeing horses that I had only read about or watched on television. It was a surreal experience. I knew after that week that one day I wanted to move here and be a part of this industry. At one of the farms, I picked up a brochure for the Kentucky Equine Management Internship, which sounded incredible. I decided to pursue it after college to try to get my foot in the door. I eventually learned about the Godolphin Flying Start program, and I made that my long-term goal.

SC: What is your role at Godolphin?

BS: I am the Market Research Coordinator for the stallion department at Jonabell Farm. The majority of what I do is research and data analysis, keeping track of Darley stallions' progeny, finding facts and statistics to use in our stallion marketing, and helping with social media. I have always loved statistics and working with data, so being able to combine that with horseracing is the perfect job for me. Over the past couple of years I've developed more of an interest in computer science and writing code, which has helped me a lot in doing research. I also give tours here at Jonabell, which I really enjoy, and I've recently joined the Horse Country Board.

SC: Is it important to get new fans for the industry? How do you feel we can do this?

BS: To attract new fans, we have to evolve and improve our public image going forward. In my opinion, the number one public perception issue is the whip. I think eventually, we're going to have to stop using it. It's inevitable, and we can either wait until we are forced into it, or we can be proactive about it. I've talked to many people who are turned off by whipping and find it hard to watch horseracing because of it. It's very hard to convince people that these horses love to run; their next question is always “then why do you have to whip them?” I think phasing out whipping would bring a huge amount of positive press to the industry, which is something we desperately need right now.

SC: How do you think Horse County is helping get new people involved?

BS: As someone who came to Kentucky many times as a tourist before working here, I am very passionate about tourism and welcoming visitors. Several farms, including Jonabell, have been doing tours for years, but we never promoted it. It wasn't even on our website. You had to call the farm directly and ask for a tour, so very few people knew about it. Horse Country is now doing the work of promoting equine tourism in Kentucky and getting the word out to people that you can visit the horse farms. The Bourbon Trail had 1.4 million visitors last year, so there are huge numbers of tourists coming to the area. We just need to find a way to make them aware that they can also visit a horse farm while they're here. If we can get them onto the farm, we can educate them about our industry, show them how well the horses are cared for, and answer the questions they have about welfare, safety, aftercare, etc. We can convert people and create new fans through tours. We just need to get them here.

SC: Why should someone apply for Godolphin Flying Start?

BS: There are so many reasons. You get to meet and have lectures from the best people in the business. And you learn so much from the other people in your group. Spending two years with 11 other people who share a similar passion but have such varied backgrounds, experiences, and areas of expertise is one of the best parts of the course. Not only do you make lifelong friends, you also have a network of people all over the world. The program really opens your eyes. You come out of the program with a good overall understanding of how the industry works around the world. There is nothing else like it.

SC: What is your educational background?

BS: I did the evening MBA program at the University of Kentucky. It was a great experience and I'd highly recommend it. It gave me a general understanding of the various business disciplines with classes in marketing, finance, accounting, strategy, etc. I found the statistics and IT classes particularly useful for my current role. I was one of only two people from the horse industry among the 40+ students in my program, so it was also great to spend time with and learn from the other students from so many different industries.

SC: What is your biggest piece of advice for someone who is applying for the Godolphin Flying Start?

BS: Make sure you have a passion for the industry first. If you don't have a passion, it's not going to be the right fit for you. If you have the passion, my advice is to read every book you can get your hands on. When people ask me for advice on how to prepare to apply for Flying Start, I always send them a reading list of books and articles. You can learn so much about the industry–racing, breeding, pedigrees, history, funding, economics. The more you learn, the better prepared you'll be.

Samantha Cripps is a Michigan native with a Certificate in Horse Management from Michigan State University. Before the GFS program, she was a veterinary technician for Dr. Benjamin Stivers at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute.