Blending practical and academic development

MY name is Megan Hunter

and I am from Ball-ynahinch, County Down. I spent my childhood with horses but only considered them as a hobby growing up. This was until I attended a CAFRE open day in my final year of high school which made me consider a career in the equine industry.

My mum was hesitant at first but after visiting CAFRE she was incredibly supportive of my choice to study a Bachelor of Science in Equine Management. The facilities and the hands-on practical approach underpinned by the theoretical learning really appealed to me.

During my time at CAFRE I had the opportunity to visit America to work at a summer camp, which I would not have undertaken without the confidence I gained in my first year.

I loved being involved in the Campus Breeding Unit and this led me to consider taking an extra year to complete the Diploma in Professional Practice – Industrial Placement. I secured a placement position at Stallion AI Services, one of the leading studs for semen collection and analysis in the UK.

This was an excellent ex-perience and furthered my career options, allowing me to determine that I wanted to continue to work closely with the breeding industry while having my sights set on working in equine education.

At Stallion AI Services I also

developed a passion for con-servation while working with their sister company Gemini Genetics, a passion I aim to develop through my future research.

After graduating with a First-class Honours BSc (Hons) I returned to Stallion AI Services working as a stud groom and laboratory assistant for two years before recently moving to work as a yard technician in a college to begin my ambition of working in education.

Alongside this I began studying part-time for a Master’s degree in Equine Science after receiving inspiration and encouragement from staff members at CAFRE. This has been incredibly en-joyable so far, as I love learning new things and being challenged academically.

My ongoing ambitions are to publish my BSc dissertation along with my MSc dissertation in equine and breeding specific scientific journals. Following my

MSc, I aim to return to equine industry to expand on my practical experience in the breeding sector for a time.

My medium-term goal is to then undertake a PhD related to conservation of rare equine breeds. My studies at CAFRE Enniskillen campus were instr-umental in opening these career opportunities for me.