His passion for horses combined with a growing knowledge of equine nutrition has been the key to a  successful first year on the road. Sales representative and feed consultant, Conor Sheridan reflects on how his first year working for Bluegrass Horse Feeds has been.

It's hard to believe it's been a year already since I joined the Bluegrass Horse Feed team and getting to know more about the company and the history of the Mill. I’ve been using Bluegrass Horse Feeds at my home yard, Brosna View Stables, since 2008, but I had little knowledge on the story behind the company. It has been great to learn more about the milling and cooking processes involved in producing feed and to meet the team involved.

All of this tied in with the 20th Anniversary celebrations of the Bluegrass Horse Feed brand. We had a launch of our collectors’ magazine "The Inside Scoop" at Balmoral Horse Show, which coincidentally, was my first time at the show. Hard to think of a better occasion to attend.

Throughout the year I’ve been lucky to have a great team around me that I was able to bounce off if and when I ever needed a helping hand, with various aspects of the job. Whether it was Ashley for her understanding of the science or Craig with all his experience from his time on the job. We work well as a team and I think that’s a big contributing factor to the success of the brand.

Having Catherine Whitehouse over from Kentucky Equine Research with us, for Dublin Horse Show was another highlight. Getting to pick her brains for a week was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the scientific minutiae that goes on in the research behind our products.

Throughout the year I was able to follow the success of our sponsored riders, trainers and owners, it’s brilliant to see that our feed is fuelling these champions. Following the progress of our trainers and keeping up with their success has been a great source of professional pride. That's especially true for smaller new trainers coming onboard and trying out our feed. Seeing their results improve and hearing back from them about how happy they are, really gives a sense of pride in the job. There's good to be done in this role. Helping fuel horses to perform at their best just doesn't get old!

This year we were able to achieve a rare feat by feeding the winners of 4 of the 5 Grand National races. The American, Welsh, Irish and English Grand National. On top of that we were involved in the feeding of both the 6 & 7 Year Old Irish Sport Horse Studbook showjumping leagues, just to name a few successes, there were plenty more.

Heading into next year, I want to continue building on our relationship’s with riders, trainers, owners and breeders, whilst continuing to deliver the best possible service that we can as a feed and nutrition company.

I’m looking forward to 2019, wishing all our customers success for the year ahead.