Kiltale hurling club can be proud of their achievements in recent years both on and off the field. Development work has seen the construction of a new club house and dressing rooms, which is the envy of many of their peers. On the pitch, the club has picked up silverware at underage and junior level. The club's underage structure is something that has been developed following a lot of hard work among members. Sponsors of the under-12 side is(Deleted Glenburnie Stables) well-known horse trainer Ger Lyons and his wife Lynne of Glenburnie Racing Stables, who spoke to the Royal County GAA yearbook about the sponsorship deal and life in the area. Kiltale may have not won the senior hurling championship since the eighties, but that wait could be nearing an end, if the work being placed on the underage structure is anything to go by. Meath hurling has made great strides in recent years particularly at club level and the Kiltale club have played their part in that transition, much to the delight of all their locals. Lynne revealed that the club approached the yard about sponsoring the under-12 team and with one son that was involved in the side; she admitted that they were only happy to do so. "We had no problem at all sponsoring the team and were very pleased to be asked. We have one lad involved with the under-12 side and he is very well looked after like the rest of the kids," said Lynne. "Hurling is a sport that I did not know too much about before I came to Ireland,  but I have come to realise that it is a great social outlet for both kids and adults, while people are very passionate about Gaelic games," said the Scottish native. (I don't remember saying that!!) Horse racing has been in the blood of Ger and Lynne all their lives, but their first big step into the training world happened in 1992, when they acquired (deleted "the")Glenburnie Stables. Glenburnie Stables is a well-equipped self-contained training establishment. It boasts a 6.5 furlong all weather gallop, a 2.5 deep sand gallop, 4 horse-walkers and its own schooling area. There are 2 American style barns which house 20 horses each and there are an additional 29 loose-boxes. Glenburnie stands on 60 acres of land, split into grass paddocks and 2 sand paddocks. There is also a top of the range Hydrotherapy Spa for horses requiring treatment. The yard is 20 miles from Dublin at Dunsany, Kiltale, Co Meath and is within one hour of the principal Irish Racecourses. Over the last few years, racing has become more popular in Ireland and numbers attending race meetings have increased dramatically. "We now have 70 stables at the yard and these are full almost all year round. At the end of the flat season, things can become quieter. We train only flat horses," she added. (Deleted breed jump horses!! We don't breed any horses!!) Some of the stables principle races won in recent years are (deleted Flat as Power gold cup is jumps!!) Power Gold Cup (Gr 1), Fairyhouse, Mike and Lee Roarty H'cap Hdle, Punchestown Festival over the jumps and on the Flat they have won Rochestown Stakes (listed), Leopardstown, The Birdcatcher Premier Nursery, Naas, The Blackthorn EBF Premier Nursery, Leopardstown and more recently the Group 3 Ballycorus Stakes with An Tadh at Leopardstown. With Ireland's great breeding tradition it is no surprise that the country boasts a thriving racing industry and a visit to the country is not complete without a trip to one of the 27 unique racecourses. The flat season runs from March until November with National Hunt (Jump) races taking place throughout the year. At present all racing is on turf. Flat racing is run over distances ranging from five furlongs (1000m) to 2 1/4miles (We never say 18 furlongs!!). The minimum National Hunt trip is two miles (3200m) with races being run to over 4 miles (6600m). Ireland is famous for its racing festivals, such as the seven days at Galway, a meeting that can test the stamina of racegoers as well and horses. Ireland is one of the few countries to have independent bookmakers both on and off-course as well as Tote Betting. Prize money in Ireland has rocketed in recent years from 17.78 million in 1996 to just over E51 million in 2005 and Ireland has the best average purses in Europe. Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM)  - a division of Horse Racing Ireland - was established by the Irish Government in order to promote Ireland as a premier source of thoroughbred horses. ITM is a non-trading, non-profit-making organisation. Because ITM is (We sounded like I was saying it!!) funded partly by the Irish Government and partly by all sectors of the Irish bloodstock industry, it can provide all the impartial advice and assistance that is required when purchasing a thoroughbred horse. "Irish trainers have a great record both here and in UK. (Deleted England as there is racing in Scotland and Wales as well!!) It is such a great country to train horses and the conditions are usually ideal to help get the horse in peak condition before a race," added Lynne. Gaelic games and Horse racing have many similarities. Not only do a GAA team train and prepare for an important match, just like a horse does for a race, but also the social aspects of both are similar. Going to GAA matches or a race meeting are social events that many Irish people take part in and both can be seen as a family day out in many cases. "There are many similarities between both, and many GAA supporters are also interested in horse racing, both are good fun to follow," she revealed.( I wouldn't say that but I don't mind you keeping it in if it looks better!!) People may think that the life of a horse trainer is dedicated to outdoor work, but Lynne pointed out that she is involved in the administration side of the business and that can take up a lot of time. "There is a massive amount of paper work involved with every horse that comes into the yard and everything has to be kept in order or there can be lots of problems." Employing 20 people at the stables means that Ger Lyons Racing  is one of the bigger employers in the area and with success on the track a regular occurrence, the Lyons' family look set to be involved in horse training for many years to come. Tweet

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