An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July / August 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie 38 | STEPHEN BURKE EQUITATION SCHOOL CPL BY CPL LEE COYLE M y name is Stephen Burke and I am a groomsman serving with the Equitation School based McKee Bks Dublin. I have had an interest in horses from a young age and getting to do this for a living is really rewarding. My interest for joining the DF started back in 2012, at the time I was working as a personal trainer whilst attending college studying European studies and Lan- guages. I was interested in having a job that was different then the norm, so I began looking at the Garda Siochana and the DF. At the time the Garda were not enlisting until the follow- ing year but the DF had a recruitment opportunity. I did a lot of research about careers in the DF, it looked like a great fit for what I was looking for and asked my fiancé about what she thought of me enlisting, and she encouraged me to go for it. I was enlisted on22 Oct 2012 in Gormanston Camp as part of the 48 Rec Platoon from the 27 Inf Bn. My first few weeks were a culture shock with it being more difficult that I had expected, more so the mental aspects. It was also strange to not know anybody who I had enlisted with, but after a few weeks we all settled in and bonds were made, this helped us through the difficult times. The friends I made during my training are some of the best, with one of them becoming my best man and my sons godfather. When I finished my training, I was posted to An Chead Chathlan Coisithe (1 Inf Bn) Galway, which has a great tradition of Irish speakers. My first career course in the DF was a Basic Radio Operators Course in Jul 2013, and soon after I applied for an Irish Language Course in May 2014, to help me with serving within this Irish speaking unit. I also completed a Computer Course and a 12.7 HMG Course over the next year. In 2016 I travelled overseas with the 54 Inf Gp UNDOF, this gave me the chance to complete overseas qualification courses like Military First Responders (MFR) Course, Army Fighting Vehicle Recognition (AFV) YE Course, and we also got to Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) exer- cises which was really interesting. Being away from home on that tour was difficult as a had a young son at home, but it was a great experience. While serving overseas I applied for a transfer to the Equi- tation School due to my interest in horses and I also wanted to be stationed in Dublin. I was successful with my trans- fer, so when I returned home from overseas I was posted straight into the Equitation School. The following year I completed an NCOs course and my initial Groomsman Course, and I was promoted to Cpl soon after in Feb 2018. My role as a Cpl Groomsman within the Equitation School is a busy appointment, with many daily and sea- sonal taskings, with every week being different. On a daily basis my tasks range from ensuring the groomsmen have lunge each horse assigned to them, mucked out, clean tac, gone to paddocks, and clippings, we even make our own feed on site for the horses. We are a proud unit and keeping a high standard is very important, especially while attend- ing show jumping events. We attend national and international events on a regular basis and it is up to the groomsmen detailed for the event to organise transport, the route to be used to event, and even the entry tickets. As the NCO I am ultimately respon- sible for the care of the horse while at an event. Also as an NCO in the unit I am also required to instruct our groomsmen and help them upskill their equine educa- tion. We do this by internal and external instructors, with our external instructors teaching our grooms- men up to Fetac Level 3 equine first aid. I am currently instructing on our latest grooms course. I am really proud to serve with the equitation school, especially travel- ing abroad to other countries and seeing Irish horses compete against horses from around the world. The DF has given me the chance to turn my interest for horses into a career.

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