My Name is Tony Mcmanmon and I am a self-employed course builder based in Ballyteague Co. KIldare. I started off in the industry as an apprentice to Peter McCreery at the age of 14. I was a heavy apprentice to say the least and only managed to have eight rides on the flat. I spent three years in McCreery’s riding out, mucking out and was in charge of the upkeep of the schooling fences and hurdles. The upkeep of the fences included sourcing birch, packing and repairing, and eventually constructing new ones.
After I served my time with Peter I spent two years in England working for national hunt trainer Peter Milner and I was lucky enough to lead up in the 1970 Grand National.
When I returned home my brother Stanley was working for Punchestown Racecourse and Billie Mclearnen was looking to recruit ground staff for the festival, Stan recommend me as he knew I had some experience. On the last day of the festival I was approached by a man called Tommy Brennan, a renowned course designer, and he asked me to help with the pony club horse trails which were due to start the next day.
From there I worked closely with Tommy for the next 40 odd years. He would design the course and I would build it. In the early eighties, a good friend of mine Pat Timmons, who is the head groundsman at Naas Racecourse, approached me and asked me to supply birch and construct hurdles and fences for Naas. From there I began to supply to Punchestown, Fairyhouse and Navan to name a few.
The thing I love most about my job is being outdoors. I’ve never been one to sit behind a desk and I love that I can work with my hands and be outside. My job differs, I could be working on a two star cross county course for a week and then the next week could be a top NH meeting. I do admit it can be hard physical work with days in the bog bundling birch but it has its perks.
I was very lucky to be chosen to build the 2008 Olympic cross country course alongside Tommy Brennan and got to spend eight weeks in China. The job does require long days, a lot of travelling and some overnight stays as you could be based anywhere in the country but it’s worth it when you see a grade one chaser jump something you have made or when a top event rider commends you on your work.
To do this job you must be physically strong and be good with your hands. My advice is to do woodwork or carpentry in school as you need to have a bit of flair and technique when working with wood, then find a course builder or designer willing to take you on and teach you as there is a lot more to it than just putting up a jump. Having knowledge of riding horses is a huge asset as it helps you understand strides and presentation. The best piece of advice I was giving was to make any jump inviting so that the horse wants to jump it.
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