In the latest in the series of interviews with Club 1541 members, we sat down with former student Ed Partridge to hear about his life after King's which has lead him running his own Bloodstock Agency as he finds and rears future winners in the world of Horse Racing.

Ed, thank you so much for agreeing to take part. First of all, when were you at King’s?

I started in Upper Shell in 2001. I stayed all the way through to the end of Sixth Form, leaving in 2008.

Which House were you in?

Serlo, we had a great group of sportsmen in our year and I remember winning the inter-house sports competitions regularly.

What are your favourite memories from your time at King’s?

Lots of great memories from my time at King's that I look back on fondly, so it's hard to pinpoint just a few. At the time I loved the opportunity to play lots of sports on Archdeacon, especially rugby fixtures against local rivals; they were great days. As I’ve grown up and matured, I know for certain that I took services in Gloucester Cathedral. The atmosphere and history is something special. 

What did you do after leaving school?

Immediately after school I saved to go travelling to Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand and had a great time. I had a place at Bristol UWE for the following year, which I started but then dropped out after six months. Continuing formal education wasn’t really for me. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life as up to this point nothing had really inspired me.

How did you get into the Bloodstock Industry?

My hobby since the age of 15 or 16 was Horse Racing, so having the home of National Hunt Racing in Cheltenham on the door step was ideal! Growing up I'd never really thought about working within the sport, or indeed whether it was possible for someone that didn’t ride. None of my family are at all ‘Horsey’ so it was all completely unknown to me how the industry worked. I saw an advert for a job of ’Stud Hand’ at Tweenhills (Hartpury, Gloucester) and decided to give them a call, I knew absolutely nothing - the closest I’d ever been to a horse was at the races!! I spent about six  months there unpaid whilst they put up with my incompetence and I learnt about the job, the horses and the role. Eventually they offered me a full time job and I stayed for another 18 months, by which time I’d really grown both professionally and as a person. After Tweenhills I worked at Watership Down, which is one of the most high profile farms in the world of thoroughbred breeding. I had to spend sometime out of work due to ill health, but once I was fit to work I gathered more experience within the industry, working for bloodstock agents, at the sales and for different stud farmers and horse trainers.

What exactly does your job entail and what do you love about it?

So i’m currently Co-Director of my own Bloodstock Agency ‘Valentine Bloodstock’ and I own and run a small farm in North Devon alongside my wife Lizzie; who was a professional jockey before retiring to have our first child. The business we run essentially comprises three elements: we buy, sell and rear young racehorses for clients / owners  who will then race those horses in the UK, France or Ireland. We have approximately 12 horses on the farm at a time, they arrive when they’re foals (<1 year old) and they leave us when they’re nearly three years old. We monitor their development and keep them healthy until they’re ready to be ridden, usually just before they reach two years old. We then ‘break them in’ which is teaching them to be ridden. 

Nearly all the horses we buy, sell or rear are purchased directly from farms across France by myself and Lizzie. So the job involves a lot of travelling, I go to France nearly 15 times a year, from Paris down to Pau in the south. I’ll spend a lot of the Spring and Summer months in a car driving around France trying to find farms to buy foals. 

We also purchase Horses-In-Training from France, I’ll watch all the races that interest me from the other side of the channel on a daily basis, trying to spot horses with the potential to do well in England or Ireland. If I have motivated clients willing to spend, then I will be speaking to contacts in France trying to buy those horses. 

My job and life as whole is fairly full on, especially with a young child thrown into the mix. When you run this type of business you work 365 days a year, but the thing is I absolutely love it and using the old cliche ‘If you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life’ that’s how I feel everyday. I couldn’t do this unless it meant absolutely everything to me. It’s a joy seeing the horses develop as you thought they would, having owners that are pleased gives you a real kick, especially when those horses go on to be successful on the racecourse. 

What does the future hold? (Both in work and outside of work)

We’ve been operating for around two and a half years now and its gone really well so far, I suppose a continuation of that is what we hope the future holds. How that looks in terms of goals, I’m not so sure, as long as I’m happy, the family is happy and the horses continue to thrive under our care and be successful, things will be going well. My personal goal - which I kept in my head - when i started at Tweenhills was to buy a horse that competes in the Cheltenham Gold Cup by the age of 40. I’m 34 this year, so i might have that horse in my care right now!

And finally, if you could give one piece of advice to the current crop of Sixth Formers about to join the real world, what would it be?

When you find something you love doing and are passionate about it, work relentlessly hard at it, become a master in it, become obsessive, you’ll get everything out that you put in.

When you begin to feel like you're getting somewhere, make sure you stick to the principles that helped you reach your current point on the journey, it's the hard work no one see's that matters the most.

And MOST importantly, make sure that you are content doing whatever you choose to do. Some people won't achieve their goals or ambitions immediately , some of you may not even know what you want to do. Life is meant to be enjoyed , so be happy, be grateful for the small things and keep a positive mindset always, never put extrinsic goals ahead of intrinsic happiness.

Thank you Ed and good luck for the future!

Ed has already agreed to be part of our careers network, so if this is an industry that you or your child are interested in, please contact George Smith via g.smith@thekingsschool.co.uk