Amber Gray isn't letting anything get in her way to international success

The 23-year-old who grew up in Ireland was named 2023/24 Young Woman of the year at the Gulgong Show and recently was selected as an Irish National Stud Scholarship recipient - an extraordinarily rare opportunity. For people that know Amber however, it is no surprise she's hitting home runs from every ball coming her way.

Amber grew up in Ireland and made the move to Sydney at 15-years-old, but made another move to Gulgong two years ago when she realised she couldn't get what she wanted in the big city.

"I lived in Sydney, down in the Hills Shire area, once I finished high school I started a Bachelor of Animal Science in the Hawkesbury. I've nearly completed that now," Amber said.

"I did a couple of jobs in and around there, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. I think COVID hit and I was like, 'Right, that's it. This is the time to move because if you don't move now, you'll never move out.'"

Amber worked for a time at a trail riding centre and was on the university's livestock team. Anything to be around horses. After moving to the region she came across Temerity Park, a thoroughbred agistment and broodmare services outfit- located at Beryl and operated by Tj and Greg Le Breton. Not one to waste any time, Amber asked if they needed a hand, and according to Tj, the timing could not have been better.

"My husband and I [Greg] have been doing this... for ourselves for the last 10, 15 years. And we just opened up to be commercial for other horses, and Amber turned up about a week after we started," Tj laughed.

"It was my full-time job, and it filled up very quickly and we got very busy and Amber turned up just at the right time."

Every day at Temerity Park for Amber is different, but she's happy as long as she's learning and gets to spend time with the horses.

"It's pretty varied, so everything from making up the feed, to handling foals, bringing mares in for the vets to get scanned, and some mowing - even sheep work," Amber laughed.

Amber recently completed a Cert 3 in horse breeding at TAFE and, not happy to stop there, was looking for new opportunities right away.

"She [Amber] is very enthusiastic and puts herself into everything. When she started here I thought 'she wants so much more than I can really offer her'," Tj said.

Amber travelled to Newcastle for a racing industry networking event when she got chatting to some of the well-connected attendees who mentioned that there are a number of scholarships she should apply for.

"It was one of the first things I did. I went online and searched for the scholarships. I applied to a couple and got through to all the interview processes and then got the news that I was successful," Amber said.

"I was on an emotional rollercoaster. I was actually here [Temerity Park] when I got the news. We had the vet here just doing a couple of scans. I had to contain my excitement and tears while the vet was here trying to stay composed for a little bit. It was so stressful, but to be told that I was going was a relief."

Amber will embark on a six-month-long trip to her homeland of Ireland and spend time at the Irish National Stud where she will receive a certificate in thoroughbred breeding management at the end of it.

Just 28 students from around the world were selected to receive the scholarship and it just so happens that Amber is no stranger to the Irish National Stud, having travelled there as a youngster to look at the horses.

"It's a little bit nerve-wracking going back. But all my family back home are very excited to see me. A lot of them haven't seen me since I was 15," she said.

"When I was a small child in Dublin, I've always loved the horses. A lot of people had horses around and I'd always want to go and pat them. But mum and dad couldn't really afford like riding lessons and stuff like that, being from a working class and also living in the city, it's virtually impossible to see a horse anywhere.

"So when we moved out to the countryside, it was the first thing I did was like, 'where can I find horses that I can go and hang out with for a little bit?' I found a stable just down the road from where we were living and made my parents drive me there as much as possible.

"I didn't come from a very horsey background, but they were very supportive and they put up with the muddy boots and the stinky car afterwards."

Amber doesn't take for granted that her selection comes off the back of her intensely hard work, going up against more privileged students who have grown up in large, wealthy studs.

"It's a huge opportunity to be able to do it... When I was chatting to the people who selected me, they were saying it can lead to other bigger scholarships.

"From there, I'll be able to maybe one day run my own stud, which would be nice.