Dayna among finalists for Employee Awards

We are delighted that Tweenhills Foaling Manager Dayna Walsh has reached the finalists for the Stud category at the 2026 Godolphin Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, a year after our Stud Manager Ivo Thomas won the Leadership Award. 

Dayna is in her second spell working at Tweenhills and aren’t we glad to have her back! 

Dayna started at Tweenhills in 2019 before completing the Irish National Stud Thoroughbred Breeding Management Course. She then gained a wealth of foaling experience in Ireland and Australia before returning to Tweenhills ahead of the 2025 breeding season as Foaling Manager. With 67 foals born in 2025, Dayna was critical to another successful year for the stud.

Dayna started having riding lessons aged 10 and went into horse management through her A-levels. She has been working with racehorses ever since. She worked in racing for four years, for Brian Barr and Neil Mulholland, as well as with mares and foals which led to an interest in the breeding side. 

Dayna says it was a hard decision to leave Tweenhills first time around to complete the INS Course but proved well worth it. It was a great learning experience and enabled her to make connections with people also trying to find their way in the industry. It also cemented her love for foaling.

Dayna made an even bigger decision to head to Australia to work for Peter O’Brien at Segenhoe Stud, getting straight into the thick of the foaling season. Due to stay for 6 months, she ended up staying for 18 months after enjoying the work so much! She gained lots of foaling experience but also worked with some top-class racehorses in the spelling yard like Amelia’s Jewel and Sunshine In Paris. 

Dayna also said she fell back in love with yearlings at Segenhoe after an injury that had left her lacking in confidence for a couple of years. With that in mind, Dayna taking a million-dollar lot through the ring at Magic Millions not only bought a tear to her eye but to many an eye at Tweenhills!

What also gets Dayna emotional is delivering healthy babies and she’s been instrumental in the safe arrival of nearly 70 foals this year. Clearly, Dayna can handle responsibility, but her empathetic side is just at vital, with both horses and fellow humans. She also fully justified David’s decision to re-employ Dayna in a more senior position – not that it would have been a gamble! 

Dayna thrives in working as part of a team, and says she’s always been surrounded by good support wherever she has been. She’s certainly a key part of any team herself, aided by, in her own words, her “silly sense of humour and kindness towards people”. 

Dayna says: “I believe I thrive so well in my job due to my caring nature, as it makes me want to get the best outcome for any situation, which is certainly a huge strength when foaling mares. There’s no better feeling than having a newborn foal and a healthy mare.” 

Dayna says one of her biggest challenges has been believing in her own capabilities but adds that having a supportive team around her has been crucial. We know Dayna is exceptional in her role and will continue to thrive in this industry. 

The best part of the job for Dayna is helping foal the maiden mares, guiding them through as safe and easy labour as possible. But also, then nurturing those foals and seeing them flourish into racehorses, some of them able to win big races. It’s particularly rewarding for Dayna when they return to the farm as broodmares too – many of the mares that she has foaled this year, she knew as younger horses from her first stint at Tweenhills. 

She has an Italian Greyhound puppy called Pickle, who she enjoys taking to new places, and if there’s any free time, you can sometimes find Dayna playing croquet!