Daughter of Darren Weir’s plan to tackle the horse racing industry

22-year-old Taige Weir is in her final year at Marcus Oldham and has grand plans for her future. Here’s how she plans to make her own way in the horse racing industry.

Taige Weir is in her final year of a Bachelor of Agribusiness degree at Marcus Oldham. She plans to follow in her father's footsteps as a racehorse trainer. Picture: Zoe Phillips

DAUGHTER of famed thoroughbred trainer Darren Weir, 22-year-old Taige Weir hopes to carve out her own career as a horse trainer.

Taige returned to Marcus Oldham College in Geelong this week, where she will complete her final year of a bachelor of agribusiness.

She is part of the first cohort that will complete the college’s new two-year accelerated business course.

“The racing industry for women is really hard to get into,” Taige said. “It is changing now, but … having my last name and being a female, it’s going to be hard.

“Doing my own studies, coming to Marcus Oldham, this is me. I’ve done this.”

Despite her Melbourne Cup-winning father’s disqualification from racing in 2019, and his current court proceedings, Taige said she was as dedicated as ever to earning all the qualifications needed to be a success, both with horses and in business.

She completed a diploma in equine management from Marcus in 2018, then pursued a degree to gain more skills.

“Becoming a horse trainer you need the business side more than the horse skills,” she said. “It used to be horsemanship through and through. But you also need to be able to manage people, and the HR side is a massive contribution.”

Marcus Oldham principal Dr Simon Livingstone said higher education was increasingly important for people who wanted to progress in the equine industry.

“The equine sector is transitioning from a sector where tertiary qualifications weren’t seen as important,” he said. “It is following what farm management went through. There are lots of jobs in the sector, but to be at management level, you really need that tertiary degree.”

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