The Jockey Club, British horseracing’s largest employer which operates 15 iconic racecourses, is launching a drive to give more young people access to horses after discovering 40% of 12-18 year olds in the UK would consider a career working with them.
A UK-wide study into children and young people’s attitudes towards horses reveals that while 59% would like to interact with them more, accessibility and perceived cost are major barriers. Nearly three in five young people (58%) said they believed it would be too costly to pay for sessions involving horses, while more than a third (34%) blame the fact that no horses are stabled near them.
While the research highlighted that 40% of 12-18 year-olds would consider a career working with horses, 74% have little to no knowledge of the career opportunities available to them in the industry. Indeed, almost half (43%) of young people said they wanted more information on careers working with horses and a further 70% admitted to not knowing where to start with finding information.
As part of a long-term ambition to make racing and horses more accessible for young people, The Jockey Club has partnered with insurance broker and risk management firm Gallagher to host Youth Experience Days which give children from some of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities an opportunity to visit racecourses, meet trainers and spend time with leading figures from around the industry.
Last week 25 children from the Rio Ferdinand Foundation spent the day behind the scenes at Cheltenham Racecourse and at Gold Cup and Grand National-winning trainer Jonjo O’Neill’s impressive stables. Attendees had the opportunity to get up close and feed horses, watch them work on the gallops, train in the swimming pool and hear from legends of the sport like Sir AP McCoy and Barry Geraghty, two of racing’s best ever jockeys.
They also learnt about the opportunities available within racing and discovered what a future career in the industry could look like for them - from a racehorse trainer, horse massage therapist, stable staff as well as marketing, sponsorship, finance and communications roles.
The horseracing industry is responsible for 85,000 jobs in Britain and is worth around £4.1billion to the UK economy.
Nevin Truesdale, Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, said: “It’s really encouraging that two fifths of young people would consider a career working with horses, but what has become really clear is that we need to give them more access to horses and racing.
“Our mission at The Jockey Club is to power racing’s future, but we can’t do that without inspiring people to want to work in the industry and that starts with doing more to share the excellent opportunities that exist within horseracing.
“The Youth Experience Days we are hosting with Gallagher are an example of our commitment to the next generation and I hope that everyone who takes part in them leaves with a better understanding of how they can get involved, regardless of whether they’ve spent any time with horses before or not.”
The survey, conducted among 1,000 12-18 year olds across the UK, also highlighted the age group as real animal lovers, with 87% describing themselves as passionate about animal welfare and 60% stating that a job in the industry would be good for their own mental health.
Asked what appeals most to them about horses, 58% described them as ‘beautiful’, while 45% noted their ‘friendliness’ and 34% described them as making them ‘feel calm’.
Truesdale added: “The calming effect and positive impact on our wellbeing that horses can have is well known to those who regularly spend time with these beautiful animals.
“So, while it’s fantastic that more than one in three 12-18 year olds have identified that, it’s really important that we and others who work in the industry do all that we can to give as many people as possible the chance to experience it for themselves.”
Gary Stannett, Chief Executive Officer at The Rio Ferdinand Foundation, added: “Our mission at the Rio Ferdinand Foundation is to create opportunities and pathways for young people and help them realise their true potential; and initiatives like The Jockey Club’s Gallagher experience day allow us to do just that.
“By providing them with access to racing, our children are given the chance to not only learn about new career opportunities and interact with animals in a way that most of them have never done before but also to build confidence by considering a pathway they might have thought was closed to them.”
Praise Wellington, a 17 year old from Tameside in Manchester, took part in the Youth Experience Day and said: “It’s been such fun, I’ve never been to a stable before and it’s been very insightful. I’m learning a lot about horses and how they’re kept. They’re very much like humans with different personalities – they have treadmills, they go swimming and are very normal – it’s been really exciting.”
The research also highlighted some outdated views when it came to the industry - with 22% believing that lots of prior experience with horses is necessary to secure a career working with them, and almost half (47%) stating that it is very difficult to get a career in the equine industry.
Sophie Chambers, Managing Director of Bloodstock at Gallagher, said: “There is obviously appetite from young people for career opportunities working with horses, but the data shows that a lack of information, access, and an absence of role models is leading to a lack of conversion when it comes to accessing the myriad of jobs available. By partnering with The Jockey Club to provide these Experience Days and open up accessibility to racing, we hope to engage and inspire young people from different backgrounds, while also breaking down barriers and giving them the confidence to know that a career in horse racing is achievable for them.”
