Youth Experience Days, which will give more UK young people access to horses, have been launched by insurance broker and risk management firm Gallagher and The Jockey Club.
The experience days 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. The effort came about following the results of a survey that indicated 40% of 12-18-year-olds would consider working with equines. 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 yard. Attendees had the opportunity to 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.
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.”
For more information, please visit The Jockey Club website.
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