Racing Home: Recent Episodes
Women in Racing
It's challenging being a parent, and it's particularly challenging as a parent when you work in horseracing. It's 24/7, 365 days a year. So how can we best help people manage being both parents and brilliant members of the racing industry? Following the groundbreaking research project by Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes University in partnership with the Racing Foundation and Kindred Group Plc, in this podcast we'll be exploring new ideas around parenthood and career progression, how to do things differently, the ideas that are shaking up the industry, and why it's vital that working parents are kept within the racing family. We'll be talking to trainers, jockeys, researchers, experts, and a host of the sport's decision makers about their experiences, their stories and how together we can shape a positive future for all families in horseracing.
Today is the start of Royal Ascot 2024!
One of our guests today is making his Royal Ascot presenting debut this week, and we’re delighted to bring you this podcast in a week women in racing from across the world are being showcased and celebrated once again.
We’ve talked a lot about parents in this series, particularly mothers, and we’ve heard from a fathers too. But if we want to create a working landscape where people are all pulling in the same direction, we need to look at things from the perspective of a younger generation, in particular young men. They are the sons, brothers, nephews and friends of women in the racing industry now, and they’re the fathers of the future. What they hear, what they think and what they do in their lives matters.
I’m joined to dig into this topic by Callum Helliwell, a reporter for Sky Sports Racing who it’s fair to say is part of the “younger generation” and as you’ll hear is incredibly insightful, wise and eloquent on this subject, and Lyndon Roberts, the Head of Inclusion at the British Horseracing Authority, who’s worked in various sports for over 10 years and is a father himself.
Useful links
Check out the Racing Home website here (there's LOADS of useful info there)
Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing here
And finally, the Women in Racing website is here too!
We've been very fortunate with Racing Home to have support from numerous folk across the industry, and we're welcoming two of them - with very different roles in racing, it must be said - to the podcast today. We were going to call this episode 'saints and sinners' but I think 'from grassroots to the boardroom' fits a little better. A huge thank to both my guests today for everything they're doing in support of racing's workforce and family life, it's much appreciate.
Simon Bailey is the National Chaplain to Horseracing. He lives with his family in Newmarket and is on the ground there daily, supporting those who work in racing, and people who have previously. Simon is a listening ear, a place to turn in times of need and someone with great knowledge of who can help, even if he can't. He's also one of the new team of Grassroots Ambassadors we've got here at Racing Home.
Ed Nicholson is pretty senior at Kindred, the parent company of Unibet - he's the Head of Racing Communications and Sponsorship in case you're interested. You'll hear that Ed's interest in equality in the sport goes back a long way, when he wrote a research piece back in the early 90s whilst at university.
Useful links
Read about Simon's work on the Racing Welfare website here
Read about Kindred's support of mental health and wellbeing in racing
Check out the Racing Home website here (there's LOADS of useful info there)
Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing here
And finally, the Women in Racing website is here too!
If my guest in our last episode needed very little introduction - that was Julie Harrington, the CEO of the BHA, in case you haven’t listened - then today’s is no exception to that rule either.
Nick Luck is one of the nation’s most recognisable racing broadcasters. Having been a mainstay of Channel 4 Racing previously, he’s also a stalwart of Racing TV, NBC’s Breeder’s Cup coverage in the US and a nine-time winner of the Horserace Writers and Photographers Broadcaster of the Year Award.
Nick has a wonderfully talented wife - classical singer, Laura - and they have 3 daughters aged 13, 9 and 5. Their youngest, Xanthe, has cystic fibrosis.
Nick is a very busy father who travels a lot, and with a child with a chronic illness there are some additional challenges in their family too, all of which provided a fascinating conversation.
Useful links
If you'd like more info on cystic fibrosis, then you can find plenty here from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust
Follow Nick on Twitter here and Instagram here
Check out Luck on Sunday on Racing TV
Check out the Racing Home website here (there's LOADS of useful info there)
Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing here
And finally, the Women in Racing website is here too!
My guest today is someone that you may well have heard of, and I’m really grateful to her for giving up her very precious and very busy time to join me for a podcast recording. Julie Harrington is the CEO of the British Horseracing Authority, as well as a mother to her daughter Sarah. Julie became a mum very young - she was still at school in fact - but built her career regardless, making her way through the brewing industry, horseracing and football at the FA before becoming the CEO of British Cycling, from where she joined the BHA in 2021.
I’ve had the good fortune to chat to Julie about the trajectory of her career previously and there’s a link here if you want to watch that one, but here we discussed a whole range of topics to do with work and family.
Useful links
Watch the Women in Racing Careering Ahead discussion with Julie about her working life
Read about Julie as CEO of the BHA on their website
Check out the Racing Home website here (there's LOADS of useful info there)
Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing here
And finally, the Women in Racing website is here too!
It’s been a while since we released our chat with Alice Plunkett and Leanne Pipe, but it’s now 2023 and we are back for Season 2 of Racing Home!
The first phase of the project went really well, and we’re delighted to have received support and funding for the next stage from the Racing Foundation and Kindred Group, which will allow the team to embark on further research and roll out the groundbreaking physiotherapy programme produced in conjunction with the Injured Jockeys Fund and Racing Welfare. Can’t wait.
We’ve talked to a whole host of professionals across horseracing to bring you a range of persectives - there’s Lizzie Kelly on the jockey front, Claire Kübler from a trainers perspective, Leo Powell from the Irish Field, and a whole heap more. Don’t forget to listen then share the series with friends or anyone you know that might find it useful and interesting. We’d appreciate it.
My first guest for Season 2 is Amy Bannister Bell, a breeder, backer, producer of horses, instructor, coach and mother to a sibling group of three adopted children with her partner Alice.
Useful links
Follow Amy on Facebook
Have a look at her coaching Instagram page
Check out the Racing Home website here (there's LOADS of useful info there)
Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing here
And finally, the Women in Racing website is here too!
We’re bringing down the curtain on Racing Home 2022 with a pair of absolutely cracking women today, as we discuss navigating your role in life, whether that’s as a mother, a wife, a single parent or someone without kids, someone who works or someone who doesn’t, and how you find satisfaction in the life that you’ve carved out.
How do you tread the path that others expect of you, and that you expect of yourself? In the case of my two guests today, part of that role is as “the wife” (or “the bloody wife” as Alice neatly calls it) to a successful man.
Alice Plunkett will need no introduction to most of you, as she graces our television sets most weekends through the winter as part of the team at ITV Racing. Al remains the only woman to have ridden round Badminton Horse Trials and the national fences at Aintree, and she has 4 children aged 8, 10, 16 and 17. Her husband is a guy who in her words is “really good at jumping jumps” - that’s Olympic three day eventer William Fox Pitt - and they’ve got 28 boxes at home, with youngstock, ponies, hunters and top class eventers on the farm, as well as a farming business, holiday lets and working pupils from across the globe living on site.
Leanne Pipe has worked in racing for almost thirty years and is a prominent part of the operation at Pond House in Somerset, the home of previous winners of the Grand National, Paddy Power Gold Cup, the Hennessy Gold Cup and multiple races at the Cheltenham festival. Leanne is married to trainer David Pipe, and together they have 3 children aged 6, 10 and 12, as well as around 90 horses in training and 45 staff in their team. It’s busy.
Alice recently went down to Pond House with a camera crew from ITV Racing to feature Leanne and the team there, particularly highlighting the work of the brilliant women who’ve been at the yard for 20 years or more. Watch the video here!
Useful links
Follow Alice on Twitter, and the ITV Racing team
Follow Leanne and David on Twitter
Check out the Racing Home website here (there's LOADS of useful info there)
Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing here
And finally, the Women in Racing website is here too!
One the wonderful surprises about this podcast and the Racing Home project is the number of people who’ve said to us that the topics and ideas we’ve been discussing and highlighting are now much more front and centre of their thoughts and conversations at work than they ever have been before, and that they’re really trying to implement change within their small sphere of the racing bubble.
If you’re a man of a certain age with grown up children like Stephen Padgett, or a childfree running-loving thirty-something woman likeSusannah Gill, then the realities and pressures of a lot of the topics we’ve covered in the podcast aren’t necessarily crossing your mind on a daily basis. Although as you’ll hear, that’s all about the change for Susannah…
Suz and Stephen have kindly joined me today, and I am really grateful to both of them for their absolute honesty on this topic. You’ll hear Stephen talk openly about how he never dealt with his only children’s nappies, and how he does much more as a grandfather than he did when his kids were little, and Susannah on how running and travel have previously been much higher priorities for her than starting a family.
But mainly, we’re talking about change. Changes in thoughts, actions and attitudes - both their own and those of the people around them. I’ll let Suz introduce herself first.
Useful links
Check out the National Horseracing College website here, and the Tote website here!
Follow Stephen on Twitter
Follow Susannah on Twitter
Check out the Racing Home website here (there's LOADS of useful info there)
Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing here
And finally, the Women in Racing website is here too!
We’ve talked a lot in previous episodes of the podcast about parenthood, work, the juggle and the balance of making it ALL fit together in life, however you choose to live it. But today I’ve got the pleasure of welcoming two fantastic women to talk about the latter end of women’s careers, and the spectre facing most of us at some point in our forties, fifties or beyond: the menopause. Like periods, the menopause just used to fall under the bracket of “women’s issues” which were skirted around in the office and often mumbled about with embarrassment and shame. 14 million working days lost annually due to menopause-related symptoms. 63% women report being adversely affected at work by their experiences of the menopause, and 1 in 4 women consider leaving their jobs whilst going through it. Now, in part thanks to Davina McCall, Meg Matthews and a slew of other women holding conversations on menopause and being open about their experiences, change is coming, and it’s happening fast. I’m joined today to chat about this by https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-tranter-7a9719198/?originalSubdomain=uk (Emma Tranter) of Salisbury Racecourse, and https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-homewood-9614b34/ (Suzanne Homewood), a non-exec director at British Dressage and Racing Home supporter. Useful links Follow https://twitter.com/salisburyraces (Salisbury Racecourse on Twitter) and https://www.salisburyracecourse.co.uk (check out their website here) Watch Davina McCall's Channel 4 series on the menopause https://www.channel4.com/programmes/davina-mccall-sex-myths-and-the-menopause (here) Listen to the award-winning menopause podcast https://effinhormones.com ('Effin Hormones) and award-nominated podcast https://www.well-well-well.co.uk/podcast (The Happy Menopause) Check out the https://www.racinghome.org.uk/ (Racing Home website) here (there's LOADS of useful info there) Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) And finally, the https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/ (Women in Racing) website is here too!
We’ve got two senior women on the corporate and governance side of racing with us today, from the legal and HR elements of the industry. This chat was going to cover a bit about the situation in other sports and other industries, and a bit about their respective careers, but instead it became a wide-ranging conversation covering everything from not making the tea in the boardroom, to miscarriage, to menopause, and as a little trigger warning, we do go into some of this in detail. So I’m delighted that today I’m joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-beloff-014b4644/ (Catherine Beloff) and https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayne-greenman-aba10170/ (Jayne Greenman). Catherine is the Director of Legal, Governance and Business Partners at the https://www.britishhorseracing.com (British Horseracing Authority). She joined the BHA in 2015 and has been a director since 2016. Catherine has a son, Benjamin, who’s 8, and a daughter, Lara who was born just prior to the pandemic starting, and is now 2 ½. Jayne is the Director of HR at https://www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk (Arena Racing Company). She joined Northern Racing in 2009, and became a director in 2012. Jayne has been a single parent since 2021, and has two children - a son, Hector, who’s now 10, and a daughter, Indiana, who’s 6. Useful links Follow https://twitter.com/jayne_greenman (Jayne on Twitter) Watch Davina McCall's Channel 4 series on the menopause https://www.channel4.com/programmes/davina-mccall-sex-myths-and-the-menopause (here) Check out the https://www.racinghome.org.uk/ (Racing Home website) here (there's LOADS of useful info there) Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) And finally, the https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/ (Women in Racing) website is here too!
Next week sees https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/news/events/racing-home-launch-and-wir-agm-6-july/ (the official launch of the Racing Home project) at Kempton Racecourse where we’ll be talking - amongst other things - about a hugely exciting revolutionary new project designed by Racing Home in conjunction with the https://injuredjockeys.co.uk (Injured Jockeys Fund) and https://www.naors.co.uk (National Association Of Racing Staff) to give proper, practical help to women in the industry. I’m delighted to be joined today by two women who’ve been deeply involved in the development of this pilot, https://www.naors.co.uk/team/ (Dominique Tortice) and https://hipandknee.tv/medical-team/dr-anna-louise-mackinnon/ (Dr. Anna-Louise Mackinnon). Dom has worked in racing for 20 years, 11 of which have been in Newmarket. She’s been with the National Association Of Racing Staff for 4 years, and is the project assistant for their education programme, working on upskilling racing staff to help them progress inside the industry, or to move on to further employment elsewhere if desired. Dom has two teenage sons aged 15 and 13 and has been a single parent for 13 years. Dr. Anna-Louise Mackinnon is a Consultant in sport and exercise medicine for Injured Jockeys Fund and the British Equestrian Federation as well as practising within the NHS. Having previously ridden out for Andrew Balding and competed in a charity race, Anna-Louise heads up the medical team for the IJF, providing a point of contact for questions from physios, nutritionists, dietitians, psychologists, sport & exercise consultants, liaison teams. She’s a hugely experienced sports medicine doctor and we’re thrilled to have her as part of the Racing Home team. Useful links Email Dom at DominiqueTortice@naors.co.uk to find out more about the pilot project and get involved Anna-Louise mentioned https://www.thismumruns.co.uk (This Mum Runs) and the https://www.activepregnancyfoundation.org (Active Pregnancy Foundation), both of which have great info and resources for pregnant women Check out the https://www.racinghome.org.uk/ (Racing Home website) here (there's LOADS of useful info there) Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) And finally, the https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/ (Women in Racing) website is here too!
We’ve talked previously about things from a legal perspective, an employers perspective and from a corporate perspective, but what about the young people entering the industry, how they’re taught and what they think? The new generation are vital in creating a sustainable, healthy racing industry, so today we’re talking to two brilliant women from the educational arm of horseracing. Abbie Taylor is the newly-appointed Education Manager at https://www.nationalstud.co.uk/ (The National Stud), where she’s responsible for looking after the https://nationalstud.co.uk/education/residential-courses (Entry to Stud Employment Programmes, the Diploma in Stud Practice and Management), and the other advanced education courses run by the stud. She has been previously a lecturer at Oxford Brookes University and at Abingdon and Witney College, worked for http://www.malcolmbastard.uk/ (Malcolm Bastard’s pre-training operation), spent time at https://hillwoodstud.com/ (Hillwood Stud), and worked for various racing trainers including https://www.timvaughanracing.com/ (Tim Vaughan) and https://www.jonathanportmanracing.com/ (Jonathan Portman), so she has a broad and deep knowledge of the industry gained through experience. https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/dr-eleanor-boden-b5297960 (Eleanor Boden) is the CEO of the https://scottishracingacademy.co.uk/ (Scottish Racing Academy) and has been for the last 3 years, having previously been Community Engagement Co-ordinator for https://www.scottishracing.co.uk/ (Scottish Racing), and worked with https://www.racingtoschool.co.uk/ (Racing To School) and https://jobs.careersinracing.com/ (Careers in Racing). Eleanor was also racecourse yard manager at https://cartmel-racecourse.co.uk/ (Cartmel Racecourse) and rode out for various trainers throughout her education and training. She has also completed a pHD on the “Lived Experiences of Women During Education and Training Provision in the UK and Ireland through to early employment”. Both she and Abbie have careers that are steeped in education and training,so were the perfect people to discuss this aspect of the racing industry with us. Useful links Follow https://twitter.com/TheJockeyClub (The Jockey Club) and the https://twitter.com/s_r_academy (Scottish Racing Academy) on Twitter Check out the https://www.racinghome.org.uk/ (Racing Home website) here (there's LOADS of useful info there) Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) And finally, the https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/ (Women in Racing) website is here too!
The interview you’re going to hear today ranged from serious topics around mental health to gales of laughter as we discussed a potential post-pandemic night out in Dublin, and it was a joy to record, as we discussed family life from an LGBT+ perspective. Today's guests are Leo Powell, who has been https://www.theirishfield.ie/journalists/lpowell (Editor of the Irish Field) for 19 years, prior to which he was Director of Sales and Marketing at Goffs. He kept it quiet, but it turns out he’s also the Arts and Theatre columnist for Irish Country Living. Leo has three adult children from an earlier marriage, and now has a partner after coming out in his fifties. David Letts started in racing at 16 and since graduating from university has worked in various roles from yards to sponsorship jobs. He holds the https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/taught/thoroughbred-horseracing-industries-mba/overview/ (Thoroughbred Horseracing Industries MBA from the University of Liverpool), where he completed his dissertation on sexual orientation, attitudes and prevalence in the racing industry, and is now completing a PhD in the organisational culture and masculinities of British racing and the impact of that on quality, diversity and inclusion. David is part of the https://www.britishhorseracing.com/regulation/participant-welfare/diversity-in-racing/ (Diversity in Racing Steering Group) and chairs the https://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/racing-with-pride-official-lgbt-network-launched-to-increase-support-awareness-and-engagement/ (Racing with Pride) committee. Useful links Follow Leo on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PowellLeo (@PowellLeo) and read his work at https://www.theirishfield.ie (The Irish Field) and https://www.farmersjournal.ie/farming-news/irish-country-living/3 (Irish Country Living) Follow David on Twitter at https://twitter.com/davidletts21 (@davidletts21) and read more about Racing With Pride https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p08cklsr (Listen to Pride and Joy) on BBC Sounds Check out the https://www.racinghome.org.uk (Racing Home website) here (there's LOADS of useful info there) Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) And finally, the https://www.womeninracing.co.uk (Women in Racing) website is here too!
The https://www.racinghome.org.uk (Racing Home website) is now up and running! Have a look here I’ve also had an amazing amount of feedback on the episodes we’ve put out so far, and some incredible conversations with people in the industry about all manner of things to do with motherhood, the menopause, termination for medical reasons, difficulties at work, juggling family and beyond. Thank you all for your messages, and for being so incredibly honest. If you’d like to get in touch then do email us at enquiries@racinghome.org.uk My guests today are a pair of riding trailblazers. https://www.instagram.com/lizdkelly/ (Lizzie Kelly) was a National Hunt jockey who retired in 2020 after becoming the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 in the UK when winning the Kauto Star Novices Chase at Kempton. She now works for Talk Sport plus a couple of other outlets, juggling her media work with 17 month old son Hugo, and the Valentine Bloodstock, the business she runs with her husband Ed. https://www.linkedin.com/in/danamellor/?originalSubdomain=uk (Dana Mellor) has, in her words, “been economically active for 20 years without ever having a “job””. She rode out for Jack Berry whilst doing a law degree at university, and after finishing her law finals on a Friday, started as an apprentice jockey the following Monday. Dana rode winners in seven countries including Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Japan before returning home. She's worked for http://www.jets-uk.org (JETS) and the https://injuredjockeys.co.uk (Injured Jockeys Fund), and is now involved in the Racing Home project via Simply Racing. Useful links Follow Lizzie on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LizDKelly (@lizdkelly) and https://twitter.com/ValentineBStock (@ValentineBStock) Read about Dana's work with https://simplyracing.uk/our-stable/ (Simply Racing) Listen to https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Buoevojhqr1ufrjNICVKs?si=1be4a7dd885d4689 (modern pentahlete Jess Varley on 28ish Days Later podcast) talking about menstrual cycles and exercise Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) Women in Racing's website: https://www.womeninracing.co.uk
Ambition. What does that mean to you? For many women, especially women of colour, LGBTQI+ folk, women with disabilities, and dare we say it - mothers. ambition is still something we often feel inclined to hide. After all, nobody likes a pushy woman, a bossy woman, an assertive woman, or a woman who puts her career above all else, right? In 2015, actress and advocate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnCk5YbzAVQ (Reese Witherspoon gave a speech) in which she said “I believe ambition is not a dirty word. It’s just believing in yourself, and your abilities. What would happen if we were all brave enough to believe in our own ability? To be a little bit more ambitious? I think the world would change.” I’ve got two women on the podcast today who are both incredible mothers, and incredibly successful in their careers. They are talented, and capable, and they have ambition, in a good way. https://www.linkedin.com/in/zelliotthorseracing/ (Zoe Elliott) has worked in horseracing for 25 years mostly at the BHA but also as a freelancer. She is Head of Careers Marketing for British Horseracing, where she aims to promote the industry as a fantastic place to work and support people into the workplace through training and the Careers in Racing jobs board. After going through a divorce 3 years ago, Zoe is a single mum of 2 boys, aged 13 and 10. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-starkey-56a89416/ (Amy Starkey) has worked in racing for 20 years, 17 years of which have been at The Jockey Club. Amy started working in betting shops at the age of 18 to fund her way through university, then secured a place on the https://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/applications-open-for-2022-british-horseracing-development-programme/ (BHA Graduate Programme). After a stint with ARC, she joined the Jockey Club where she’s now the Managing Director of the eastern region, looking after 7 racecourses in the portfolio - Epsom, Sandown, Kempton Park, Huntingdon, Newmarket, Market Rasen and Nottingham. Amy has a 14 month old son called James with her partner, Chris. They also co-parent Chris’s two children from a previous relationship, a 14 year old daughter, and a 10 year old son. Useful links Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) Women in Racing's website: https://www.womeninracing.co.uk
I’ve got a couple of brilliant women with me today, with a range of expertise and insights to bring you, talking about everything from maternity pay to shared parental leave to what it’s like recruiting your maternity replacement. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-ospedale-b3a88b166/?originalSubdomain=uk (Gemma Ospedale) is a partner in the employment team at law firm https://www.rwkgoodman.com (RWK Goodman). She specialises in employment law, advising both employers and employees on maternity and paternity rights, flexible working, discrimination and working practices amongst other things. Gemma started out in racing before becoming a lawyer, doing multiple stud seasons and working at Weatherbys, so she’s the perfect person for this interview. As you’ll hear later on, Gemma has also written the guidance documents for the https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/resources/resources/ (Racing Home website) on all things legal, so if you need simple, straightforward advice then you know where to look. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-grissell-2aba2717/ (Rose Grissell) is Head of Diversity and Inclusion for British Horseracing. She’s employed by the https://www.britishhorseracing.com/regulation/participant-welfare/diversity-in-racing/ (British Horseracing Authority), but holds responsibilities across the entire industry for D&I, co-ordinating and implementing the recommendations of the https://www.britishhorseracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Diversity-and-Inclusion-Action-Plan.pdf (Diversity in Racing Steering Group’s Action Plan), and working with all stakeholders to better understand and improve diversity and inclusion. Rose comes from a family steeped in racing, and has ridden all her life, including in point-to-points. She is also currently 6 months pregnant, so is also - in a different way - uniquely placed to contribute to our conversation. Useful links Follow RWK Goodman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rwkgoodman Follow Rose on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoseGrissell Follow Racing With Pride on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RacingWithPride Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) Women in Racing's website: https://www.womeninracing.co.uk
If you’ve not heard of Racing Home before, and you’ve no idea what it’s all about or why it exists, then you’ve come to the right place. In our first episode today, I’m chatting to https://www.linkedin.com/in/tallulah-lewis-a5604152/ (Tallulah Lewis), chair of Women in Racing and https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kate-clayton-hathway-1b803011/?originalSubdomain=uk (Kate Clayton-Hathway) of Oxford Brookes University who spearheaded the Racing Home research. They’re here to give you the lowdown on what’s been done so far, and what you can expect in future. Useful links Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) Women in Racing's website: https://www.womeninracing.co.uk Read the original research on gender and diversity in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/84/89/84898a2a-7ea7-4fe9-b1dd-0e7d3d6cfa64/oxford_brookes_womens_representation_and_diversity_in_the.pdf (here)
My guests today employ 28 people between them, and have been recognised at the https://www.lycetts.co.uk/lycetts-team-champion-award/ (Lycett's Team Champion Awards) for their excellent work in recruitment and development of their staff. They are https://twitter.com/jeddokeeffe (Andrea O'Keeffe), who with her husband, trainer Jedd O'Keeffe and their three sons (who are all employed in the business), run a yard of 44 Flat and National Hunt horses in North Yorkshire, and https://www.kublerracing.com/ (Claire Kübler), who trains 40 flat horses in partnership with her husband Dan in Lambourn. In this episode we're discussing parenthood from the perspective of a training yard: how you manage the transition from a physical job such as riding work when pregnant, how Andrea and Claire have navigated the traditional hours in a yard and adapted them to fit with the needs of their team, and how their experiences in business elsewhere have equipped them to shake up the status quo and retain experienced, loyal staff. Claire and Andrea are both thoughtful, intelligent women that shared a lot of their own experiences with me as part of this episode, and a great deal of wisdom too. Their insights on how things CAN be done, with good communication and the will to do so is really refreshing. Useful links Claire and Dan's website: https://www.kublerracing.com Follow Andrea and Jedd on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeddokeeffe Follow Claire and Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kublerracing/ Read the Women in Racing and Oxford Brookes research on working mothers in horseracing https://www.womeninracing.co.uk/media/filer_public/dd/fa/ddfa9b99-383d-4a5d-9721-d58fb204beb9/wir-racing_homefinal.pdf (here) Women in Racing's website: https://www.womeninracing.co.uk