DAVY RUSSELL BLOG: Jockey Training & Pony Racing

Star Sports ambassador Davy Russell gives his thoughts on the lack of a jockeys’ training programme in Ireland, and how young people can be encouraged into the sport and wider industry.

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🇮🇪 Ireland lagging behind France and England in training jockeys

What we see in France and England is that there is a huge emphasis put on training academies for the next generation of jockeys. They race on the racecourse on as close to a thoroughbred pony as you can find. They get the experience of being on the racecourse and in the weigh room and meeting the other riders.

In Ireland, we were always kind of ahead when we had pony racing, which was very popular. It now seems that there is a huge disconnect between nourishing and bringing on the next generation of riders. There isn’t that same emphasis on kids learning their trade early, whether it’s for fun or to go on and have a career as a jockey.

We were always known in Ireland for producing a lot of top-class jockeys all over the world. I just have a slight worry at the moment that it is being neglected.

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🏇 Need for an Irish jockeys’ academy

All other professional sports have academies. Soccer has academies, even hurling and GAA over here have academies. It’s all about bringing on the next generation of talent, whether it be the next Manchester United player or whatever. Horse racing had an academy, there was RACE (Racing Academy & Centre of Education) at the Curragh, but that has been discontinued, although the facility is still there.

Irish horse racing needs an academy for the young riders to go and learn at, so they can go and compete with the French and English riders. Before kids make the step up to the big league and begin racing properly, I think there should be an academy so they can do the groundwork. When the facility is there, we have to use it.

RACE has everything there with stabling, with gallops and everything else. It just needs someone with the foresight to put something in place. There are enough past, or even current jockeys, living around that area that would have no problem giving their time to help out.

I’m sure there are people of the same mindset as me, but without the backing of the Turf Club or the IRHB it just won’t work.

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🐎 Getting young people into the industry

The attraction of being a jockey in Ireland just isn’t there anymore. It’s more of a pastime to ride ponies, whereas in the past there was always the opportunity to ride in a point-to-point and become an amateur.

Not every one of these lads and lasses is going to become a Paul Townend or a Rachael Blackmore, but they could be also making another step in our industry. Whether that’s working in a yard, working in sales or working with horses from a welfare point of view – there’s a huge amount of opportunity for young people to see the world through working with horses.

Every yard around the country is in need of staff and you need to start these kids young and teach them properly. I personally think there’s a huge void that could be filled with a facility like RACE.

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🐴 Pony racing on race days

A day’s racing needs to have excitement, and it needs to keep rolling, because everyone now wants things happening fast. In my opinion, that 30-minute void between races can be filled by putting on a pony race. Let it be two races, one after the third race and one after the fifth race, something like that.

It’ll keep the day rolling, but also those young jockeys will bring their family, they’ll bring their friends. It will be an added audience for the race day. On a midweek day at Fairyhouse or Punchestown where nobody is there, that void can be filled by youth and people going racing that maybe wouldn’t normally go racing.

Maybe on a weekend like Irish Derby weekend, where they’re trying to fill the stands, they could put something like this on. There could be teams: a French team, an Irish team, an English team, a Welsh team and a Scottish team, something like that. Let them all come over and have a competition between all the young kids. It would take a bit of work, but not that much work.

I can only imagine that something like this would be supported by trainers, by owners and everyone. Whatever side of our industry it is, we need young people coming into the game the whole time. For young people to be introduced to our sport, it has to be exciting and fun for them, and they have to be allowed to take part.

If I felt that opportunity was available for my kids, then I would go racing more often.

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