Since I first started doing what I do, the emphasis has always been on using the subscription fees to help others, both those in racing, and outside.

I guess the best bit of work we have ever done was to get the Sensory Garden built at a Stroke Rehabilitation Centre on Wirral.

During late 2013, early 2014, I had the “pleasure” of being admitted to the unit as a result of an illness that was neurological, and they helped me get out in double quick time.

I asked what I could do in return and got requests for things like bean bags, storage, a device that helped stroke victims regain their upper body mobility, and we got all of those in a trice.

However, one nurse, Kiri, suddenly comes up with, “a sensory garden!”.

I didn’t hesitate, said ok, without fully realising the task ahead.

I sourced a garden designer, I sourced a team capable of the build, I introduced the project to the Friends of Clatterbridge charity and asked if I could use their charitable status to raise the funding. Happy to say, they jumped on board.

Over the course of the next two years we cut through all the layers of red tape put in our way (stubborn, I am!), and two years later the build went ahead.

We turned an overgrown patch of vegetation (above), into a garden to be proud of, that encouraged those senses of the patients that had suffered a stroke…smell, touch, hearing….to return, and helped enormously in achieving the best possible recovery for them.

It took a good while to get this sorted out but as you can see below, it was completely transformed and a peaceful place to visit not just for the patients and their families, but also the therapists working at the unit.

To raise funding in addition to that we could put into the pot ourselves we ran a raffle and Harry Fry was kind enough to give us his time to carry this out. First prize was a share in a horse with him called SAM I

He was given assistance in the draw by his daughter, Ruby, who drew the winning tickets. As a thank you to Ruby we purchased a lovely cuddly toy for her and had is sent Special Delivery.

HELPING RACING’S CHARITIES

I have absolutely no idea how much we have raised for horse racing related charities over the years, as most donations are made by members following a good win using the work provided to them on a daily basis but for sure, it runs into many thousands.

When I first started doing this, I took four racing charities on board

• RACING WELFARE
• THE IJF
• THE BOB CHAMPION CANCER TRUST
• GREATWOOD

BOB CHAMPION CANCER TRUST

The Bob Champion Cancer Trust is one we have supported very strongly. They very kindly gave us “official fund raiser status” and we have ensured they are always covered!

Several times we loaned our horse, Rosie’s Lady, to run in Bob’s Legends Charity Races, and we had our members in the parade ring at Aintree on Grand National Saturday when she ran third in the biggest charity race of them all.

She finished third, ridden by Jim Culloty, and our members had an absolute ball (Rosie (right), pictured coming home third to DavidPipe’s WAR SINGER)

They stood with Jim in the place reserved for connections of the third placed horse in the Grand National (below), and that is a memory they will never forget.

In addition to loaning her to Bob, we also loaned her to a member of the Irish Guarda who had been given a ride in the Cheltenham Festival Charity race run on World Hurdle Day.

He was tasked with raising funding for the Royal Heart Foundation and Rosie helped him raise it. He lived the dream, sitting in the jockeys changing room with AP McCoy, before riding at a Cheltenham Festival.

RACING WELFARE

The intention was to do four things. Make sure those lads and lasses that look after racehorses, work this daft hours, muck out, ride out, etc etc etc were covered by our members when something went wrong for them. I have seen the brilliant work Racing welfare does first hand. Many years ago now I visited them in Newmarket and was given a tour of the area by the then head honcho Richard Negus. He told me what they do, and how they do it. They make sure stable staff have affordable housing down there and I was introduced to a project they had undertaken.

The local hospital had been closed and so, they were in the process of having it converted into housing for stable staff.

THE IJF

The Injured Jockeys Fund simply had to be one of the four charities we supported from day one.

We have no sport without the guys and gals that are brave enough to sit on a horse, take off at 30 mph and jump a fence, or sit inches behind another horse going 40 mph on the flat, fine margins determining what happens to them in those minutes it takes to run a race.

Things go wrong, sometimes catastrophically, and THE IJF is there to help when they do….but they rely on people like you and I to put funds in the bucket to make sure they can.

GREATWOOD

I have visited Greenwood several times and the job they do with those horses now retired from racing is brilliant. In recent times they discovered that kids with learning difficulties bonded with horses in a way that brought them out of their shells and this has become a key piece of their jigsaw now.

Emotional wellbeing, mindfulness and inclusion are at the heart of all of Greatwood’s AAI educational programmes. The Sir Peter O’Sullevan H.O.P.E™ programme focuses on encouraging increased self-esteem and development of confidence by challenging the perception of “success” and “failure” in a secure and nurturing environment.

The effectiveness of AAI has been proven, showing that it lowers blood pressure and heart rate, alleviates stress, and reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression. The implications of decreased emotional wellbeing are related to potential mental health concerns, therefore by ensuring that this is the primary focus of our programmes, we can help every individual realise his/her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community.

Horses make the perfect vehicles for AAI because they can mirror and respond to human behaviour; in addition, it is not unusual for people to feel intimidated by the sheer size, presence and power of a horse – this is why horses can become effective metaphors for humans dealing with challenging life circumstances. Therapeutic horsemanship has many benefits and can help people from all kinds of backgrounds, including those that are usually hard to engage. The former racehorses that are cared for at Greatwood may have suffered neglect several years after their retirement from racing; often because they have been passed from owner to owner and have fallen into a downward spiral of neglect. Greatwood uses them as vehicles for teaching, with direct parallels being drawn between the experiences of these horses and the learners attending the courses. This is particularly pertinent to those young people who may have come from the care system and find it difficult to trust or respect others; as well as engaging in nurturing, caring relationships. In Wiltshire, 33.3% of care leavers are NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), compared with 13% of all young people in the UK (Wiltshire Uncovered Report 2014).