Injured Jockeys Fund Feature

FONTWELL racecourse on a dark, blustery November day.  The low buzz of excitement as windswept punters gather around the kiosks to place their bets for the next race, the usual mixture of the  suited-and-booted and  hard nosed regulars staking more than they might like to admit on the next horse. I’m here for an afternoon race meet in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. It’s great to see so many people attending an event  in aid of such a worthy cause and nice to see punters dropping their change into the purple buckets carried by smiley-faced volunteers.

Colin and Astrid Wilson

But amidst all the fast food vans, sponsor’s stalls and betting booths  I come across an insignificant –looking tent just off the main concourse. On closer inspection it turns out to be more important than all of the grandstands and sponsorship hoardings put together.  It’s  the home of the Injured Jockeys Fund,  the organisation that is really responsible for allowing us to enjoy horse racing.

Approaching the stand I come across, two surprisingly sprightly retired volunteers, Colin and Astrid Wilson who are selling a range of goods embossed with the fund’s logo such as calendars, bags and Christmas cards. They are enjoying themselves enthusing about the good work of the IJF to an audience of regular race-goers who wait in the rain to buy their favourite gifts..

Injured Jockey''s Fund stand

Colin’s support  for the organisation is infectious:  “We’ve been doing this for fifteen years now,” he says, “It all started when we retired. We both love going to the races and we decided we’d like to put something back in to the sport.

“People come back time and again to buy the goods because they know they are supporting such a good cause. They especially love the diaries,” he smiles.

And its clear that this is no small concern: “The fund does about £1 million turnover around the Christmas period,“ says Colin, “ it’s very well supported but what’s great about it is that its well organised so that a very high percentage of donations are actually used for good work unlike some charities which I could mention,” he grins.

Wayne Kavannagh

Mrs Wilson, 74 who looks twenty years younger, is equally enthusiastic about the work : “Its absolutely vital for the younger jockeys in particular,” she says. “We met one young man who had fallen and broken his neck during training. The fund looked after him and helped him to pass his driving test so that he could start a new life.”

Peter Toole

And it may have been a dark November day which was hard going for the jockeys but many of them took the time to sing the praises of the IJF. Wayne Kavannagh, 2006 winner of the United House Gold Cup at Ascot  said: “I had a fall last year and spent six months in a wheelchair, and went through rehabilitation at Oaksey House. I really don’t know what I’d have done without the organisation.”

And up and coming jockey Peter Toole, 22 said: ”The thing is as a jockey you need to be riding four or five races each day if you want to make a decent living from it. It’s  not as easy as many people think. If you’re injured and can’t race you’re left with no income at all. The majority of lads who are here today will have been injured and have received help from the IJF. You’ve got to remember that if you’re injured you’re easily forgotten.”

The fund was originally set up 1964 by current president John Oaksey, following the devastating accidents to Tim Brookshaw, and Paddy Farrell in the 1964 Grand National. Both were left with severe paralysis and had virtually no compensation available to them so Oaksey set up the Brookshaw-Farrell fund to provide assistance.

The IJF has since spent over £16m in helping over 1000 jockeys whose injuries have forced some of them to give up riding. Its stated aim is to provide medical, financial and pastoral care to jockeys and their spouses or dependents who have suffered through injury.

The organisation has done much work to heighten awareness of the risks of race riding resulting in the  implementation of many safety initiatives for the protection of Jockeys.

It has also created a specialist facility at Oaksey House in Lambourn, Berkshire which has accommodation for disabled jockeys as well as physiotherapy, gym facilities and specialist medical care. Plans are currently afoot to build a new facility in the north of England.

So it’s clear that despite the pomp and circumstance of racing it’s the unobtrusive presence of the IJF that really makes the sport possible, and the likes of Colin and Astrid Wilson who support it in all weathers, that the jockeys, sponsors, bookies and spectators alike owe a real debt of gratitude to.