Following the news that two former jockeys had tied for The 2009 Griffins Richard Davis Achievement Awards and would share the £2,500 prize fund between them , the British Horseracing Authority has stepped in to top up the amount for Alan Dempsey and Paul Robson so that each will now benefit from the full £2,500 grant to be spent on career development. Alan Dempsey is now a BHA Stipendiary Steward in the North and Paul Robson has recently started a funeral directing business in Hawick.
Chris Brand, Director of Finance and Corporate Services for the Authority, said:
“We are delighted one of our own staff is the joint winner of this prestigious award. Given that we have a budget to promote the training and development of our staff, and Paul Robson has started his own private business, we felt it apt that Paul should get the full £2,500.
“However Alan will not miss out – we will look to fund suitable additional training for him next year.”
On hearing the news, Paul Robson commented:
“This is fantastic news. More than I could have expected and means I can now make a more substantial investment in our new business premises, which will be a big boost.
“I am absolutely delighted for Paul and, for me, it means I can look at extra CPD options with the BHA that might not otherwise have been open to me at this stage,” added Alan Dempsey.
The Jockeys Employment & Training Scheme was recently cited as one of the key, successful racing community initiatives in the BHA’s report ‘Racing Together: Horseracing and the Community 2009’.
For more information please contact Sandy Thwaites, JETS Press Officer, on 01249-760106, 07738-023827 or [email protected] OR Paul Struthers, BHA Media Relations Manager, on 020 7152 0166, 07966 590105 or at [email protected]
Notes for Editors:
JETS is jointly funded from jockeys’ own prize money contributions and the Injured Jockeys Fund. It typically issues over £70,000 in training grants and scholarships annually. Since its inception in 1995, jockeys and the IJF have together invested over £1million in the scheme which has helped over 700 current and former jockeys with career advice and training in new skills, in order to gain employment after race-riding. For more information visit www.jets-uk.org
