The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) is pleased to announce that Glen Sparkes is the recipient of the inaugral Tristram Ricketts Fellowship for 2009.
The Tristram Ricketts Fellowship is awarded to an individual who wishes to undertake research/work in order to further their understanding of horseracing and to enhance their effectiveness at work and their contribution to the sport.
30 year old Glen has been an Instructor at the British Racing School in Newmarket for the past five years. Over the next 12 months, and with the blessing of The British Racing School, Glen will use the Fellowship funding to travel to America’s Racing Academy in Lexington and Australia, as well as spending time with Yogi Breisner coach to the Olympic equestrian team, the Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town Football Clubs, the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery and a World class coaching programme at Ashridge College. He is looking to gather a wealth of knowledge from all these different sources and use it to further improve the quality of trainees passing through the British Racing School and into the racing industry.
Glen, a former jockey, was an apprentice for Luca Cumani and Clive Britain riding a total of 40 winners (from 700 rides) before a serious spinal injury forced retirement and he moved on to the British Racing School
Glen Sparkes said today: “I would like to thank Lisa from the Jockeys Employment & Training Scheme (JETS) – who has supported me throughout my career change – who alerted me to this wonderful opportunity and encouraged me to apply for the Fellowship. It will be a marvellous way to learn a lot in a relatively short space of time and I will be forever indebted to The Levy Board for making it possible.”
Rory MacDonald commented on behalf of The British Racing School: “We look forward to learning from Glen’s research and incorporating his ideas into future training programmes at the BRS. The Fellowship is a great initiative which should make a really valuable contribution to the future of our sport.”
Robert Hughes, Chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board said today: “I am delighted that Glen Sparkes has been chosen from a number of high quality applicants. The Tristram Ricketts Fellowship is an important new innovation by the Levy Board and I am confident that Glen will be a worthy and successful recipient of the award for 2009”.
For more information, please contact:
Douglas Erskine-Crum, Chief Executive of the Levy Board on 0207 333 0043 or Glen Sparkes (0794 0580016)
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Sir Tristram Ricketts (1946-2007) joined the HBLB in 1974 as Assistant Principal Officer. In 1993 he left the HBLB to become the first Chief Executive of the newly created British Horseracing Board (BHB). Tristram left the BHB in September 2005 as its Secretary-General and returned to the HBLB as Chief Executive.
2. The Fellowship will be granted on an annual basis with applications accepted by 1st October each year.
