DR Jennifer Pugh, chief medical officer with the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, was part of the Irish delegation at the recent International Conference for the Health, Safety and Welfare of Jockeys in Hong Kong.

Themed Performance Medicine in Racing – Developing and Protecting the Jockey, the two-day conference took an applied, evidence-based approach featuring presentations and panel discussions with leading experts in the field.

“This conference represents one of the most important conversations taking place within the racing industry today,” said Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chair of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA).

“For too long, jockey safety and wellbeing have been discussed with admiration for the resilience of the athlete rather than with the structured, systematic, and scientifically informed approach required of a modern, high-performance sport.

“This conference marks another step in changing that, and ensuring that our riders receive nothing less than the highest standards of care, the strongest protections available, and the most rigorous pursuit of knowledge that contemporary sports science and medicine can offer.”

Detailed discussion

Dr Pugh told The Irish Field: “The conference was a really welcome opportunity to meet with our international colleagues and have detailed discussions about a wide range of topics in the area of jockey welfare, safety and overall health.

“I would echo the comments of Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges who said that this conference represented one of the most important conversations taking place within the racing industry. The conference brought together racing regulators, racing authorities, rule makers as well as researchers, specialists in the area of concussion, medics and all the support providers.

“They were two days full of really energetic, engaging conversations, lived experiences with jockeys associations from around the world well represented and Hollie Doyle and Keith Yeung both making valuable contributions to panel discussions.

“Another highlight for me personally was to see the level of networking and connecting at the coffee breaks and around lunch where people really took the opportunity to share information and exchanged contact details which gave a real sense of learning from each other and an appetite to continue to raise standards in this area wherever possible.

“There was a real sense of collegiality in the room as the discussions were wide ranging and included audience participation making each session really interactive. Any feedback from attendees was really positive and there is a huge desire to continue international collaboration between now and the next conference in two years’ time.

“The progress that can be made when like-minded people from a range of different jurisdictions come together like this is palpable. We cannot stress enough how important the support of the IFHA is to the Jockey Health and Well-Being Committee and the Hong Kong Jockey Club were absolutely fantastic hosts.”

Darragh O’Loughlin, chief executive of the IHRB, was also in attendance, in his role as chair of the IFHA Jockey Health and Wellbeing Committee.

“Our theme this year, Performance Medicine in Racing – Developing and Protecting the Jockey, reflects how far the conversation has come,” he said.

“No longer focused solely on injury response, we now look more broadly at what it truly means to support a jockey - before, during, and after their time in the saddle.

“This conference is built around real-world practice, scientific evidence, and shared insight. It brings together doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists, lawyers, researchers, regulators, nutritionists, current and former jockeys, and racing professionals from over a dozen countries. We are not just here to talk about jockey health. We are here to build the systems, culture, and knowledge base that can sustain it.”

Participants included Andrew Coonan (Irish Jockeys Association), Dr Ciara Losty (sport psychologist), Dr Siobhan O’Connor (DCU), dietician Gillian O’Loughlin and Richard Pugh (Horse Racing Ireland).