IN racing, success for trainers is hard to achieve without the assistance of hard-working and dedicated staff.

However, for many point-to-point handlers, sourcing and retaining an adequate number of staff has become a serious issue. This is not an issue confined to the point-to-point fields. Staffing has become one of the biggest issues right across the equestrian sector, both here and in Britain, from track yards to stud farms.

The staffing issue was one hot topic that was raised at the AGM of the Irish Point-to-Point Handlers Association earlier in the season, with many speaking of the difficulties that they are facing to run their business with an inadequate level of staff.

Gerry Kelleher, the chairman of the Irish Point-to-Point Handlers Association, spoke of how this impact is being felt on the ground by fellow handlers.

“There were a few lads who brought up staffing at our meeting and it is certainly affecting a lot of people. Fellas are finding it harder and harder to find staff and with these new regulations that are being brought in, it will make it even more difficult.

“With the economy picking-up there are other opportunities for them and they can get other work in industry with regular hours work. There are easier option than going out and getting soaked wet every day.”

At that meeting in the Horse & Jockey Hotel, a number of handlers put forward suggestions as to how they felt the staffing crisis within point-to-points could be alleviated.

One of the suggestions which appeared to gain quite considerable support amongst the handlers, were the calls to lift some of the barriers facing young riders, as they seek to take out their qualified riders’ licence in order to ride in point-to-points.

It was felt that if getting a licence to ride in point-to-points was more accessible, it would offer staff more of an incentive to work in a point-to-point yard, particularly those yards were they would be given race riding opportunities.

FINANCIAL

Chief among these barriers, is a financial one. It is not cheap to become a point-to-point jockey, something illustrated in the application process alone.

At present, those looking to ride in point-to-points require a category A3 qualified riders’ licence, which is attained by completing a practical assessment and pre-qualified riders’ course over two days in RACE. The fee for this is €355, of which €180 is refunded if the applicant fails.

Once the licence has been approved, there is a further fee of €245, €145 of which is for the licence fee, and €100 required as a deposit for the rider’s Horse Racing Ireland account.

Those combined fees, bring the total charges facing a young rider from the IRHB to €600, which is no small sum for a 17-year-old first-time applicant who could well still be attending secondary school. This all before a prospective jockey has purchased any of the required safety equipment.

Examining the prices for the safety equipment that a first-time jockey will require, from one of the leading industry retailers, highlights the additional financial burden facing them.

From a race saddle, to the skull cap and body protector that are required to meet the current safety requirements, the bill for their full kit can pass through €1,000.

This is just a sample of the costs facing them, and it comes with the usual caveats that cheaper or more expensive equipment may be found elsewhere or bought second-hand.

Combined with the licensing costs, the figure of €1,600 is certainly one that would make plenty of people sit up and take notice, especially when this is a sum that a 17 or 18-year-old is expected to find.

Point-to-point racing has long proven itself to be an excellent arena for young riders to learn their craft, and it is a path to success that Kelleher hopes can continue.

“The young lads are the future of the game. You have Derek (O’Connor) and Jamie (Codd) and they are getting that bit older so you need young fellas coming into the game. Any young lad starting in a yard wants to ride and the natural progression is to start off in point-to-points.

“I saw an interview with young Liam Quinlan recently and he spoke about his future plans to turn professional having spent his time as an amateur in point-to-points learning the game.

INCENTIVE

“Going back over the years, Davy Russell and so many others would have all switched from amateur to professional. It is more difficult now for young lads to get started with the falling number of horses and the costs involved, so we need to provide some incentive for them.”

One such incentive is the one-day ‘Amateur Schooling Progression Course’, which is being run at RACE in conjunction with Derek O’Connor and the team of instructors at the riding school.

In the first year that it has been up and running, 60 qualified riders have already taken part in the course which sees them spend a full day on the Curragh schooling ground, benefitting from the knowledge and experience of the most successful point-to-point jockey in the country.

Speaking about how the course was developed, O’Connor explained that he was approached by Keith Rowe and Orlagh Rice from RACE.

“The horses and facilities were available so we developed a qualified riders’ jumping course. The main reason that we went down the route of the qualified riders is that I wanted to give something back to point-to-point riders and try to benefit them. I have no qualification or anything like that but I like to think that after 15 years I have an idea of what I am talking about.”

His 11 national point-to-point titles would attest to that fact, as would all the riders who have already benefited from the course, which is completely free of charge, thanks to the generous financial support of the Careers and Racing Education (CARE) department in Horse Racing Ireland.

“It is quite basic what we do. We ride three of four lots all under tuition. Over the course of the day I would say that they could jump anything from 60 to 80 fences and maybe up to the same over hurdles. Everything is recorded and analysed afterwards. We talk through their strong points and their weak points to try see if there is anything that we can help them with.

“I have to say that with most of the riders there are very few flaws. Experience is the biggest thing. These young riders just can’t get enough experience. There aren’t enough opportunities for them.

“There are some very talented young riders out there and I think Donie McInerney, who did the course with me, is the best example of that. He only had one or two winners point-to-pointing the year previous. Now he is on 26 or 27 winners as a professional this season and probably one of the most in demand jockeys in the country. He is a prime example highlighting the lack of opportunities for young amateur riders.

“The sad thing is that we are going to lose some really good riders because of this. Myself, Jamie Codd and Barry O’Neill are well established and that’s part of the problem too.

“Because of our association with trainers, they find it hard to pass us and we snap up a lot of the rides before the young riders even get the chance of an opportunity.”

O’Connor’s views align closely with the calls of the handlers to reduce the costs for first-time applicants and the Galway native puts forward a very valid case to align the CARE-funded course with the current licensing test.

BENEFIT

“It is a costly experience to get a licence and when there is so little opportunity, it kind of deters people from going down that road. Horse Racing Ireland fund the course that I help out on which is brilliant, and it is something that I would love to introduce at an even earlier stage, like when they are being assessed to see if they are good enough to get their licence.

“That’s when I would love to spend a day or even two days with them. There would be a real benefit to them when they are just starting out.

“Unfortunately we all pick up bad habits and a lot of what I see is just poor habits and that is what we are then trying to correct on the course. I would love to just teach them the basics and teach them right from the word go. Having it there right from the start is key.”

It is very hard to disagree with these well-made and constructive thoughts, which certainly initiates the discussion, not only on the current licensing process, but it also adds to the conversation that is on-going regarding the opportunities for young riders within point-to-pointing.

With this relatively new CARE-funded course having already afforded 60 qualified riders this invaluable opportunity, is it not possible to integrate it as part of the licensing course, absorbing one of the initial financial hurdles young riders are expected to overcome? This would be a great incentive for young riders to continue to get involved with the point-to-pointing, while also maintaining high safety standards.