Gemma Hogg, assistant trainer to Micky Hammond in Yorkshire, was judged Employee of the Year at the 12th Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards, held in London on the evening of February 22.
Gemma Hogg, assistant trainer to Micky Hammond in Yorkshire, was judged Employee of the Year at the 12th Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards, held in London on the evening of February 22.
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Winner: Gemma Hogg (Micky Hammond)
Runners-up: Abi Harrison (Jane Chapple-Hyam), Matthew Howells (Alan King)
Gemma received the perpetual Godolphin Trophy from special guest presenter and retired champion jump jockey Sir Anthony McCoy at an event hosted by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), in partnership with the Racing Post and sponsored by Godolphin who offered £128,000 in prize money.
Gemma was also presented with a cheque for the total of £40,000, of which £20,000 will be shared among the staff at Hammond's Oakwood Stables in Middleham, North Yorkshire, after earlier winning the Leadership Award at the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards which were presented by Clare Balding.
Gemma was one of three finalists from Oakwood Stables, the others being Lauren Lucas in the David Nicholson Newcomer category and Becky Smith in the Rider/Groom category.
There was a lot of support for Gemma at the awards' dinner held at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge, London. The room erupted in huge cheers when Gemma won the Leadership Award and there were even louder celebrations with the announcement of the main award.
She said: "Thank you very much. Thanks Godolphin - we have had a fantastic day and everyone has been great, the British Horseracing Authority and the other finalists.
"I would just like to thank everybody who has come down to support me. There are some of my family here, Micky and owners. I am originally from Leeds but I have worked in Middleham for 17 years now.
"I went straight there from the Northern Racing College when I was 17. I decided to apply to the college after my mum and I went down for a taster day there. My mum, looking at my face, could tell I would be doing nothing else.
"The horses are everything and without them there wouldn't be a racing industry. So it is important to look after them and make sure they have a nice home. It is also important that they have the life they deserve after racing.
"I have worked as stable girl, done a bit of the travelling head girl role, moved on to be assistant head girl and am now assistant trainer.
"I have worked my way up the yard really at a time when we have slowly been building up young staff, some nice horses and lovely owners. I oversee everything from doing entries and declarations, speaking to owners, making sure the staff are where they should be when they should be, mucking out if I need to, riding out if I need to , anything and everything.
"It is a wonderful industry to get involved with and I can never see myself doing anything else. There are so many great days - from riding a winner to seeing some of the lads leading up their first winner. I can't wait to get up every day, to do something that I love.
"This award has really made me look back on my career and I just feel really privileged because there so many things you can do within the racing industry and the support from Godolphin, the British Horseracing Authority and Racing Welfare is just getting stronger all the time."
Gemma has been an invaluable member of Oakwood Stables since she arrived in 1998, fresh out of the Northern Racing College where she had been a top student.
After nine years with Micky Hammond, she became his assistant and has excelled in the role ever since. In this time, the team has expanded from four staff to 18-plus, spread over two yards.
Micky Hammond commented: "I am very proud of Gemma - she is Micky Hammond Racing through and through.
"I can leave her in charge and the job probably runs better and more smoothly.
"We are very grateful for the Godolphin support and it is outstanding that they are supporting all of the racing world.
"Both Rebecca (Smith), Gemma's sister, and Lauren Lucas have both done extremely well to be finalists - we have a hard-working team at home and we also have some people to nominate for next year."
RIDER/GROOM AWARD
Winner: Alyson Deniel (Richard Fahey)
Runners-up: Christopher Ely (Tom Dascombe), Becky Smith (Micky Hammond)
Alyson Deniel was the recipient of the Rider/Groom Award. She has worked in racing for 25 years and has been based with North Yorkshire handler Richard Fahey since 2010.
Last year Alyson travelled with the Godolphin-owned Birchwood to Keeneland, USA, for the Breeders' Cup meeting and oversaw the two-year-old colt's trackwork in the early morning. Birchwood, who was the yard's first runner at the Breeders' Cup, finished a fine third in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.
She said: "My mum, who is sat over there, first stuck me on a horse when I was 18 months old and I rode my first racehorse when I was around 10 or 11.
"I was lucky enough to be introduced to racing through the Rohan family and spent my youthful years with Jimmy Fitzgerald, so I learnt from a good man.
"You need to understand horses. You have to know them and get into their heads. They try and tell you in one way or another and you have got to listen to them. Once you start listening, while it is not easy, it does become easier. It is about having an empathy with horses and loving them.
"It's hard to nominate a favourite horse as there are lots to choose from. Through my boss, Richard Fahey, I have been lucky enough to have looked after some top-class horses and taken them round the world. Barefoot Lady, Birchwood, Garswood and Mayson have all been amazing but I can't say who is best.
"Thanks to Godolphin. I have been lucky enough to have looked after one of their two-year-olds (Birchwood) but for them to do this is quite special."
DEDICATION TO RACING AWARD
Winner: Claire Goodenough (William Haggas)
Runners-up: Samantha Dwan (Nigel Tinkler), Fran Whyte (Nick Alexander)
The Dedication to Racing Award went to Clare Goodenough, who is second travelling head person to Newmarket trainer William Haggas.
In a career spanning over 30 years, Clare has ridden as a jockey and now is an indispensable part of the trainer's travelling team, taking the stable's horses all over the UK and abroad. With her days starting at 5.00am and often finishing very late, she is always looking for tasks to fulfil at the yard when she is not travelling and even taught William and Maureen Haggas' children how to ride.
She said: "My tasks range from travelling horses to the races, looking after the house and hopefully looking after everyone at the yard.
"This award is for everyone at the yard because they have supported me through everything.
"A massive thank you must also go to Godolphin and everybody who has put this awards ceremony together."
RORY MACDONALD COMMUNITY AWARD
Winner: Lisa Delany (Jockeys Employment Training Scheme)
Runners-up: Raye Wilkinson (Welfare Officer, Mark Johnston), Helen Yeadon (Greatwood Charity)
This year saw the inaugural presentation of the Rory MacDonald Community Award, in conjunction with Racing Welfare, which honours the late chief executive of the British Racing School who died aged 66 in November, 2015.
Lisa Delaney is the first winner of this award in recognition of her role as manager of JETS (the Jockeys Employment & Training Scheme). Lisa joined JETS, which assists jockeys in developing their careers when their riding days are over, in 2002 and is described as the lifeblood of the organisation.
She commented: "To start with, to be given a trophy by Sir A P McCoy, I feel like I've just died and gone to heaven!
"Giving jockeys advice could be likened to trying to push an elephant up the stairs but my time at JETS has been the most fantastic 14 years. It has just been incredible.
"Jockeys are fantastic to work with. The best part of the job is getting a jockey into a role they want be in. If I can re-employ a jockey back into racing if that is the best thing for them it is fantastic to be able to do that but equally if they want to work outside of racing, then I can also help with that. It is about giving the best advice and the best guidance tailored to each individual. At the end of the day, anyone can do what they want to do - my role is about helping people to help themselves.
"I would like to thank the generosity of Godolphin for what has been the most fantastic day. To have spent the day with all the finalists has just been brilliant - finding out about everyone's background was fascinating. Racing is such a great industry and today was all about the best bunch of people.
"I took over from Dana Mellor at JETS and she said I needed to get out and meet people. She asked me who I wanted to meet and I said Rory MacDonald. So my first meeting in racing was with Rory MacDonald, who I found both daunting and inspiring at the same time!
"Rory was looking for his first full-time jockey coach at the British Racing School and I mentioned to him that I understood the applications weren't going very well. Rory subsequently phoned me up and said what is JETS doing about this jockey coach position? I spent the whole day trying to find a jockey coach and rung up Richard Perham, who was working as a presenter on At The Races at the time and said you need to apply for this job. He said don't be silly, but I said of course you can.
"Now, over 10 years later, Richard is a jockey coach at the British Racing School. It is just fantastic.
"Today has just been such a great day and will live long in the memory."
STUD STAFF AWARD
Winner: Stuart Thom (Lofts Hall Stud)
Runners-up: Gillian Knight (Yorton Farm Stud), Mark Zipfel (Shadwell Estates Company)
The Stud Staff Award went to Stuart Thom, the 43-year-old manager of Lofts Hall Stud near Saffron Walden in Essex.
He was headhunted for the stud by owner Hugo Lascelles and, since his arrival in 2004, has grown Lofts Hall from 18 stables and four horses to 50 stables and 70 horses at peak time.
Fencing of 160 acres has been undertaken while new paddocks and a new yearling barn have been brought in.
He explained: "My love of horses started with my father, a dairy farmer near Ayr in Scotland who bred horses as a hobby. Dad would lead me in and out of the fields on the back of the mares and he took out a trainer's permit which is how I became involved.
"When I was 15, I did a season at Old Mill Stud in Newmarket, where Dad used to send his mares to foal and then breed to the stallions in the area. I then did a season at Dalham Hall Stud as a student and was lucky enough to go to Kildangan Stud in Ireland the same year (1989) for the breaking in of the yearlings.
"I went back to Dalham Hall as a stallion man and looked after Polish Precedent, spending nine years there. I was a stud groom at Herringswell Manor Stud before returning to stallions, Pivotal and Polar Falcon, at Cheveley Park Stud for five years.
"It is great see the horses we have looked after win on the racecourse, such as Power in the G1 Irish 2,000 Guineas in 2012.
"I foal them myself and I am very lucky to be here tonight. There are four on the ground at the moment and the next one is due on Monday - we have screens, one next to my bed for every time I roll over, and alarms on the mares.
"I have two daughters and 17-month old Hamish who is upstairs with my sister-in-law.
"I have been at Lofts Hall Stud for 12 years now and built it up, securing Coolmore as one of the biggest clients. The mares coming into the stud are amazing and they have 18 to 20 going to Frankel each year.
"Having these awards is really important because, at the end of the day, it is all about teamwork - the welfare of the horses is the most important thing.
"It is fantastic working with horses, working outside with a great variety of jobs. It is a fantastic career for any young person to come into."
DAVID NICHOLSON NEWCOMER AWARD
Winner: Laura Winstanley (Sir Michael Stoute)
Runners-up: Rahul Kamble (Tom Dascombe), Lauren Lucas (Micky Hammond)
Laura Winstanley, who has worked for Sir Michael Stoute in Newmarket since leaving the British Racing School in 2013, took the David Nicholson Newcomer Award.
The 21-year-old, described as a perfectionist, said: "It has not sunk in at all yet that I have won this award. I think tomorrow morning it will feel more real - now it feels like a dream.
"I had ridden from a young age at a riding school but I hadn't any experience in racing and it was by chance I found out about the racing school (British Racing School, Newmarket).
"I cannot say how relieved I am that I was brave enough to take the plunge and go into racing and follow a career with horses, which is what I really, really wanted to do.
"It is like being able to work with a Ferrari when you have been driving a Ford.
"I have never looked back and cannot imagine doing anything else now. Working in racing has completely exceeded my expectations. To be part of the whole process, maybe it is the next Derby or Guineas horse, is just amazing.
"I was brought up in Rutland surrounded by horses but it took me a while to realise what I wanted to do. I had applied to university because that was the environment I was in at the time. My friends say they wish they loved something like I do racing. It is not a job when you love it. I feel seriously relieved I didn't go to university as I would have missed out on all of this.
"I have learnt tons from my time at Sir Michael Stoute's - there are so many experienced horsemen and horsewomen working there who have such high standards. They have worked in the industry for such a long time and you just want to be a sponge and take in as much as you can - it is such a privilege to work there and I feel so lucky to have been given the best start in racing.
"I was called into the office and Liz, the secretary, said the boss has nominated you for the newcomer's award. I was gobsmacked. The judges have been lovely and made me feel at ease.
"At the moment, I am just loving working for Sir Michael. I am doing my level 3 diploma as part of the British Racing School. Once I have finished that I have my sights set on the British Racing Industry degree and hopefully travelling and getting some experience abroad, with the aim in maybe five years of being a pupil assistant or an assistant trainer."
In addition to her cash prize, Laura Winstanley has an additional prize - a five-day educational trip to Dubai to learn more about the country's racing, culture and customs. The prize includes a return flight and a five night stay at the five-star Jumeirah Beach Hotel resort.
RoR SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD
Winner: Joanna Mason - Liverpool (horse)
Joanna Mason, who was joint-champion Amateur Lady Flat Champion Jockey in 2015, was the recipient of the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Special Recognition Award.
The granddaughter of Yorkshire trainer Mick Easterby, Joanna has enjoyed great success with retrained racehorse Liverpool, who was passed to her father Ian by Mick Easterby in 2010. Joanna and Liverpool have enjoyed hunting, showing, side saddle and show jumping together and have also competed in the RoR Series' of competitions. Liverpool was also named the Jockey Club RoR Horse of the Year 2015.
She said: "Part of the prize for The Jockey Club RoR Horse of the Year 2015 was spending some time in the USA with Michael Dickinson. It was an amazing experience - he just loved teaching you and telling you about everything.
"It is just amazing the events that are now available for ex-racehorses. The retraining of racehorses is not just about the people who take on horses but is also about the stable staff who look after them both during and after their racing careers.
"Whether it is happy hacking, showing or hunting it is just amazing that racecourses can go and have a second career.
"Liverpool is so easy going and you can do anything with him. Obviously, not every horse is so easy but you might as well give it a go. I tried side saddle after breaking my back which was a strange experience!
"It is amazing what can be done with dedication."
The 18 finalists, who all won cash prizes for themselves and their stables and studs, came from a record number of 220 nominations.
The finalists were praised by the judges for their talent, outstanding commitment and contribution to the racing industry.
The categories for the British Awards were Leadership Award; Dedication to Racing Award; Rider/Groom Award; Stud Staff Award, Racing Community Award; and David Nicholson Newcomer Award. The winner of each of the first four categories received a prize of £5,000 with an additional £5,000 going to the winner's yard or stud. Two runners-up in each of these categories gained £2,000 each, with the same amount going to their yard or stud.
The winner of the Racing Community Award received £5,000, with the same going to a charity of their choice. The two runners-up got £2,000, with the same amount matched for a charity of their choice. The David Nicholson Newcomer Award winner had first prize of £2,000, with the same amount going to their yard or stud, while two runners-up enjoyed £1,000 each, with the same amount for their yard or stud.
The Employee of the Year won an extra £15,000 for themselves and £15,000 for their yard or stud.
Brough Scott, chairman of the judging panel, commented: "The Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards have once again produced a remarkable set of finalists and it has been an honour to meet with them all through the judging process.
"It is never easy having to choose an overall winner from such worthy candidates. Gemma Hogg represents the very essence of vitality, generosity and pragmatism, which are the very best of racing qualities, and will be a fantastic ambassador for the sport."
The winners of the Awards were decided at a formal judging day held in the morning before the ceremony at the BHA's London office, where the finalists were interviewed by members of the judging panel which consisted of Tabbi Smith, Sally Aston, Ian Balding, Mark Bradburne, Dale Gibson, Dawn Goodfellow, Matt Mancini, Jessica Fortt, George McGrath, Dinah Nicholson, Brough Scott (Chairman) and Peter Scudamore.
