Past Students

Name: Carrie Sanderson

Carrie Sanderson is 26 years old, originally from Glasgow, she works full time for Mark Johnston and since the following interview she has become a Yard Manager at Kingsley House Stables.

Carrie is no stranger to the British Racing School, having completed the NVQ Level 1 and 2 during her Foundation Apprenticeship and Level 3 through the Advanced Apprenticeship in Racehorse Care and Management. Carrie also gained her Apprentice Licence at the School.

We are sat in Mark Johnston's tack room at Kingsley House Racing Stables Middleham, North Yorkshire. It is one of the most beautiful places in the country and Mark Johnston's racing yard is situated right at the heart of the village. Employing approximately one hundred people and training each year over one hundred and fifty horses it is by no means a small concern but has still managed to keep that family feel. The atmosphere is professional yet relaxing and that goes for the horses too

Why did you choose racing as your career?

I started to horse ride when I was eight at the local riding school; I come from a non - horsey background but loved horses and always wanted to ride. I had always watched racing on TV with my dad, so the interest had always been there. I left school at sixteen. I was never very academic and all I wanted to do was work with horses. For the first year I worked at a riding school and livery yard. I soon realized that this was not for me as I found myself wanting more. Racing seemed to have a lot to offer so it was an obvious choice

How did you come to here about the British Racing School?

When I was unsure what to do career wise I visited a local careers office, which is where I learned about the British Racing School at Newmarket

Newmarket is a long way from home did this bother you?

No, not really. The racing school at Newmarket has excellent facilities and I knew that I would make lots of new friends, as we would all be in the same boat

How long have you worked for Mark Johnston?

Racing school found me the placement at Mark Johnston's. I left the racing school and came straight here. I have been here six years now

You have worked in racing a long time now, what would the high points be?

The opportunity to travel, especially when we send horses to race all over the world. I have been to Canada, France, Germany, and Ireland so far and the past two seasons I have had the opportunity to go and work in Dubai for 6 weeks at a time.
The chance to look after some amazing horses, I have looked after horses such as Simeon, Falcon Hill, and Yavanas Pace and currently I am the stable lass to Attraction. You feel like you have played a small part in history and it is a real buzz to be so close to such talented horses. The media attention that goes with looking after the famous horses is also nice; you get to be on TV and in papers such as the Racing Post. Even looking after the not so talented horses is a high point; you get so involved caring for them everyday and when they run well you are so proud of them. A real high point in my life was having a ride for Mark Johnston. I rode in an apprentice race at Thirsk I finished fifth or sixth, it was brilliant.

And the low points?

Hard long cold winters are a killer! Early mornings, you do get used to them but it can still be hard to drag your self out of bed.
The worse thing of all is when the horses get injured.

Do you have any regrets or anything you would have done differently?

Not really, I am very pleased with what I have achieved. Although I would have liked to have had more rides as a jockey.

Why did you decide to do the AA?

To improve my education; learn more about the horses and to gain a qualification which will be useful both now and later in life.

What are your ambitions?

To be head lass for a top yard, that would be my immediate ambition. After that who knows, possibly teach or be an assessor for the Racing School. One day I would like to have a family. Working on a yard such as this you are able to take time off to have children, the wages are good and there is all ways the possibility of coming back part time or working flexible hours.

What advice would you give to people thinking of racing as a career?

Make sure you are coming into it for the right reasons. It can be very hard but if you love the horses and love racing the rewards are high.

Carrie is the stable lass to Attraction. She led the filly up when she won the English 1000 Guineas this year, and was awarded £1000 for the victory. Carrie also won the best turned out in the race for which she had spent all morning preparing and grooming the horse, planning every single last detail. The day we did this interview Carrie was preparing to go over to Ireland with Attraction for the Irish 1000 Guineas. The horse won and sure enough it was Attraction on the front of the Racing Post the next day with Carrie leading her up.

Interviewed by Shirley Bold, Senior Roving Assessor

Name: Saleem Golam

Course 121 in Jul-Sept 1999
Completed the Apprenticeship in Racehorse Care, (including the NVQ2), the following year
BRS Apprentice Licence Course 2000
BRS Apprentice Continuation Course2002
BRS Apprentice Advanced Course 2005

Champion Apprentice in Britain 2005

Professional Jockey in 2007

Anyone witnessing the rising stock of jockey Saleem Golam could be forgiven for thinking that success has happened overnight.

Saleem hails from Leyton in East London and his interest in racing was ignited during a holiday visit to his grandmother's local track Champ De Mars in Mauritius. Saleem then started riding lessons at a riding school in Walthamstow prior to leaving school and attending the BRS. Saleem freely admits to feeling homesick during the nine-week stay but he was sure that racing was the industry for him and upon finishing the residential part of the qualification he decided to stay in Newmarket. The second part of the NVQ2 was gained whilst at James Fanshawe's and it was there he was put forward for an Apprentice Licence Course in October 2000.

Each season the number of rides gradually began to rise and Saleem moved on to further his career with Dean Ivory and Gay Kelleway. In May 2003 Saleem made the jump to Mark Tompkins' Newmarket yard and his first three winners followed. By July 2004 Saleem had ridden a further 5 winners and things were beginning to gather pace until an horrific fall at Warwick where a horse broke its leg. Saleem spent a month in hospital and ended up with two broken vertebrae and nine months out of the saddle. Sal returned to race-riding in March 2005 and a few victories on terrestrial television for Mark Tompkins such as Connect and Marshman has helped give the impression of a meteoric rise. So far in 2005 Sal has had 26 winners from 221 rides and ridden for 69 different trainers. The many hundreds of hours of hard work allied with determination and belief are clearly beginning to reap their rewards.

Saleem's story is not uncommon, getting rides and getting noticed at the start of a career is a very hard process and there is always an element of luck involved. Sam Hitchcott, a fellow graduate from Course 121, had more immediate success but is now nursing a fractured collarbone and two broken ribs after a fall at Chepstow. Fostering good relations with owners and trainers is also an important part of a jockey's job as you can soon be forgotten after a spell-out through injury or suspension. Raw talent is not enough to succeed and these enforced absences help jockeys to keep their feet on the ground. Working with racehorses every day and racing at 40mph means that falls and injuries are not just the domain of jump jockeys. Make no mistake, becoming a jockey is tough and rarely happens overnight. Despite the initial difficulties in gaining rides and the injuries, Saleem wouldn't swap his job for the world and his dedication and hard work are really beginning to pay off. We wish Saleem an injury-free and successful career.

Further notes -

Saleem's success in 2005 continued and he went on to ride 44 winners to be joint Champion Apprentice of Great Britain, the first British Asian to win the title.

In 2006 he rode 28 winners including the Ayr Silver Cup winner Geojimali and riding for an ever-expanding list of trainers.

Saleem has ridden 16 winners so far in 2007 and has reached the all-important milestone of 95 winners. Only 6% of aspiring jockeys reach this threshold and that is when they become a professional jockey with no allowances for their inexperience in terms of weight concessions from professional jockeys.

His biggest win this season was on Hogmaneigh in the prestigious Vodafone Dash Stakes at Epsom as part of the Derby meeting, winning nearly £47000 for connections.