TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/910009
from the farriers to the vets, to the physios, to the jockeys, also not taking account of all suppliers reliant on the racehorse for their livelihood: the various personnel employed by the feed providers, the tack, machinery and equipment suppliers, as well as all the hundreds working within the various race- tracks and betting operators of the country. Lastly, but certainly not least: owners, breeders and other stakeholders fund a variety of charitable organisations, such as rehoming facilities and foundations, which are not taking into account in the above census number. It is probably fair to say that for every racehorse in the country at least one, possibly two, people have a job. When one zooms in further to see the influence that the owners and breeders within racing have on their local commu- nities, one begins to understand the enor- mous positive impact the industry makes on the lives of its people. The majority of stud farms will provide free accommoda- tion to their staff and families, as well as contributing towards retirement funds for the employees. Furthermore, a number of the bigger studs contribute partly or whol- ly to the school fees of the staff's children, while some, such as Drakenstein Stud in the Western Cape, also provide day-care and af- ter-school facilities, which include tutoring services and access to computers. A number of grooms' cooperatives have also been established by stud farms donat- ing a mare to the employees, as well as all boarding and stallion fees, where all pro- ceeds on the sale of the mare's offspring are given to the staff. These cooperatives have the added advantage beyond just the financial, in that they also help educate the employees about the commercial aspect of the industry. The Cape Breeders' Club is a non-profit organisation funded by breeders within the Cape provinces. This Club sponsors in ex- cess of 50 grooms each year to further their education by attending the Graham & Rho- na Beck Skills Centre (launched by the phil- anthropic South African breeders in their name). In 2011 the Summerhill School of Man- agement Excellence near Mooi River in Natal was founded. Each year major breed- ers from around the country will sponsor one of their staff to attend this top-class institution: the top student of which will receive the Childwick Trust Scholarship to attend the prestigious British National Stud course. Students of the program are also of- fered learnerships at premier international stud farms around the world. Breeders also helped in establishing the Work Riders' Pro- gramme aimed at upskilling the grooms within racing yards.