Are all racing yards like this?

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charlie26

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I just want to apologise in advance if this post sounds condescending or snobby in anyway whatsoever, I am unfamiliar with racing yards so don't know if this is the norm or not.

Basically at the weekend I went to ride out for a local trainer. I was put on some quieter horses first and they were fanatastic. I really enjoyed myself - I couldn't believe how well behaved they were.

What did surprise me was that all of the staff were Indian and they hardly spoke a word of English, which caused a few problems when they were telling me what I had to do. I couldn't even ask them about the horses or what I was supposed to be doing while I was riding out because they simply didn't understand. I thought that could have been a bit dangerous considering I had never ridden a TB before! One of them helpfully said as I was getting on the first horse: "He crazy, you die!" and then everyone was in hysterics for about ten minutes. After that they left me on my own in the indoor school for an hour before letting me join all the others out on the gallops - I sort of felt as though I was left to my own devices really.

They were very rough with the horses (lots of shouting, whipping, slapping etc) and their techniques around the stable yard were a bit dodgy i.e. their idea of cleaning leather tack was dunking it in a bucket of water and leaving it to dry on the grass. Correct me if i'm wrong but that was never mentioned in my stable management manual!

They also expected me to work the same hours as them i.e. 5.30am until 2pm (although I wasnt getting paid and was told I would only be riding out). They had me doing lots of heavy lifting while they all stood around watching, laughing and talking in Indian. Then a few of them kept pestering me for my mobile number and then tried to get me to come back to their accommodation - specifically asking if I would go to their rooms with them. I caught two of them taking photos of me on their phones when i was bending over to pick out hooves and one of them kept making crude gestures to me. I was the only girl there and I got the impressions they don't have much interaction with women hence the harrassment!

I suppose what I was wondering is: are all racing yards like this or does this sound a bit dodgy? I really want to ride the horses again as i enjoyed it but I am worried about my safety to be honest as it is really hard trying to take instructions when there is such a communication issue. I sort of felt like I was just teaching myself as I went along which i don't think is right especially considering the value of these horses.

Thanks for reading this!
 
Goog grief!!!:eek: Is there not a yard manager or anybody about that you could have a word with? All sounds totally unacceptable IMO - if you were my daughter I'd have you out of there pretty damn quick!:mad:

Sounds VERY unprofessional - a bit of yard banter with the newbie is one thing but this sounds far beyond that.
 
I can promise you that not all racing yards are like this! There are now a huge amount of Indians and foreigners who are now employed in the industry but I cannot believe there are only Indians working there..... Usually the head lads, travelling head lads etc are very good English speaking members of staff. Which area is this yard in? One thing which is different in racing yards compared to other areas of equine based jobs is the banter. There is a huge amount of banter and some of it can be pretty full on. I never had a problem with it but have seen some other more sensitive souls struggle with it.
 
Grumpyoldmare - funny you should say that about your daughter as my mum has said she doesn't want me to go back there (and I'm in my twenties so that must be bad for her to say that!)

The yard manager was actually the worst of the lot (again, an Indian man) who actually said women should not be working with horses and at one point he shouted at me very loudly and accused me of never having ridden a horse before (purely because I struggled with their mounting technique which was taking a running jump before hauling themselves into the saddle) :eek:
 
I would run screaming for the hills waving all the way!!!!:D
Definitely sounds dodgy to me, if it was me I'd be worried about my personal safety in that sort of situation!! It would also appear the yard owners are cutting costs by hiring cheap ignorant labour with little regard for the horses or you!!!! Not somewhere where you are going to learn much either!!
 
Sounds absolutely ridiculous. As the other poster said, if you were my daughter you would be out of there. Who owns the place? They need to be aware of this behaviour. Dont put yourself in any position where your safety is compromised. Sent a shudder down my spine !!
 
Unfortunately the Indians are cheap to employ & are very unpleasent. I've worked on a few racing yards and made sure there wasn't any people like that there before I agreed to work there, as my first experiance wasn't pleasent thanks to them. I left college and got a placement with a very nice trainer in Newmarket who had some wonderful horses. I thought it would be a top place. My first ride was a horse with a screw loose I could have probably handled it if it wasn't for those people knocking my confidence every second.
They didn't treat the horses nicely either. We had to take every horses temperature every morning and right it in a book, most of these people would just right any old number down.... not great if a vet needed to look at the records of an ill horse and his temperature had been 'fine' for ages.
Because of those harsh, inconsiderate people, I left. and thankfully have not come across another yard like it since.
It seems more flat racing yards are like it than jump racing. Newmarket is full of people like that.
 
In a word: No.

Thank God! That sounds appalling. I would talk to whoever's in charge and either get the situation improved or leave. That kind of harassment really isn't acceptable anymore.
 
leah_x - I can say very confidently that not all flat yards in Newmarket are like that!! I would love to know which yards you and the OP have worked on. Like any industry there are places to be avoided and you do soon learn which ones these are. I am also sure there are lots of dressage, S-J, event yards and riding schools which do not treat their staff or horses quite how they should. Racing does take an awful lot of flack!
 
Agree with aces high, you do get a huge amount of banter but I don't think what you experienced is acceptable. I worked in racing for 10 years and never had any problems. Please be careful, don't get yourself in a
 
I'm not going to name anyone as I know they are still like that. I've worked on several different yards in Newmarket, I know there are many that aren't like that, but there are many that are aswell. and from my experiances, all of the bad places I have been, have been in Newmarket. I've never experianced it anywhere else. I know it's like that in any industry, but so many people I know have been driven out of their dream jobs because there are a lot of people like this.
I loved working on racing yards and I'd love to do it again, but I'm just saying out of my personal experiances. Maybe I worded it wrong, but I did just mean thats what I, personally, have come across.
 
Bleedin'ell. Get out of there pronto!
The racing yard I used to work on was lovely, I, like you, had never ridden a race horse before, but they were really supportive and positive and helped me loads! By the end of it they said I was 'half-decent' haha.

Seriously, there are much nicer places than this.
 
I've decided I wont go back, especially after hearing everyone's opinion on here. I have got a horrible feeling that it would be tempting fate if I were to give it one more go there - that place is an accident waiting to happen.
I don't suppose anyone could recommend racing yards in Newmarket who have opportunities for people to ride out at weekends? (Leah_X - maybe you could let me know which ones I should avoid lol! Sounds like you have had some bad experiences)

I work during the week but just wanted to help out at a yard at weekends for the experience and also because I love racing. If anyone has any suggestions please could you PM me, it would be much appreciated x
 
Also, just going back to my original post quickly - one more thing that I forgot to mention that was when I arrived at the yard at 5.30am in the morning it was a bit chilly so I was wearing a blouson jacket. The trainer took one look at me and said: "Whenever girls come to work in my yard I tell them they are not allowed to wear coats as it looks unprofessional." Is that a really weird thing to say or what? Clearly if I were to go to another yard and it was cold, I would be allowed to wear a coat?!
 
glad you have decided not to go back, their behaviour is disgraceful!:mad:
i know someone who used to work in racing yards and in most of her photos of morning exercise the grooms are all wearing blouson jackets or puffa's, in fact she still has the blouson with one of the stables name and logo embroidered on it;) bit of a cheek the YM calling you unprofessional after his behaviour!
 
I agree that there is a lot of banter in race yards and it can get pretty bad, especially if they know it is effecting you.

I have never known any Indians working in racing, not when I was involved anyway. I do know that a lot of Eastern Europeans were employed locally, they worked hard and didn't seem to bad on the horses.

Personally I would not bother to go back if they are not talking English and are being so nasty.
 
Me thinks you should very quickly find another yard to work at! I have never worked on a flat yard but have taken some of our quicker jumpers flat racing and that is more than enough for me! Some of them are not the pleasantest of fellows to put it nicely! But there are plenty of yards out there who do employ good staff who can at least say Hello in English. As for working without a jacket - eh naw! How can you work properly if you are cold?

Put it behind you as a bad experience and look for somewhere else to ride out. Yes there will always be the banter, some of it OTT but so long as you hae a good sense of humour, a broad back and a quick tongue you should be ok.
 
Yep get yourself to a jumping yard. We did have one Indianna Jones come to work with us he didn't stay very long though. The yard I worked in for many many years was like a family. We worked, partied, had the banter and a few fights but we were a close team and if you are lucky enough to get to a yard like that then you will never regret it!
Best of luck!
 
Little Squirrel said:
Yep get yourself to a jumping yard. We did have one Indianna Jones come to work with us he didn't stay very long though. The yard I worked in for many many years was like a family. We worked, partied, had the banter and a few fights but we were a close team and if you are lucky enough to get to a yard like that then you will never regret it!
Best of luck!
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Yep, National Hunt is much better ;)

Sounds like an awful and weird yard! Saying that, if you want to work in racing you have to be as hard as nail and take no S**t from anyone. Especially with people with manners like that, they need told where to go!
 
I work for a racing yard, there are lots of pakistani guys working there and they are all polite and easy to get on with. There is definitely banter but not so much from them, more so the other lads but never goes too far, I am a physio so maybe they give me a little more respect!? But I'm always happy to banter with them, however I wouldn't take any **** from them. I wouldn't be going back to this yard if I were you, they sound vile.
 
Yikes that sounds like a delightful place!!!! I would of been telling someone to stick themselves where the sun dont shine!! And they DO UNDERSTAND ENGLISH they just pretend that they dont, just plain rude!!
If you want to ride racehorses go to ireland its mighty hardwork you need to be fluent in sarcasm and a thick skin!! BUT you will meet amazing people and ride some awesome horses!!! NATIONAL HUNT
 
enough of the flack for the flat yards.. they are not all horrible!

i'm at a flat yard in epsom and we certainly wouldn't act like that with new staff - if anything we probably help them too much to the point we are molly-coddling them!

i have worked with indians before at racing yards and they are not all bad - many speak perfectly good english, work hard and treat their horses well. One even taught my OH how to cook brilliant curries and naan...

find another yard to ride out at - you will have to stick with flat if you are in newmarket anyway, they don't really have much national hunt there. Anyway, why anyone would want to ride those slow old boats rather than our super-quick flat horses I have no idea ;) ;)
 
How awful that you got treated like that! Not good for your first experience on a racing yard,but I promise they're not all like that! Would love to know what trainer it was-he sounds like the unproffesional one! :mad:

Have to agree with some of the others though,jump yards are the way forward! ;):p:D
 
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