'It was daunting the first time I went into a prison' - how two ex-jockeys are helping to solve racing's stable staff crisis
Dominic Elsworth and Ryan Hatch tell Andrew Dietz about a fascinating initiative in the West Midlands

A team of racing professionals past and present is at the forefront of a unique venture that is tackling the sport's staffing crisis head-on while changing the lives of disadvantaged people.
Former jockeys Dominic Elsworth and Ryan Hatch, who reached the pinnacle of jump racing, are undertaking a different type of schooling as trainers of pupils at a new equine management course in the West Midlands.
The six-week programme is designed to turn someone with no experience of horses into an employable asset for any racing stable, so many of whom are desperate for staff.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inSpecial reports
Last updated
- The shocking state of female changing rooms dubbed 'racing's dirty secret'
- ‘All you can think about is that smell’ - the shocking conditions inside Britain’s weighing rooms revealed
- Politicians and campaign bodies are playing fast and loose with gambling statistics - and racing could pay a heavy price
- 'The business model is ten times better when you move to France - but you've still got to be successful'
- Great prize-money, easy travelling and dawn raids from the taxman: what I've learned from training in France
- The shocking state of female changing rooms dubbed 'racing's dirty secret'
- ‘All you can think about is that smell’ - the shocking conditions inside Britain’s weighing rooms revealed
- Politicians and campaign bodies are playing fast and loose with gambling statistics - and racing could pay a heavy price
- 'The business model is ten times better when you move to France - but you've still got to be successful'
- Great prize-money, easy travelling and dawn raids from the taxman: what I've learned from training in France