Let's take racing to the cities more often - we're still missing a large section of the public

National Racehorse Week might officially be over for another year, but we'll be among those keeping it going for a little longer.

As a racing stable, we've been heavily involved in the initiative, with school visits a big part of what we do, and we've got that to come now all the kids are going back. 

Moving the date for National Racehorse Week forward this year has definitely been worth doing, though, as the sport needed to freshen it up and it's been a massive opportunity for the kids to go to the stable visits.

We can still go to the schools and we've got five this time. They're desperate to have us back as we've had such a big impact – we always take a racehorse and a pony, and there have been weeks in the past when we've met around 3,500 people and have had 1,000 kids having a go on the Equicizer. 

We've built relationships with schools which have led to some of the kids coming in for work experience, not just to us but also to Sam England and Micky Hammond.

We've had a pretty busy time already. We've been to a local care home, a village fete and also paid a couple of community visits. 

The schools might be most important, but it has been equally rewarding to see the emotional joy the visits bring to older people. 

From that we've seen an unexpected bonus for the sport as we've found they've started following racing, having a bet and arranging racing nights and clubs. The staff have become engaged with racing too, as have the teachers at the schools.

Children using VR headsets at the event in ChesterCredit: PA

I can't stress enough how important that is, and we've got to have more initiatives to get people to go racing like more free tickets and regular family entertainment on racedays. 

I'd also like to see the sport getting out more to interact with the public in the cities. I was involved in taking a horse to Media City in Salford last year and they set up a stable at a similar event in Chester last week, which looked great. Could we go to the middle of London or Birmingham or Leicester? Racing doesn't even cross the minds of young people in these areas and there would be a lot of benefits. Different cultures need to be shown the sport, too, as we're still missing a large section of the population we really need to engage with.

We've made so much progress since National Racehorse Week started in 2021, it's been amazing. Now we need to concentrate on the inner city areas to attract new audiences.

Read more on National Racehorse Week here:

'He nibbled my knee!' - Epsom visitors enjoy a close encounter with the stars of National Racehorse Week 

In pictures: crowds gather in the Epsom sun to celebrate National Racehorse week 

Autism In Racing founder praises National Racehorse Week saying initiative showcases 'uplifting effect' of racehorses 

'The one thing we have over any other sport is that beautiful four-legged creature' - how National Racehorse Week shows racing at its best 

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