'You’d see them come in with slings, on crutches or at worst in a wheelchair'

John and Jackie Porter ran the Injured Jockey Fund facility at Oaksey House from 2009 to 2017. In the fourth in our series on the Godolphin Stud & Stable Staff Awards they talk about the growth of Oaksey and what it meant to win the Rory MacDonald Community Award this year

What made for a good member of staff at Oaksey House?

Jackie: I think it was being able to generate camaraderie between jockeys and staff – creating a family atmosphere. The place needed to feel like a home away from home.

John: Always being approachable was key. The jockeys were at a low ebb when they arrived and they needed reassuring. Being able to look after their mental health was crucial.

What was the best thing about your job?

Jackie: You’d see the jockeys come in with slings, on crutches or at worst in a wheelchair, so watching them gradually recover was really rewarding.

John: If you have physio every day you’re going to get better quicker than if you only have it once a fortnight. It was great to be part of an environment where if both jockeys and staff put the hard work in you’d see fantastic results.

George Baker was a patient at Oaksey House after his horrific fall in 2017Credit: Edward Whitaker

Which patients who came to you really stood out?

Jackie: I’d have to say George Baker. He came to us after his time in hospital and was at his absolute worst. However, George’s mindset was amazing, he accepted almost immediately what his limitations were going to be moving forward.

John: Choc Thornton, Noel Fehily and Jason Maguire were all high profile names in sport and in a bad way when they came to us. Being able to get them back to health helped build the reputation of Oaksey House.

What was the biggest challenge of the job?

John: The start! Around £5,000,000 had been spent on the facility so the pressure was certainly on us to make sure it worked!

Jackie: There was a challenge to build an affinity with the local community initially. It was was one of our priorities as we needed to convince them we were there to help them as much they helped us.

What did it mean to you to win the award last year?

Jackie: When were first heard we had made it into the last 100 nominations we were astounded. We only found out later Nicky Henderson and the Injured Jockeys Fund had independently nominated us.

John: We were so honoured and privileged as we never expected it! Even the Princess Royal offered her congratulations. There were so many lovely people in our category who deserved the award every bit as much as we did.

How important are these awards?

John: Racing is a big industry with many working parts so it's great now there’s an avenue through which those who work in the background can rewarded.

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