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'We want staff to leave with more skills
than when they arrived'
Michael
Caulfield focuses on the 'training academy' that has so many benefits
for Richard Phillips' grooms
By
Michael Caulfield
Courtesy of the Racing Post
THISis not
an article about the potential winners from Adlestrop Stables. This
is about the staff Richard Phillips has recruited and trained, without
whom he would not be able to fulfil his ambition to become a leading
trainer.
Spelling out what he is trying to achieve may invite ridicule, but
so be it. Some may think that Phillips is trying to be clever, or
attract publicity, by talking about his staff so openly. Nothing
could be further from the truth.
Phillips and I are not from racing backgrounds, so maybe we see
things differently. We both started out in 1980 as grooms, working
for Captain Tim Forster and Graham Thorner. At this time, the great
jump trainers were based nearby in Lambourn, and not only did these
trainers have great horses, they also had excellent staff who, in
the village and racecourse canteens, were as famous as the horses
themselves.
All we are trying to do is emulate the training academies set up
by the likes of Fred Winter and Fulke Walwyn. We are doing so in
the knowledge that the role of a groom has changed so much, as has
the make-up of people working in racing yards. But, more importantly,
so has the nature of employment. Whatever job a school leaver chooses
to go into, they receive ongoing training and feedback. We have
to match that.
When someone joins Adlestrop Stables, we want them to leave a better
person and with more skills than when they arrived. It will not
always be easy, and mistakes are inevitable as we find out what
really motivates young staff to stay in racing.
Our initial findings tell us that the main issue is not always financial.
Of course staff want to be paid more - don't we all? - but conditions,
being valued, training and enjoyment are equally important. But
the things we are doing would be standard procedure in any other
major leisure or sporting environment. So what is being done?
Firstly, the staff know that their interests are paramount. That
is why Phillips now spends 20 per cent more on staff and their training
than in past years. Without their dedication, winners can't be trained.
Admittedly, tempers are stretched in moments of tension and things
are said in the heat of the moment, but everyone is encouraged to
raise any issues that affect them.
For geographical and health reasons, the yard is divided into four
sections. Four yard managers have been appointed and everything
goes through them. Weekly yard meetings are held, and they have
proved popular and successful. The assistant trainer attends all
meetings and leaves reports for Phillips to digest when he returns
from the races, sales or meeting owners.
MANAGERSneed support and training and Phillips is providing this.
In October, the British Racing School ran an excellent two-day supervisory
management course in Lambourn aimed at potential head grooms. Seven
people enrolled on the course, of whom six came from Adlestrop.
There was no resistance from the staff and they volunteered to start
work at 'silly o'clock' before leaving for Lambourn. Even Gordy
Clarkson, the experienced assistant trainer who had the good fortune
to work with David Nicholson, said it was a good course.
K atie Morgan, who joined the yard last year, said: "The course
gave me confidence. I'm in charge of a weekend and it helped me
learn how to handle people better. I now feel more in control and
less flustered."
This may sound like the art of the obvious to most companies employing
more than 20 people, but it was new territory for Phillips and his
staff.
During the autumn, workshops were arranged for the staff every other
Thursday to give them more knowledge. Topics included saddlery and
bits, horse dentistry, feeding, leg injuries and wind operations,
and were delivered by experts in their field. Again, the staff stated
they enjoyed the experience and being involved.
Hannah Leech, 18, who joined Phillips from Hartpury College, said:
"There is always someone to help you. There are so many people to
learn from. There is no shouting and ranting, and everybody knows
what they're meant to be doing."
What is obvious is that improving their riding is important to everyone
at Adlestrop. All have aspirations and these must be encouraged.
Richard Dunwoody is learning new skills on a daily basis and enjoys
working with the young group of staff. He is in the yard six days
a month and works with everyone who rides out. In fact, it was at
the start-of-season staff meeting that the girls in the yard advised
Phillips that Dunwoody was working too much with the male riders,
so the balance was addressed accordingly.
In October, Yogi Breisner, coach to the British three-day-event
team, held a riding clinic for the staff. Everyone was given a chance
to school horses over poles and work with Yogi on their riding skills.
Watching from the ground, you could see the concentration etched
on everyone's faces and feel people grow in confidence. Staff stayed
on to watch their colleagues and to ask Yogi questions.
It is best summed up by Jane Lloyd, who is in her third season at
Adlestrop: "I didn't think I would ever be allowed to school and
it was great to have been given the chance. I now have loads of
confidence and feel as if I could ride anything."
The staff have recently completed a confidential survey that allows
them to say what they really feel about working in the yard. This
is to provide Phillips with further feedback. The trainer is very
much part of this process, as he too invites feedback on his performance
and behaviour during the regular staff appraisals.
The staff may choke on their breakfast as they read this, but the
truth is that it is 'all about them'.
We want them to improve and achieve things in racing. The longterm
beneficiaries must be the staff, the horses and the owners. All
we are doing is the obvious.
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