I am the Chief Operating Officer at Racing Welfare and am responsible for what seemed like an excellent idea at the time.....when I wasn't actually taking part!  I could hardly spend the last 3 months convincing people to take part and not do it myself and so I will be taking part in The Great Racing Welfare Cycle!  This is a gruelling 24 hour ride, setting off from the parade ring at Cheltenham racecourse, the home of National Hunt racing, cycling around a 30km route.....on repeat, 2 riding, 2 resting!  I have trained hard on the resting bit!  I have pulled together an amazing team to push me round and affix blinkers, ear plugs, cheek pieces and resort to the whip where necessary to get me over the line!

I ask myself every day WHY AM I DOING THIS!!!! The answer is both motivating and easy for me as I see first hand the impact of our work.  Most people associate Racing Welfare with supporting people in crisis, and that is an incredibly important part of our work, but we also do a HUGE amount to proactively help prevent people from getting into crisis.  There are 20,000 people who work in horseracing and supporting those who need it and enabling people to thrive makes our sport a healthier place to work.

We often quote the fact that in a normal year we support around 2,500 people, but that really only tells part of the story.  The impact is much greater.  When we support an individual, that in turn has an impact on their family, their employer, their co-workers and so on.... I would love for you to take a few minutes to see some of our case studies, if you have time click on the link below.

Case Studies Archive - Racing Welfare

WHO IS CRAZY ENOUGH TO DO THIS WITH ME?

I have managed to strong arm three incredible supporters into my team.

Sir Anthony McCoy - he needs no introductions, Champion NH Jockey a zillion times, AP has joined me mainly to shout at me that I am not  trying hard enough!

Marcus Armytage - Telegraph journalist and former Grand National winning jockey is a keen cyclist and will hopefully do this in his sleep.

Mark Bradburne - former NH jockey, jockey coach and now electrician is joining me, possibly just to have the pleasure of beating AP at Cheltenham (albeit on a bike not a horse).

Now is the ask.....I NEED your support.  If you are able to sponsor my team I would be hugely grateful, any amount, big or small will make a big difference and please do leave me a message of support.  In my most tired moments I will be reading these messages to give me the boost to keep going!

Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

Gem xx

Racing Welfare provides human welfare services providing professional guidance and practical help to the stud, stable and racecourse staff, and those in a broad range of associated roles whose dedication is vital to the wellbeing of racing. The work of Racing Welfare is dependent on donations and successful fundraising activities.