OUR PEOPLE

Success of our Mission, Vision and Purpose is heavily dependent on the success of our people and our teams at HRI. We take huge pride in the work that we do to support the racing industry to be at its best.

Diversity & Inclusion

Horse Racing Ireland is committed to a workplace environment that promotes diversity and inclusion and creates an open and inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and one which respects diversity of characteristics including but not limited to sexual orientation, age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, civil status, personality, thinking style and religious beliefs.

We formulate and implement policies and practices that value diversity, provide equality of opportunity and ensure that no job applicant, employee, customer or business associate receives less favourable treatment. We also ensure that other policies and practices reflect our commitment to treating people fairly, promoting an integrated way of working and respecting the dignity of employees at all times.

In 2021, all HRI line managers participated in Diversity & Inclusion Workshops to further develop our overall agenda in this area.

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

We celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development - highlighting that understanding different people and their cultures is one of the best ways we can learn from each other and learn more about ourselves.

Pride Month

We celebrate Pride month in support of LGBTQ+ friends and colleagues at HRI, proudly flying the Pride flag at Ballymany and at our HRI Racecourses,as well as lots of activity throughout the month.

International Day of Person with Disabilities

HRI partnered with Kildare Access Network to support the 'Not All Disabilities are Visible' initiative, by lighting up HRI's entrances in purple, to bring awareness and understanding of disabilities that are not immediately apparent.

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Horse Racing Ireland launched the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) with Spectrum Life in May 2021. EAP is a confidential programme available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that provides all employees and their families with immediate help and support in managing whatever work or personal issues they are facing. It also offers a wellbeing series which delivers high-quality, expert-led health and wellbeing events throughout the year.

Horse Racing Ireland recognises that at times employees and their families will require assistance and support for a variety of reasons and believe that having an EAP in place will encourage employees to seek assistance and support when needed.

EQUUIP

Equuip is the education and training department of Horse Racing Ireland which aims to develop our people, to enhance their skills, build their careers and to support employers within the industry to retain their people through positive action.

By providing people with the tools they need, HRI can equip them to have a strong sense of purpose and develop career paths within the thoroughbred industry in Ireland.

Equuip's strategy is to focus on three key pillars:

1. Attraction- work to attract new people to join the industry to showcasing the careers available

2. Development & retention- develop our people to deliver and grow their careers

3. Sustain & retain - support employers to retain their people

VISIT EQUUIP

Industry Assistance Programme (IAP)

Horse Racing Ireland and equuip have engaged the services of Health Assured to provide an Industry Assistance Programme (IAP) to help take the strain when someone needs some extra support. The IAP is open to everyone who works in the Irish thoroughbred racing and breeding industry.

The IAP is completely confidential and free to use and offers emotional support, financial advice, and legal information, such as:

Life support: Access to counselling for emotional problems and a pathway to structured therapy sessions.

Legal information: For issues that cause anxiety or distress including debt management, consumer, property, or neighbour disputes.

Bereavement support: The service offers qualified and experienced counsellors who can help with grief plus legal advisors to help with related legal matters.

Medical information: Qualified nurses are on hand to offer support on a range of medical or health-related issues offering practical information and advice.

From Foal to Race Transition Year Programme (Equine)

Agri Aware and Equuip have come to together to create 'From Foal to Race' - a 12-week programme for TY students which will give them a comprehensive overview of the horse racing industry with a strong focus on increasing awareness of the careers that feature throughout the foal to race story.

Throughout this 12 week programme, both teachers and students will gain insight into the horse racing industry, including the role of stud farms, animal welfare and other regulations of the industry.

The programme features topics relevant to the Leaving Certificate cycle in the areas of biology, business, agricultural science and design and communication. This interdisciplinary approach reflects real-world application of school taught subjects in a flexible and interesting format.

Community Engagement

A long-standing involvement in Business In The Community Mentoring Programmes:

World of Work Programme (WOW) - HRI employees meet with local secondary school students to learn about the world of work. Students are given an insight into the many roles in the workplace and inspires and encourages young minds to look towards the future.

Mentoring sessions to 5th year and 6th year local secondary school students which strives to encourage students to stay in school, increase their self-esteem and develop an awareness of the workplace over the course of their senior cycle.

Time To Read - an employee engagement opportunity for company volunteers to provide one to one reading support to seven to eight-year-old children in local primary schools.

Leaving Certificate Applied Work Experience - A pilot programme launched in September 2021, to give Leaving Certificate Applied students an introduction and greater insight into the Irish racing and bloodstock industries, including career opportunities.

Work Placement - Enable Ireland

Horse Welfare

The care of our horses is at the centre of everything we do. Ireland is home to 2,500 thoroughbred farms on which live over 30,000 thoroughbreds. Whether at the top level of creating a vibrant industry in which so many thousands of people devote their lives down to the last detail of improving the day-to-day routine for the horses, the horse is ensured the highest standards of care.

HRI work collaboratively with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) and Weatherby's (Ireland) GSB to ensure that Irish racing operates to the highest standards of integrity and fairness and that best practice in equine welfare is adopted throughout the industry.

Irish Thoroughbred Welfare Council In 2020 HRI established the Irish Thoroughbred Welfare Council comprising representatives of the Breeders, the Trainers, the Owners, the IHRB, DAFM, International Federation for the Aftercare of Racehorses and the animal welfare department of UCD Veterinary College. The Council advises the board of HRI on how best to shape policy to ensure high standards of horse care in the sector. Injured Horse Procedure HRI provide Health & Safety training to further educate our racecourse teams in best practice and to ensure they carry the equipment needed to assist in dealing with injured horses on the track. Racecourse Safety Awareness Equuip provide further Racecourse Safety Awareness training to racecourse ground staff and fence stewards, to illustrate best practice standards of care for horses following an incident. Irish Horse Welfare Trust (IHWT) HRI provides funding support to the IHWT which provides a dedicated centre for the rehabilitation and re-homing of thoroughbred horses. TreoEile.com HRI provides funding support to TreoEile.com - a new digital platform connecting racehorse owners with those seeking to rehome/retrain ex-racehorses for new careers. Industry Services Fund HRI has a relationship with organisations such as The Irish Blue Cross Animal Welfare Charity, through the Industry Services Fund. This supports best practice in the provision of horse care facilities at racecourses by contributing to the Irish Blue Cross as suppliers of horse ambulances on race days. The Industry Services Fund also contributes to the Order of Malta, in respect of jockey's ambulances. Horse Awareness Week HRI actively supports Horse Awareness Week, an initiative started in 2018, to raise awareness of responsible horse ownership.

Racehorse to Riding Horse Ireland HRI supports the Racehorse to Riding Horse Ireland initiative through its subsidiary, Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM), sponsoring an annual programme of classes, which lead to a final at the RDS Horse Show. The Best-Turned-Out League HRI launched the Best-Turned-Out League in 2021 to recognise the high quality of care given to our racehorses by our stable staff. Results from racecourses are compiled into a table categorised by size of yard, which ensures that the prizes are distributed across a spectrum of yards and highlight the yards outperforming, although at a numerical disadvantage.