Announcement
New Chairperson and Board Members
Julia Budd is to become the next Chair of Trustees of the British Racing School, based in Newmarket. Julia is a former Deputy Senior Steward of the Jockey Club, is Chair of Epsom Downs Racecourse and joined the Board of the BRS in 2017; she is a Managing Director of Russell Reynolds, a global leadership advisory and search firm. She will replace Martin Mitchell, who is retiring after 9 years as Chair. Martin will maintain his connection with the School, becoming its first ever Patron.
Martin Mitchell added; “I have greatly enjoyed my time as Chair and have seen the School go from strength to strength, culminating in its rating as ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted in 2019. This is thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Senior Management Team and staff, with all of whom I’ve much enjoyed working. I am delighted to be handing over to such a capable and inspiring person as Julia and am looking forward to continuing to helping the School.”
Three new Trustees have also been appointed, namely Glen Fendley, a senior fundraising leader, Claire Kubler, who trains in partnership with her husband, Dan, and Hetta Stevens, a former assistant trainer who now runs her own pre-training business. Recently retired trainer, James Eustace, has been appointed to a new role of Trainer Liaison, where he will oversee the training provision and provide the School with feedback from the training fraternity.
Grant Harris BRS CEO said: “Martin has been a huge influence and support for myself and the staff. Under his stewardship the school has become a recognized leader in the training provision for racing at both home and abroad. I’m delighted he’s agreed to continue to help the school. At the same time we are very lucky to welcome people of the caliber of Julia, the new Trustees and James as we continue on our mission to improve the quality of our provision”.
Julia Budd said: “I feel very privileged to take over from Martin. The British Racing School plays a vital role in racing’s ecosystem – from training the stable staff who are the foundation of our industry to the continuing vital development of jockeys, trainers and administrative staff. Our board of Trustees reflects the wide range of stakeholders we serve. I am really delighted to welcome Glen, Claire and Hetta who bring so much insight and experience of racing, education and people development. I would also like to thank James for agreeing to support our links with the training community”.