Do you ever wonder what it’s like studying at The British Racing School? And what happens afterwards?
Jasmine Evans first came to BRS on a Prince’s Trust week, before enrolling on the Foundation Course. Before she came here, she thought she’d never be able to work in racing. Now she works for one of the finest trainers in the country. This is her story:
My name is Jasmine Evans and I work for Marco Botti in Newmarket. I grew up in a town called Llanelli in South Wales, before moving to England at the age of 11.
Five years ago I never though I’d be able to get a job or even be riding. Due to bullying I left school when I was 11 and was home-schooled instead. However, I was always more interested in horses than I was in learning Maths and English.
Horses have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’ve been riding since the age of four, and I’ve been doing shows from the age of eight, mostly show-jumping, as that was my passion at the time.
When I was 14 my parents found a lovely mare on load, she was a 16.2hh thoroughbred that didn’t do much before I had her. A year into working with her and getting used to each other we were doing show-jumping course up to 1.2m. Four years before that I never thought I’d be capable of doing that.
My career in racing started when a close friend of mine told me about the Prince’s Trust week at The British Racing School. I’d dreamed for years of a career in racing, and saw this as an opportunity to fulfil those dreams.
The week at The British Racing School was completely different to how I expected it to be – not for one second did I think I’d be riding one of the horses here! I even got to go to the races with members of staff from the British Racing School.
Since then the Racing School has been amazing with the support and the opportunities they have given me since attending the week’s course with the Prince’s Trust.
Working for Marco Botti has been the biggest achievement I have ever done. Riding racehorses has always been a dream, but I never thought it would come true.
Of course I have bad days, but everyone does. Having left home at 16 I do miss my family a lot as I was with them continuously since I left school. But I have a great support network around me that hold me up whenever I feel like I can’t.
My dream for the future is to travel around the world, working for different trainers in different countries, working with different cultures and different horses. Once I have finished my NVQ the world will be my oyster!
As well as the practical skills I have learned, my self-confidence has grown so much since starting The British Racing School. I would like to thank every member of staff for helping me through the bad times and the good! I wouldn’t be here now without them all.