Racing: Fund eases pain for riders on the rough side of racing

Sub-tropical Tenerife is an unlikely place to find a National Hunt weighing-room. But for the past 14 years, each spring has seen a collection of former jump jockeys who have suffered from the rougher side of racing find refuge from the British chills in this corner of the Canaries.

The holiday is the brainchild of Jack Berry, the former trainer whose disabled son settled on the island. "I went to see him, and I'd come from England, which was a foot deep in snow, and he was swimming in a heated pool in glorious sunshine," Berry said. "I thought, 'there's plenty of people at home who'd like to come out here'.

"At first they said, 'how can I get to Tenerife in a wheelchair?' We nearly had to mug them to get them there. Then it's, 'how can I get back next year?'"

Berry's annual trip is funded and organised by the Injured Jockeys' Fund (IJF), and over the years it has become the charity's showpiece. "It's a chance for the seriously injured, those in wheelchairs, to get a bit of heat with kindred spirits," says Jeremy Richardson, the IJF's chief executive. "It's the best prescription any doctor or specialist could give. It's by far the best thing we do."

It is, however, far from the only thing they do. The IJF, racing's leading charity, has been providing comfort and support to racing professionals who have fallen off horses or on hard times for more than 40 years. Set up in a garden shed in 1964, it now has a list of more than 800 beneficiaries and, thanks to its tireless fund-raising efforts at Christmas and throughout the year, is able to spend £1m a year on helping former jockeys and their families.

Some of the cases have been well-publicised. When Chris Kinane, an assistant trainer, suffered horrific head injuries in the paddock at Wolverhampton in April this year, from which he is still recovering, the IJF's response was immediate. "As he once held a licence, Chris fell within our remit, and we moved in pretty quickly," Richardson says. "We took over his mortgage payments within a month, so although the head of the family suffered it means they can stay where they are."

Another high-profile beneficiary is Tim Sprake, a promising young Flat jockey who spent months in hospital after a car accident three years ago and is still trying to rebuild his career. "Tim is a lot better, but there's all sorts of therapy he needs," says Richardson. "Jockeys are insured against injuries, but only those arising out of or in connection with work. The IJF is there to sweep up that sort of situation where insurance-based schemes are restricted by policy wording."

It is also there for those whose services to the sport have long been forgotten by the racing public, many of whom had their riding careers and injuries before the charity was founded - its oldest beneficiary rode in the 1927 Grand National. The IJF can supply houses for jockeys' widows, televisions for the housebound, special schooling for dyslexic children or just the comfort of being remembered.

That is where the charity's network of almoners comes in. "My job is to visit anybody who is in need of help," explains Lady Chicky Oaksey. "The help can take many forms - just an arm round a shoulder, financial assistance or advice on who to contact to receive benefits. For example, we have a new initiative whereby we are sending out visitors to help take the sting out of loneliness. For a lot of people, it's great if someone can just take them to the pub or garden centre, they love it."

For Brough Scott, the writer, helping racing's veterans has been the most rewarding aspect of his role as an IJF trustee. "What has been a redeeming pleasure is being able to help in an area where you live a lot when you're very young, and then have a lot of time to grow old and for things not to work out.

"In racing there are some huge opposites - some are very wealthy and very lucky, and some are not. We're trying to bridge that gap."

The fund's greatest source of income comes from the sale of Christmas cards and calendars. This year there is added poignancy in that the calendar's cover bears a picture, taken by Edward Whitaker, of Best Mate walking through the snow (right) - reminder, if any were needed, of the harsh demands of competing on the turf.

IJF Christmas cards, diaries and calendars are available on 08080 453453 or at www.ijf.org.uk.

Richard Edmondson

Nap: Sharp Belline

(Wetherby 3.10)

NB: Tradingup

(Chepstow 3.20)