the injured jockeys fund.

​If asked to put forward one aspect of the racing industry the sport can be justly proud of, and there are many candidates, I would suggest the Injured Jockeys Fund. There really should be one-day in the racing calendar dedicated to the charity, with race-meetings staged mainly for the purpose of raising awareness to the casual racegoer of the services and support the I.J.F. provides to our leading human players and to raise funds so the charity will always be there.
The terrible injury sustained by Graham Lee at Newcastle last week, an unstable fracture to the neck, brought home, at least to me, that the I.J.F. is the most vital cog in the ever-turning wheel of the sport. ‘The Injured Jockeys Fund will look after his needs to assist him in his recovery and predicament for as long as it takes. Whatever help he and his family needs, we will be there to provide it.’
Read that statement. No ifs, buts, maybes, we will do what we can. Not even a promise. But a declaration of intent. The Injured Jockeys Fund cannot wave a magic wand and repair Graham to the man prior to his fall but they will move heaven and earth to give him as good a life as humanly possible now and when he finally leaves hospitable and must learn to live a life that will doubtless be the opposite to the life he has lived his whole adult life.
Graham is a jockey. His first response will be ‘when can I get out of bed’. ‘When will I be riding again.’ If ever in the same position, I would wither and wish death as my saviour. I am weak. Jockeys are strong.
The Injured Jockeys Fund’s mission statement is to care-for the general wellbeing of their members, to provide medical support, help with financial needs and mental wellbeing and to help and assist not only current jockeys but former jockeys as well. They now have 3 full-time rehabilitation centres, Jack Berry House that serves norther-based jockeys, Oaksey House in Lambourn and Peter O’Sullevan House in Newmarket. They have also just opened a Taunton South-West Hub to lessen journey times for injured jockeys based in that part of the country.
The Injured Jockeys Fund do not sit on their hands, satisfied the job is well-done. ‘The I.J.F. provides robust, science-based, data-informed approach to rehabilitation assessment of injuries and recovery, standardised across all I.J.F. sites. An evidence-informed, criteria-based approach to the rehabilitation and return to racing of jockey-athletes and the wider racing community’. No jockey is allowed to return to racing after injury unless he or she can pass muster in muscular capacity, maximal force expression, muscular power and energy system fitness. If the injury came with concussion, there is a mandatory period of suspension, if unconscious for more than 3-seconds after a fall, the are suspended for 21-days and then must pass a concussion test. Compare that with football, rugby or any contact sport, where players return to the pitch heavily bandaged after undergoing an examination no more exhausting than ‘can you count to ten’ and ‘what is your mother’s name’, or something along those lines. In racing, jockeys are not treated as a commodity, a pawn on the battlefield. 
All sports could learn a great deal from the Injured Jockeys Fund. Just recently there was a conference where all the equestrian disciplines came together to ‘learn best-practice and how to discharge their duty of care’ from the I.J.F.
The sport needs to stop organising charity days for cancer research and other good causes and look to supporting in every way possible the I.J.F. and equine charities.
To learn more about the work of the I.J.F. I suggest visiting their website and advise you to buy a copy of Sean Magee’s excellent book celebrating fifty-years of the charity. The Book was published in 2013. Every contribution to the fund’s coffers helps. A little of the £20 purchase price will help Graham Lee in his recovery and future life.