FIRST LYCETTS TEAM CHAMPION AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
AT THE NATIONAL TRAINERS FEDERATION AGM
Nick Alexander’s Kinneston yard from Fife in Scotland and Warren Greatrex at Uplands in Lambourn, Berkshire were announced today as the inaugural winners of the Lycetts Team Champion Award, which celebrates the British racehorse training yards with the highest standards of employee management.
The announcement was made following the National Trainers Federation AGM at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, London.
The winning yards were also awarded a £4,000 prize for each yard to benefit and support their teams.
Catch Bissett, Assistant to Nick Alexander, said “It is an honour to accept the prize on behalf of the team at home. They are a credit to the yard and the industry as a whole. The Lycetts Team Champion Award is a fantastic initiative which really reflects well on the staffing at the heart of the industry. The application process gave us an opportunity to look into what we do and think about how we can make improvements for the future.”
Warren Greatrex said “I am really proud to win the inaugural Lycetts Team Champion Award. We are so lucky to have the staff we do. I feel our team are great ambassadors for the yard and British horseracing.”
The National Trainers Federation (NTF) and Lycetts Insurance Brokers created the Lycetts Team Champion Award to:
- Deliver praise and a sense of achievement for the racehorse training yards with the highest standards of employee management
- Showcase the positive results of developing a team that works well together
- Spread the message about safe working practices
- Improve recruitment and retention rates by promoting the most successful management practices and encouraging their wider adoption among racehorse trainers.
The assessment criteria for Lycetts Team Champion Award are based on The Winning Approach, a best practice standard developed for the NTF by consultants Sport and Beyond. They include effective recruitment and induction systems, a safe and positive working environment, developing staff to fulfil their potential, and rewarding achievement. Development of The Winning Approach and the award was funded with the help of The Racing Foundation.
Yogi Breisner, renowned for his stellar accomplishments as a competitor and team leader in the field of Three Day Eventing, chaired the judging panel and presented the prizes. Commenting on the judges’ experience of the awards and the assessment, Breisner said, “It has been a very interesting exercise to be one of the judges and it has been a privilege to be involved in what I feel is a fantastic initiative by Lycetts and the NTF. I have been very impressed at the high standard of the applicants and it has shown that in many yards there is a very high level of work etiquette and team spirit.”
Rupert Arnold, Chief Executive of the NTF, said, “I am delighted at how enthusiastically trainers and their staff have responded to this new award. By participating, they have opened their businesses to scrutiny by knowledgeable professionals and demonstrated that British racehorse trainers offer great places to work.
“We have established a strong base from which to build the award for the future. I know other trainers are already keen to follow their colleagues’ example next year and we have acquired a bundle of knowledge and lessons to share with them.”