Greatwood stables and garden enjoy a spring clean as part of Racing Together Community Day

Last Friday was the Racing Together Community Day, where people from all areas of the sport were encouraged to give back to their local community. Among the many activities that took place was a spring clean at Greatwood – the charity that uses former racehorses to educate disadvantaged children and young adults with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

Staff from the charity Racing to School and the BHA’s Careers in Racing team were pleased to swop their London office for a day’s volunteering down in Wiltshire, but it was certainly no holiday.

Arriving at 10am, they were set straight to work mucking out the farm’s large isolation barn. All of the cleaned-out bedding was then carried down to their sensory garden to form the base layer of a number of new planting boxes, which are used by the charities beneficiaries. After lunch the group was split in two, with one group weeding in the garden and the other tackling some more stables that needed cleaning out.

“I was not quite prepared for what lay ahead of us,” said Rob Sage form Racing to School.

“It was actually really hard work and I was aching the next day; I certainly don’t think I have what it takes to be a full time Racing Groom!

“However, it was also really rewarding to know that we had helped out and it felt like we really accomplished something. Volunteering is so important to charities such as Greatwood, who do such amazing work for their beneficiaries. It really is great to see so many people in racing from all across the country getting involved and giving back to their local communities.”