When did you start working for Weatherbys and what was it that drew you to the company originally?

I started at Weatherbys in October of 2016. I had just left school and was actively looking for an apprenticeship when I saw the Ownership Apprentice role advertised online. I didn’t have any previous horse racing knowledge (apart from watching the National each year with my family!) but thought the role sounded interesting and different to all the other administration apprenticeships out there.

How would you describe the company culture and values?

The culture is based around its people – and it’s one of the main reasons I have stayed at the company for so long. The people that work here make the culture friendly and an inviting place to work. We have a great atmosphere within our teams, and we always manage to find ways to make the challenges in the customer service team enjoyable, even on the toughest of days!

What’s your proudest achievement or moment in your time at Weatherbys?

I’m always striving to be better and aspiring to take on new challenges, so I set myself a goal to take on team leadership responsibility within five years of joining the business. The managers I’ve had throughout my career have given me opportunities, and with the right attitude I’ve progressed to the point where a few months before I hit my five year work anniversary I was proud to be promoted to Customer Service Team Lead.  

What is one thing people may not know about your role and one thing people may not know about Weatherbys?

I play a part in the group which discusses all horse naming applications that have been submitted the day prior to check whether the name can be approved or not. It is a manual check that we have to cross reference every name that comes in for appropriateness and then make sure that the name isn’t too similar to other names registered with us. As you can imagine, I have seen some very questionable names in the last eight years!

How has Weatherbys changed from your first day to now?

I think the administration process for our customers has changed and improved, to the point where we’re much more robust and multi-skilled in the way we resolve customer issues. We’ve taken on customer service handling for different departments too now, which is challenging but provides a much more streamlined process for owners and trainers.

The way we administrate racing too is still changing now, and we’re helping to make the day-to-day administration easier and much more digitally-focused – particularly within Digital Solutions, with our international angle much more developed than it was.

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