(Source: Kd Media Now)
By Hans Ebert Chairman and CEO Fast Track Global and WE-Enhance Inc
It has been projected that in ten years time- and time flies- there will be more female jockeys in every state in Australia than males.
This is yet another extraordinary change taking place in an industry changing without many of those running racing clubs not even aware of these changes.
(Source: Faith Writers)
Then again, how many of them are in touch with reality, let alone the racing they are supposedly administrating? There are happy staring into La La Land from their ivory towers with their blinkers on.
(Source: SOD Ahead)
I was listening earlier today to Aussie racing pundit Nadia Horne and she made an interesting point when discussing the subject of female jockeys coming up the ranks about how little girls have an early affinity with horses and which makes their progression to be female jockeys much easier and more natural. They grow into it.
(Source: Doctor Ramey)
Another valid point Nadia made was how much easier it is for females to keep their weight down and which means becoming a jockey an easier transition to males. Not easy, just easier than what every male riding today has to go through.
(Jockey Jonathan Riddell)
(Source: TV NZ)
Today in Oz, the new, young Pin Up along with the extremely talented John Kissick are female jockeys Jamie Kah and Tegan Harrison, pictured below.
(Source: News.com.au)
(Source: Brisbane)
These latter two riders cannot be dismissed as being “good for females.” That’s selling them way too short.
These girls have great balance, they are savvy riders and they are very strong in a finish against seasoned male riders without having to resort to any yahoo whip wielding from the old school riding of The Enforcer which might have been successful in Mick Dittman’s time. But as we all know, times change.
(Source: Punters Paradise)
Look at tennis players today and how their power games are a million miles harder than the finesse of a Bjorn Borg or Stefan Edberg and even Boom Boom Becker.
(Source: The Richest)
Today, there is also Maja Vance, the daughter of former jockey Bobby Vance and Jenny Moeller, originally from Sweden who made many married men turn their heads when she rode in Macau, the currently injured Jackie Berriman, Jenny Duggan (pic below), Natasha Faithfull in WA who is talented and learning from her mistakes and new names popping up every day and riding winners.
(Source: SMH)
Of course, there is the “old guard” of female riders like the extremely good Kathy O’Hara, below, Michelle Payne, Linda Meech, Claire Lindop, Nikita Berriman and a few others for whom the fat lady has certainly not even cleared her throat and with Miss O’Hara being a jockey I would never ignore in a race.
She’s too good for that as is Miss Lindop.
(Source: Thorough Management)
Over in Hong Kong, there might not be any female jockeys as Chinese girls are simply not strong enough, but the upswing in the number of new, youngish female race-goers, Members, horse owners and punters has not gone unnoticed.
(Source: HKJC)
How to enhance the racing experience for this customer group is a priority as we are also seeing more and more Chinese female racing media personalities, female bloggers and female racing fans who use Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, being wooed to be part of street marketing team. It’s a consumer-driven social media world and where, again, at least in Asia, females are calling the shots.
(Source: HKJC)
(Source: HKJC)
(Source: HKJC)
When one thinks about all of this and Western counterparts associated with racing like Francesca Cumani, Jo McKinnon, Nadia Horne, Jenny Chapman and a handful of others, the very near future of the face of racing worldwide makes for interesting changes even when it comes to the area of sponsorship and a global brand like, for example, Longines, which has a lock on the branding of racing around the world.
(Source: HKJC)
Will this near future see other global and fashion brands like Prada, Dolce&Gabanna and others also moving into this sponsorship space? And if so, what would be their wants and needs and can the current model of racing clubs with their various marketing teams be able to deliver? I very much doubt it.
(Source: Minding The Bed Side)
Having been a Director of Creative Services in advertising and music, marketing gremlins without any creative leadership makes no sense. And having seen the presentation skills of many, there is a huge and obvious chasm in many organization charts of jockey clubs.
Right now- and let’s be frank- racing clubs and most in them are still singing “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” with Soul Brother Number One James Brown and where many female stuff trying to fit into this world.
Alas, bro James is dead and soon so will be this old boys network and their outdated thinking and sad attempts to control racing. Very soon, the success and exploits of Lady Gai won’t be the only female show in the racing world.
(Source: The Telegraph)
If I were to look into my crystal ball, there are a few scary visions popping up like new riders from the breeding farms in the nether regions of China and Eastern Europe built like small shit brick houses with facial hair.
(Source: Bettor)
On a more serious note, I see the day when there will be something close to creative commingling and where experts from other industries will join to form some new, improved Star Chamber with experienced and knowledgeable International racing people like Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Gai Waterhouse, Racing Victoria’s Greg Nichol and perhaps Simon Bazalgette, CEO of the Jockey Club in the UK. The Club certainly has one of the most impressive websites in the racing world.
But this “commingling” of racing expertise and new outside thinking is very much needed to move the chess pieces forward.
(Source: NATO)
We live in interesting times and with a future not that far away. And not out of reach either.
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