11 minute read
The urban equestrian
Sport Freedom on horseback
Racehorse trainer has won an award for his equestrian academy. By Rodney Hinds
FREEDOM ZAMAPALADUS is the founder of The Urban Equestrian Academy.
Based in Leicester, he is a fully qualified racehorse trainer and horse breeder.
The academy’s We Ride Too initiative provides a viable pathway for anybody looking to make a career in the equine industry.
Earlier this year, Freedom was the recipient of the prestigious Godolphin Award for community contribution. Here, he talks to The Voice about some of his ambitions…
RH: Massive congratulations on winning the award. It’s a big award from a big organisation, how does it feel to be honoured in that way?
FZ: You know what, it’s like a sense of relief for me, because I have been on this journey for five years doing what I do, and we have never really had any significant type of recognition. We’ve been nominated for some big awards in the past, but we’ve never won.
To finally get it at that level is a big deal. It is a sense of relief and appreciation. I thank God, I know God is good.
I hope people can take us seriously now, because there are other organisations who do similar things to what we do who have all the backing in the world. We have done this from the mud. We don’t have big sponsors, this is a community effort, the community of Leicester has put Urban Equestrian on the map and allowed me to win this type of award.
RH: Winning the award, does that now hopefully take you
and the organisation to another level?
FZ: I hope so. I think the best way that we can use this spotlight through receiving this award, is to see how organisations such as Godolphin can help us, because they are aware of what we do, other organisations are aware of what we do. We are very thankful to the Racing Foundation. If it wasn’t for them, we would be non-existent in terms of surviving COVID. The money doesn’t even matter to me, what matters to is how can Godolphin and other organisations of that prestige help establish Urban Equestrian’s aims and objectives.
We have so many people getting in contact with us saying we wish this was in Nottingham, in Birmingham, in London. If people can get on board with us, they can see it is a legitimate thing that we are doing.
RH: Tell me a little bit about when your love of horses began?
FZ: My love for horses started when my parents decided to leave England and move back to Antigua. My uncle in Antigua had horses. I was always in love with animals, because he had horses it was my opportunity to
RIDING AMBITION:
Freedom Zamapaladus has founded the Urban Equestrian Academy in Leicester, which has won a Godolphin Award
work with animals I never had an opportunity to work with back in England. So, through working in his race yard at the age of 14, I advanced quickly, and by the time I was 17 years old, after a hurricane when we had to let go of staff, my uncle made me his chief trainer. I applied for my trainer’s licence and got it at 17 — I was the youngest racehorse trainer at the time.
We dominated Antigua. We won many races in Barbados and Trinidad, too. It was at that point I said to myself, I am good at this and want to take it further.
My whole ambition at the time was when I finished school in Antigua, to come back to England, because I know England is a horse country. However, my whole outlook changed when I came back to England and saw that I was ostracised for being black and being brash. I was a proud black youth, I was a street youth, raised on the streets of Antigua by my uncle.
So, I came back to England, went to equestrian college, got my qualifications I went and lived all around England. And everywhere in England there was no one like myself. I couldn’t get access to my cultural foods, my social circles, I couldn’t see any black people or any other nonwhite people, and it frustrated me. Not just that, but any time I was in the city of Leicester, my own family and peers used to wonder what I was messing with horses for, and when I went out into the rural community, it was the same thing, they couldn’t understand it. It frustrated me, and that’s what led me to write my book and people understood it.
I came back to England and went to work in the horse industry, I fell out of love with it, because of the racism I faced,
the social isolation that I faced, a lack of acknowledgement, the undermining.
I turned my back on it for five years. I got into youth work, and through youth work I did little horse projects and got into network marketing which led me to come across a guy who wrote his own book, and he was saying it is so important that we all need to write our own stories.
One of the reasons why Urban Equestrian is partly successful is because I didn’t learn anything about horses in the UK, I learnt in the Caribbean. I bring cultures and communities together through horses, and we don’t neglect the fact that the UK is a horse country, it is embedded in equestrianism, but we don’t forget our own cultural connections to horses, it is important.
We look at horses from a global perspective, and that is what makes Urban Equestrian attractive.
RH: What about the possibility one day of you being the
first black trainer of note in this country?
FZ: That’s my ambition! By the time I am 50, I want to be challenging Godolphin. I am 43 now. I have always said to myself, if I was ever given the opportunity, I could take on the best — I will take on all of them. I have 12 horses, I have an ex-racehorse which is the bloodline of Sadler’s Wells, with the same bloodline as Frankel who was one of the greatest. I have one of his, you could say, cousins. She is only eight years old, at the minute she is training our young people who want to be jockeys so they can get experience of what it is like to ride an ex-racehorse.
Who knows, we might have our own locally bred racehorses and locally trained people riding these horses, and we would have expanded into Urban Equestrian racing, that is an ambition.
RH: How ready is British horse racing to accept someone like you ?
FZ: It hasn’t been so far. As for Urban Equestrian, we just set it up and did what we had to do. I don’t think it is a case of if anyone is ready or not, they will have to be, because we are just going to kick off the door, in a positive way, not a negative one. When you say to yourself less than 1% of black and Asian minority ethnic people make up the equestrian world, we can’t wait on anyone to do these things, I can’t wait on someone to give me a chance, I just must go out and do it.
I will look for people who love the vision and idea, and want to help me do that, and I will go and do it, and we will see where it takes me, and even if I don’t get to see the fruits of what I want to do, it will inspire young black youths, who then might take it to the next level, if I don’t take it to the next level but just open the door.
Connie’s efforts are finally rewarded
By Rodney Hinds
AFTER working tirelessly to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people, Track Academy founder Connie Henry was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022.
The former international athlete will receive an MBE for her Charitable Services to Young People through Sports and Education.
It’s the icing on the cake for Connie, who turned 50 in April and whose charity celebrates its 15th birthday this year.
She said: “For all the people that believed in me when I doubted myself; for my team who go above and beyond; for the young people who consistently prove what opportunity and patience can do: we have been awarded with an MBE. It is truly an honour.”
Connie, from Brent, north-west London, was a high-class triple jumper. She went on to win a bronze medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
CHANGED
Retiring from athletics in 2000, she became a broadcast journalist. But her life was changed when she was approached by the Willesden Sports Centre to lead their new athletics programme on a temporary basis.
“I used all my contacts from the athletics world and got some top coaches in to train,” she said.
The project was supposed to last for six months. But Connie’s tenacity, coupled with her desire to give disadvantaged young people the social mobility she herself enjoyed, saw it evolve beyond her wildest expectations.
Today, Track Academy is a well-established charity which has helped hundreds of young men and women reach their goals and fulfil their potential. ON THE RIGHT TRACK: Connie Henry MBE.
S-Factor is a real winner
Matthew Chadder talks to Mensah Elliott about the joy of being a club member
THE S-FACTOR Athletics Academy based in south-east London is bringing joy to and inspiring the community through sport.
The club was founded in 2010 and has been engaging young people in the community ever since, teaching young people valuable life skills. The Voice spoke to S-Factor coach Mensah Elliott.
MC: What is the overall goal and mission statement of S-Factor Athletics?
ME: In short, our mission at S-Factor Athletics Academy is to inspire young people to develop their life skills, and empower them so that they realise their full potential through sport.
MC: What do you do to bridge the gap between disabled athletes, who may struggle with certain physical aspects, to make sure everyone feels that they are on a level playing field?
ME: We deliver PAN disability sessions to ensure our club is inclusive to all. We are also a deaf-friendly club.
Athletes with physical needs are met with para-specific equipment, such as racing wheelchairs, race runners, seated throwing frames and adapted throwing equipment to ensure all are able to train and compete.
We also run intra club competitions across run/jump/throw, with specific categories for the physically-impaired to compete against their peers.
Coaches also attend further CPD to ensure they stay ahead of the curve and fully inclusive for running on blades, wheelchair racing and seated throwing.
MC: Is passion a key aspect you look for in your volunteers? What other important qualities do you look for?
ME: Passion is most certainly one of the things we want our volunteers to have, because this is the key quality that drives and encourages our volunteers to be present for the athletes on a weekly basis. We also look BORN TO RUN: The S-Factor Academy is helping youngsters reach their full potential through sport; inset, coach Mensah Elliott.
for individuals who are dedicated to helping others without seeking a reward for themselves. Knowledge of track and field is also an important aspect, although this is not necessarily at the top of the list. All our volunteers are given the necessary training to ensure they have the relevant qualifications for whichever role they are in.
We want volunteers who can be great role models to all members of the club so it is also essential that they present themselves in a positive manner and have good communication and timekeeping skills.
overwhelm young athletes. What do you say to help manage this stress and pressure?
ME: As part of our coaching sessions, we teach the athletes to visualise the activities before they perform them. This helps to reduce the stress and anxiety, especially before a race.
MC: At this age, do you believe personal bests and records are most important, or is it about the development and lessons the children are learning?
ME: At the younger end of the age groups, we want the athletes to have fun during the sessions. They need to be able to enjoy the activities, because the more they enjoy it, the more they are likely to continue in the future.
As they get older and progress in their abilities, it becomes more important to keep a record of their progress. This is motivating, not only for the athletes but also for the coaches and volunteers.
MC: Being based in Lewisham, how important is the local community to S-Factor Athletics club?
ME: The local community is a vital part of S-Factor’s existence and bringing athletics to a wide range of young people. Athletes and volunteers help make the club what it is. We welcome volunteers and business from all areas. However, we appreciate that volunteers and businesses from the local community may have that sense of belonging and feel more of a part of the S-Factor family.
The pandemic has hit everyone really hard over the past two years and the effects on S-Factor has not gone unnoticed.
The numbers of athletes and volunteers have declined, but we are working hard to increase this again so it is crucial that the community can stay together and help us rebuild and strengthen this club.
