BHA and Entrepreneurship

If you’d asked me at graduation what I’d be doing 15 years post- qualification, I can guarantee I would NOT have said ‘Juggling multiple part-time endeavours, working as a regulatory vet in the horseracing industry, as a business-owner producing podcasts and as an event organiser in charge of a growing international festival’.

But life is a series of happy accidents. After graduating from Edinburgh in 2007, I initially wished to pursue a career as a dairy vet, but after starting in mixed practice in Yorkshire, ended up heading to Australia for a stud season. Two and a half years later I was still there, and by that stage, had realised my future lay with elite equine athletes. On returning to the UK, I locumed for the first time while considering what to do next, and experienced the flexibility and satisfaction that locuming can bring.

Fast forward six years, and after working in the south east of England for two different private practices, an unexpected change of location led to a period of unemployment, scrambled locuming, and eventually the acceptance of a job working as a regulatory vet for the BHA. That year I also started a podcast and began training for an ultramarathon, all of which inadvertently led to the foundation of my podcasting business, The Skylark Collective.

So what do I do now?

• 150 days per year as a regulatory vet for the British Horseracing Authority
• Founder and CEO of The Skylark Collective and the International Women’s Podcast Awards
• Podcast host and producer for clients such as the London Vet Show, MSD, Nestlé Purina and Veterinary Woman
• Occasional Racecourse Veterinary Surgeon at Chelmsford City and Great Yarmouth racecourses

The British Horseracing Authority is the governing and regulatory body for British Horseracing which ensures the continuing integrity and successful development of the sport. It is the BHA’s role to act for and on behalf of the whole sport, ensuring the highest standards for the sport and participants, on and away from the racecourse. The vision of the BHA is to build a brighter future for our sport, our horses and our people.

There are 20 veterinary officers (VO) based all over the UK, with at least one VO present on every race day alongside the Racecourse Veterinary Surgeon team. Each VO reports to the Director of Equine Health and Welfare, and is involved in race day and non-race day regulatory duties, so although the majority of our time is spent on the racecourse, we also visit yards to examine horses at home in conjunction with the home vet team, and to conduct anti-doping testing away from the racecourse. The VO team are there to ensure the welfare and safety of horses before, during and after racing, working closely with the racecourse team, the veterinary team and the BHA race day teams to ensure the rules of racing are followed, that required standards are met and that the integrity of horse racing is protected. On non-race days, a veterinary officer has a range of duties relating to equine science and welfare, including research and data analysis. VOs require a minimum of 5 years of clinical experience and, due to the nature of the job, we do travel quite a bit.

In this session, we’ll be covering life combining freelance work and part-time employment, planning your time and your finances and how the combination of creative endeavours and veterinary work can lead to improved job satisfaction.

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