Its survival is significant because there is no alternative institution in South Africa offering an apprenticeship programme for professional jockeys.
SA Jockey Academy chief operating officer Tarryn Mason, jockey apprentice Fezile Ngobese and Hollywood Foundation’s Devin Heffer. Picture: Supplied
A R500 million investment in KwaZulu-Natal horse racing has helped secure the future of the country’s only professional jockey training academy, five years after the institution came close to becoming another casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first phase of a four-stage overhaul of the South African Jockey Academy’s (SAJA) 69-year-old Summerveld campus outside Durban has been completed as part of a broader investment in the province’s racing industry.
The initial work has focused on revamping the academy’s international and female apprentice dormitories, with further construction planned as SAJA continues operating as a boarding school for 40 apprentices. The academy currently has 18 South African apprentices as well as 22 international students, including riders from Hong Kong, South Korea, Qatar, Mauritius and Hungary.
International students
Four of its apprentices are women, still a small minority in a profession historically dominated by men. A new intake of female jockeys is expected next year.
SAJA chief operating officer Tarryn Mason said the investment went beyond replacing ageing infrastructure at the campus.
“This project is not simply an investment in infrastructure. It is an investment in people, opportunity and the future of South African horse racing,” she said.
The academy came close to closure about five years ago as the racing industry struggled with the fallout from the pandemic.
Its survival is significant, she added, because there is no alternative institution in South Africa offering an apprenticeship programme for professional jockeys.
Only jockey school in SA
Mason said apprentices completed a five-year programme combining schooling, riding, horsemanship and practical experience before qualifying.
“We are developing young people through a structured five-year apprenticeship that combines academic education, practical riding, horsemanship and experiential learning, ultimately preparing them for professional careers in racing,” she said.
Successful apprentices receive a jockey licence from the National Horseracing Authority of South Africa as well as a Diploma in Jockeyship from SAJA.
The academy has produced riders who have competed and won championships internationally, including in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Macau, Mauritius, Singapore, Japan and Australia.
Hollywood Foundation, the project’s primary funder, has also provided full bursaries for 35 previously disadvantaged apprentices. Fifteen have subsequently qualified as professional jockeys, while another nine became work riders and stable managers.
The Summerveld redevelopment forms part of a R500 million investment aimed at stabilising and rebuilding horse racing in KwaZulu-Natal. The investment extends beyond SAJA and includes racing infrastructure and racecourses in the province.
