'All anyone wants is a pat on the back and these awards show you mean something to the yard and the people there. It's brilliant'

It might seem a cliche but when Cheryl Armstrong says it was "an honour just to be nominated" for the 2024 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, the sentiment rings true.

At the end of February, Armstrong found herself on a whirlwind trip to Ascot for the awards ceremony and returned home triumphant after winning the leadership prize.

The accolade was a testament to her tireless work at Charlie Fellowes's yard and a long-standing devotion to racing, but she never anticipated earning acclaim for what can often be an uncredited profession.

"I was so shocked," Armstrong says. "Even being nominated, that didn't sink in until the first round of judging. You know you're being recognised, but I just kept thinking there's got to be so many other people just as deserving.

"One of my friends, Andy McIntyre, was in the category with me. He used to work at Ian Semple's when I worked for Linda Perratt, so I've known Andy since he was tiny. He should have won it as much as anybody, so I wasn't expecting it to be me at all.

"All anyone wants is a pat on the back and these awards show you mean something to the yard and the people there. It's brilliant."

Armstrong has become a vital cog in the wheel at Bedford House Stables since she moved from her home in Ayr to Newmarket in 2016. Starting out as one of the stable staff, her hard work allowed her to rise through the ranks and become head girl.

Her home, which she shares with partner and travelling head person Stuart Ritchie, sits at the heart of the historic yard overlooking ivy-clad stables, but it is to the office we head in order to allow her one-year-old daughter Aurora to take a much-needed nap in peace.

Cheryl Armstrong at Charlie Fellowes's Newmarket yardCredit: Dan Abraham

Mornings can be intense in this industry but in the afternoon a calm comes over the yard, and in the quiet sunshine Armstrong looks back at a career which has not only shaped her life, but by supporting her colleagues has allowed her to give back to the sport she loves.

"There's always stuff to learn in this job, and it's really great to see the younger members of staff progressing," she says. "We get a lot of people from the British Racing School and I try to support them as best I can because having a good first experience in racing is so important.

"In the past, head lads were a bit different and wouldn't have as much tolerance and time for younger people. Now, I try to help them learn and give them confidence in their abilities. I think it makes a big difference, because some of these kids have never lived away from home and they get flung in the deep end.

"There's the racing side of it, but also they need to learn how to live by themselves, and it can be a very demanding job on top of that. It's very rewarding too and it's great seeing them improve their skills and take an interest in particular aspects of the job. It's amazing when they find a passion for it."

Armstrong knows the value of a positive start in racing, having had her own fortunate beginning with Scottish trainer Perratt. Armstrong began working weekends at the yard when she was 14 and opted for an extended work experience after finishing her GCSEs, which eventually morphed into a five-year job.

"I wasn't really interested in doing anything else but with horses," she recalls. "I'd never seen anything like racing though, it was so different from what I did as a kid – I was using muscles I didn’t even know I had. It's full on, but I started riding out quite quickly and I loved it.

"I stayed there for years, Linda was like a second mother to me. It was a family, Linda would muck nearly every box out while we rode up to nine lots a day. We were a proper unit. She's a massive factor in why I'm still in racing, I was only a kid when I went and I learned so much."

When Armstrong was 21, she ventured outside racing, convinced a change was needed. She took up a role as a support worker for children and young people with autism. It was a job she remembers fondly, but after four years she realised the lure of racing was too big to ignore.

She says: "I thought I needed a change but I realised after a while I wasn't quite ready to stop working with horses. As a leaving present Linda had given me a pony and I was still riding horses out for her at the beach sometimes. I liked being a support worker, but it wasn't quite me."

Racing, it seems, may have chosen Armstrong just as much as she chose it. After a short spell learning the ropes in Newmarket, she joined the travelling team but jumped at the chance to become head girl and devote her time more diligently at home.

While she no longer has to drive across Britain on racedays –except, of course, when her beloved filly Vadream is competing – her new role means she regularly sets off on an annual trip to Qatar to oversee runners and staff during the country's major race meetings.

Vadream: Charlie Fellowes stalwart a favourite of Cheryl Armstrong'sCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

"I'd much rather be at the yard, I'm quite a homebird, so when Charlie came to me one evening stables and said there was an opportunity going for head girl, I could have bitten his hand off," she says.

"Part of it, though, is going to Qatar each year for the big races. Usually you're out there for a week, but the first time I went I was there for a month because it was during the lockdown. It was horrible, I was in quarantine for two weeks in a hotel and you couldn't even open a window, I didn't think I could stand it.

"It was great to get the responsibility but that year was tough as I was the only international person there, so I didn't have anyone to hang out with once out of quarantine. The second year was much better, I was able to bring one of the girls out with me and we had a winner, and I've gone every year since, except the last because the baby came."

Aurora was born before Armstrong discovered she was nominated for the Godolphin-backed employee awards and she returned to work just before being awarded the prize. She discovered the difficulties in raising a child when both parents keep to racing's unorthodox hours, but heaps credit on Fellowes and assistant trainer Mike Marshall for accommodating the arrival of the yard's newest resident.

She says: "Charlie was great with it because I came in with a plan at the beginning. I knew roughly when I wanted to come back and how it was going to work, and between him and Mike, they've made it very easy.

"To come back full-time was tiring, much more than caring for a child, and it's difficult. Childcare is so expensive and you have to find alternative care for the evenings. I think there could be a lot more help for people trying to come back to work after having kids. As an industry, something could be put in place to help parents because in Newmarket, for example, there are just two childminders who do racing hours. For the amount of people here, it's not really enough.

"I'd have never thought about it before having a child but now I realise how difficult it can be. Thankfully everyone at the yard is very understanding, so I'm able to shoot off and get her if needed. I take her round the stables in the evening and she's getting used to horses quite quickly, though I suppose, living here, that's probably inevitable."

Judging by her mother's commitment to racing, Aurora's future interest in the sport looks well assured. The awards are full of deserving candidates but Armstrong is certainly a worthy winner, and she continues to use her success in service of others looking to chart a similar route in the industry.

"I couldn't believe I was nominated, let alone winning, but it was a really enjoyable process because we were treated so well," she says.

"I'm not naturally good at talking about myself, yet in the phone interview I spoke to George McGrath [chief executive of the National Association of Racing Staff] and Anna Kerr [National Stud chief executive] for about half an hour because they just put you at ease.

"It was the same with the final interview, when I spoke to Nick Luck and Paddy Trainor. I wouldn't like to be them though, because it's got to be so difficult to pick a winner. Everyone has such incredible journeys and stories.

"Winning was not only appreciation for me, but for everyone in the yard too. I need them, Charlie needs them, we can't do this without them. A lot more people feel able to come up to me and ask for help now, even those who might be more reserved, and it encouraged people to improve and push themselves in their career. It's changed my life."

Nominations are open until November 5 for the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards. The awards are an opportunity for employees from across the industry in Britain, such as training yards, studs or administrative roles, to be celebrated for their hard work and dedication. Find out more by visiting thoroughbredawards.co.uk.

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