'I was just part of an entire industry that pulled together' - Irish senior medical officer Jennifer Pugh reflects on MBE award

Dr Jennifer Pugh has hailed the racing industry for its response to the coronavirus pandemic after the senior medical officer of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to horseracing in Northern Ireland.

Pugh succeeded Dr Adrian McGoldrick following his retirement as head medical officer back in 2019 and played a pivotal role in allowing Irish racing to carry on through the bulk of the global pandemic. Those services led to her being honoured at the 2021 Horse Racing Ireland Awards with the Contribution to the Industry accolade.

Her achievements were acknowledged again as she was recognised in the King’s birthday honours list.

Pugh said: "It’s a bit mad. You don’t ever expect these things to come your way and it’s lovely for my family who are still living in Northern Ireland. Covid seems a lifetime ago now but it’s nice to think that we took it on successfully.

"The North is obviously a very big part of that given there are two racecourses up there, tons of breeders, plenty of trainers and a very strong point-to-point scene and I think it’s good for racing that there is recognition of the role it plays in Northern Ireland. Racing very much crosses that divide between North and South and always has done so I think the award is a nice nod to that."

She added: "I was a year in the job and finding my feet when the pandemic hit in March 2020. I was just part of an entire industry that pulled together. Everybody put their shoulder to the wheel. It’s easy to look back now and on reflection, some of the stuff we were asking people to do seems utterly crazy but everybody did it and we were able to get the show back on the road, keeping everybody in their jobs.

"A lot of other sports had to stop at various stages but once we got back on June 8 we never stopped. We raced through every level, including when both countries were in their highest level of restrictions during Cheltenham and Aintree."

Keen to deflect the plaudits, Pugh said: "We had an incredible team. Paul Murtagh and Niall Cronin of the IHRB were unbelievable in terms of what was happening at the track. Sharleen O’Reilly of HRI was my right-hand woman for everything. Jennifer Walsh and Barbara White were on the Cheltenham/Aintree team and that wouldn’t have been possible without them.

"Obviously you look at the racecourse managers, the Covid compliance team, Air and all the owners, jockeys and stable-staff. Covid proved what we can achieve once we all pull together."

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