A special volunteers’ outing to Epsom Derby Festival
By Paul Bursche, Gillian Duncan and Jenny Melik
“It was the coldest and wettest I’ve been since Glastonbury 2016 but all I remember from our group was laughter!”, said trustee Paul Bursche. Paul, volunteer Gillian, and Jenny, mother of volunteer Noah, share special memories of the day.
Paul explains how it all came about:
For this year’s Epsom Derby Festival the Jockey Club trialled a new ‘Community Zone’, a dedicated and family-friendly space inside the course at Tattenham Corner. Entry was free to local community groups with the aim of recapturing the ‘people’s carnival’ atmosphere of the historic event.
We were lucky enough to be invited and even more so to be provided with one of 20 double-decker buses to be our base, shared with the local Epsom RDA. This wasn’t a day about fundraising, but a proper day out for our volunteers as a thank you for all that they do as part of the Park Lane family. Even more fitting, Derby Day coincided with national Volunteers’ Week. Perfect!
When the exciting day arrived the weather was appalling, with heavy rain and strong winds for most of the day. Our fabulous bus was such a godsend! The bad weather did nothing to dampen spirits and our group of 30 tucked into a picnic on the bus which was parked up within sight of the action on the racecourse.
Some of our volunteers who first learned to ride and care for horses have gone on to careers in the racing community – hello Louis and Johannes! – so we also had plenty of insider insight to inform our bets and lots of winners between us during the day. (But choosing based on names that we liked seemed to work almost as well…). As if all of this wasn’t enough excitement, another highlight was the King’s limousine making a trip into the Community Zone – right by our bus! We didn’t get to meet him but we did exchange waves.
Despite the weather, the Community Zone seems to have been a big success. Our gang certainly enjoyed it and all said they would go back in a heartbeat if invited again.
Gillian (third left) with other Park Lane volunteers
Gillian Duncan says:
Where do I even start! My first ever time at the races and what an experience, despite the weather. The community bus was an absolute godsend, somewhere for all the PLS team to meet, eat, drink and stay dry, and of course chat and study the racing betting pages. Well it would have been rude not to…
The thrill of being next to the track side rail during the races was immense with the horses thundering past, what a rush! Overall this was a fabulous day out with the best people. I will be going racing again, now I have experienced it. Big thanks to PLS and to the Epsom Derby team who provided that fabulous bus!
I first arrived at PLS as a referral from my mental health team. Natalie and the team gave me the confidence and belief that I have a future, and one that is my absolute dream, too! I have found a purpose in life at last. I’m now a trainee RDA Carriage Driving Coach, training with the excellent coach and mentor Peter. My ambition is to qualify as an RDA Coach and eventually to become both a Carriage Driving Coach and Equine Therapist, enabling youngsters and adults to embrace time with horses, and experience the many magical benefits that that brings.
I’m also honoured to be a member of the GB Para Equestrian Driving Training Group (GB POD), a charity that supports the training of disabled drivers to any level and standard that their potential can take them. When I first visited the Stables I couldn’t imagine that all this would follow. Thank you Natalie and my lovely fellow volunteers and friends.
Jenny’s photo of Noah (behind Woody/wearing cap, front left) with Park Lane volunteers taking selfies
Jenny Melik says:
I had never been to the Derby before so was very excited to be invited along with my son Noah. As soon as we arrived the scale of the event was very clear – the huge grandstand and the sheer number of people that were arriving full of excitement despite the very heavy rain! The Park Lane bus in the Community Zone was definitely the best bus in the line-up and the PLS community spirit shone through. I felt like a bit of a fraud as it is my son who volunteers and I was only there to accompany him. If it had been dry I had planned to just sit outside and enjoy the day till he was ready to leave but the weather made that pretty difficult.
But in typical Park Lane style everyone was so welcoming. We soon settled into a rhythm of listening to tips on the horses from Louis, heading over to place a bet now and again, and then to the rails to see the horses heading down to the start. It was fascinating to hear from Noah, Louis, Yohannes and other budding young jockeys about the techniques these jockeys were using to get their horses ready to race. Without their insight I wouldn’t have appreciated the subtle skills involved.
I loved hearing from different people how they pick their horse – some on form, some on tips from others, some on odds (good and bad) and many like me who chose based on name and the silks! (This served us pretty well too.)
Then to see the horses up close on the rails. Wow, the sheer power was incredible. A particular highlight was the sprint race which started at the top of the straight very close to us. The pace at which they flew out of the gates was phenomenal. We could really see up close how brave both the horse and jockey are and how tactical the racing.
And now I can say that I’ve been to Epsom with Noah on Derby Day, who knew? It was such a treat, especially to share it with such lovely people.
A big thank you from all of us to Jim Allen, Julie Kapsallis, Helen Cowan and all at Epsom who made it happen. It will live long in the memories of everyone who was there.