One of North America’s most decorated horse racing riders, Barbadian legend Patrick Husbands, has announced a landmark initiative to launch a dedicated jockey training school on his home island, with the explicit goal of cultivating new local riding talent for careers in the global horseracing industry.
The project has already secured official backing from Barbados’ Minister of Sport Charles Griffith, with Husbands framing the initiative as a chance to pay forward the opportunities that horse racing gave him. The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee, who earned more than 3,700 career wins and over US$180 million in prize money over a 30-year professional career, said he is eager to leverage his decades of on-track experience and industry expertise to open doors for young Barbadians interested in pursuing professional riding.
Husbands’ career achievements place him among the most respected jockeys in North American racing. A seven-time winner of Canada’s Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey, he also holds multiple Woodbine Racetrack titles, multiple wins at Barbados’ prestigious Gold Cup, and received the 2014 Avelino Gomez Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to Canadian racing. He was formally inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2024.
During a recent meeting with Minister Griffith and his team at the ministry’s Sky Mall Haggatt Hall offices, Husbands revealed that high-profile international racing figures have already signaled their support for the project, including fellow legendary jockey Frankie Dettori. Minister Griffith welcomed the plan, noting that initiatives led by successful international athletes who return to lift up their home communities deliver far-reaching benefits for Barbados.
Griffith emphasized that Husbands’ global connections and deep skill set make this initiative far more promising than earlier unfulfilled plans for a riding school on the island. Beyond creating opportunities for young riders, Griffith argued the school will also become a major asset for Barbados’ fast-growing sports tourism sector, with the capacity to serve training needs across the entire Caribbean region.
For Husbands, launching the school has been a long-held goal dating back to the early days of his rise in international racing. “I am looking forward to giving back to Barbados, the wider Caribbean and Canada via the riding school,” he explained, adding that he also plans to make the school’s facilities and programming accessible to people with disabilities and incarcerated individuals seeking new skills and pathways forward.
Husbands added that he intends to recruit experienced regional riding talent to help run the school, noting that top jockeys from Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Canada all have a role to play in mentoring the next cohort of riders. He has identified a countryside location as the ideal site for the training facility, a plan that has received full endorsement from Minister Griffith.
Griffith pointed out that the global horseracing industry offers hundreds of high-quality professional roles that Barbadian workers are well positioned to fill, from jockeys to other racing operations positions. He praised Husbands for paving the way for future generations, noting “there’s no doubt that hundreds of other Barbadians can follow in his footsteps.”