Hayley has over fourteen years in the MICE industry and joined The Jockey Club team in 2016 as Head of Venues. Her primary focus is account management of the national venue finding agents and corporates. Hayley travels all over the country visiting clients and is delighted to meet new customers so if you would like to talk with Hayley she’d welcome the opportunity to learn more about your business and discuss how the portfolio of venues can work for you. To contact Hayley drop her a note enquiries@jockeyclubvenues.co.uk or click the Find Out More button to Link In directly.  

What Tracy Rusbridge from Sandown Park, Kempton Park and Epsom Downs doesn’t know about exhibitions could fit on the back of a postage stamp! A truly talented professional who has built the venues’ reputation to be one of the leading exhibition centres in the country which is mirrored by the respect and fondness her clients have for this industry expert. And she’s in the little black book of many of the top location managers too having signed the venue to star in blockbuster films including Love Actually and James Bond as well as television adverts and dramas.

Michelle has worked at Exeter for twenty eight years with the last twelve of these spent developing the conference and events centre to become one of the leading venues in the South West. Her extensive knowledge and experience shines through in everything she does. You can immediately see her care and thoughtful details in both the design and specification of the event spaces. The venues’ strong customer loyalty is further testament to Michelle’s enviable reputation as a true industry champion and the high regard clients and customers have for her.

Clare Evans is a Regional Conference & Events Manager who looks after four venues in the South West which includes Warwick, Exeter, Wincanton and Cheltenham. Whilst the world is caught up in ‘Festival Fever’ (Cheltenham being home to the world’s most famous horseracing jumps fixture every March, The Festival) Clare steadily carries on her work in the industry she is so passionate about as Cheltenham is also famous for being one of the UKs top conference and events venues, with The Centaur facility widely considered to be amongst the finest in the country. With such a demanding role in one of the busiest regions it goes without saying Clare lives by the motto Keep Calm and Carry On.

Claire Leonard takes managing sales at one of the world’s most famous venues, Aintree Racecourse, totally in her stride. Hardly surprising when you consider Claire has almost twenty years industry experience she can use to ensure the team deliver world class service and events are run to world class standards. Regional Deputy Head of Sales for the North West sees Claire also look after Haydock Park and Carlisle.

Rachel became Conference and Events Manager for the East region at the beginning of this year so is busy getting to know clients as well as being out and about seeing the properties Market Rasen, Nottingham and Huntingdon which she looks after. Based out of glorious Newmarket Rachel has two venues, the July course, an idyllic summer party facility as well as the Rowley Mile, an established and thriving events centre in the Cambridgeshire area to manage. She also works closely with The Jockey Club Rooms team and Discover Newmarket as together the destination offers organisers a truly exceptional experience in the meetings industry.

Lee is a larger than life character and a man of many talents. You’d think his role as Head of Sales for the South West would keep him busy enough but Lee has the energy of a Duracell battery with a vivacious personality to match so stops at nothing to make sure his venues deliver the best possible experiences, whatever the occasion. A former jockey, Lee’s competitiveness is now channelled into triathlons and he’s often burning off some of that endless energy raising money for charities and good causes. Then it’s a quick shower and change and he’s off for an evening hosting valued clients at a glitzy awards evening.

James is the General Manager at Nottingham, a thriving conference and events centre. With a strong background in conference and banqueting James brought his know how to the venue in 2014 and has set about on an extensive refurbishment programme of the facilities and products resulting in Nottingham being firmly on the map as a favourite destination with organisers far and wide. And whilst racing is his passion, James can also be found engrossed watching a different kind of horse power with his dream being to watch the Formula One Grand Prix close up in Monaco!

Tom is a noted, award winning chef with over thirty years of experience in the hospitality and catering industry preparing dishes for soldiers, Olympians and Royalty alike! He now brings his skills and passion for creating mouth-watering, healthy food to the conference and events business at Cheltenham. Tom is also passionate about seasonality, provenance of ingredients and sourcing of local British produce that are farmed and caught in a sustainable & ethical way

It is essential in this fast-paced environment to be surrounded by a professional, dedicated team. At Cheltenham I am fortunate here to be with an outstanding team of people who share a genuine love of the kitchen.

Kenny holds a unique role within the portfolio. He’s based at Cheltenham being the venues’ dedicated Technical Manager for events, such is the ‘State of the Art’ audio visual capability of The Centaur! His technical knowhow is second to none with an extensive knowledge in all things ‘gadgets and gismos’. He is qualified in CAD drawing and rigging as well as being fully health & safety trained. He can often be found at the helm of the cherry picker preparing the venue’s mothergrid with lighting and speaker systems ahead of an event production companys’ arrival. Kenny and his team often work long into the night to accommodate event builds and de-rigs but he always has a bright cheery welcome for all with a smile on his face (apart from when he has to have his photograph taken that is!)

Samantha is a busy bee looking after the commercial elements of the venue at Huntingdon. With over ten years experience in the hotel industry she is keen to realise the Conference & Events potential at this gem of a venue and can often be found out and about networking at local events. She also loves the buzz of a race day, there’s just no stopping this go-getter!

A whirlwind follows Becky. Always making sure the venue is set ready to go whether she’s welcoming seventy thousand visitors on Gold Cup Day or hosting a national sales conference for a blue chip client in The Centaur at Cheltenham, nothing other than perfection will do! Mary Poppins? We think so!

Read Becky’s Blog here

When she’s not running marathons for charity Joanne is proudly selling the conference and events facilities in the North West region which includes Carlisle, Haydock Park and the world famous Aintree racecourse

Joanne is an established professional in the events industry with over 15 years experience but her passion is running and raising money for charity.  A contender for the next Grand National? Quite possibly!

Samantha heads up the sales teams at three of the busiest properties in the portfolio Kempton Park, Sandown Park and Epsom Downs but that doesn’t stop her finding time to be networking around the country at the top sporting events as well as making sure her clients have the very best experience whether they’re attending the legendary Epsom Derby or filming for the next block buster feature film at the industry favourite Sandown Park! 

Oh and she runs marathons, does boxing, rides her bike in charity rides….heaven only knows how she fits it all in!

Can you tell from the hat where Tina is based? Having started as a Christmas coordinator Tina is now the Senior Business Development Executive in the Conference & Events team based at Epsom Downs and loves her job, watching films, cooking and eating (we aren’t sure in which order?)

Although predominately focused on managing corporate clients this experienced event professional can help with almost any enquiry!

Tina is a former dancer trained in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Tap so if you want a little help with your moves for when you take to the dance floor at the now legendary Epsom Christmas party nights Tina’s your girl. 

Lily brings a little theatre to the Conference & Events team at Warwick having previously worked at The Royal Shakespeare company. She has a wealth of experience in organising events and weddings and is putting her talents to use creating new packages for business events, Christmas party nights and school proms. She also played a key role in the planning and running of the first Warwick marathon which was a triumphant success! 

Charlotte joined The Jockey Club as an event coordinator in 2010 for Aintree where she learned her craft about what it takes to host world class events at this famous venue! Now leading the Conference & Events Sales team for the North West which includes Haydock Park and Carlisle, Charlotte inspires everyone to go the extra furlong for their clients! 

Lyle with the smile! Always happy Lyle is passionate about his job looking after clients at Sandown Park, Epsom Downs and Kempton Park. 

Spelt the Spanish way, Rebeca was inspired to be in the conference and events industry by her parents and boy has she gone on to conquer it! Rebeca has worked for major hotel groups and leading event agencies booking unique venues all around the world. Working for the world renowned conference and events venue Cheltenham Racecourse then is a perfect pairing!

Rebeca loves gardening, crafting, baking and has lived in thirty abodes including a castle (well who hasn’t!) in more than a dozen towns in seven counties spanning from Cornwall to North Yorkshire. And there’s more.

This talented lady has recorded three hit rock songs at The Abbey Road Studios no less with The National Rock Choir. We totally dig this Rock Chick!  

Before joining The Jockey Club in 2015, Beth worked at her family-owned pub for six years. She began her Jockey Club career in racing and events coordination for the South West region.

The travelling bug tempted Beth away but the pull of Cheltenham Racecourse proved too much to resist and she returned to be a Business Development Executive.

Beth is dedicated and passionate with a drive to exceed her clients’ expectations. She’s a chatterbox too always taking time to personally see her clients on event days for a catch up as well as working hard behind the scenes with the operations team to ensure their Jockey Club Venues experience is as seamless as possible.

In her spare time, Beth enjoys riding horses, watching vintage and classic motorsports as well as helping out/drinking gin at her Mum and Dad’s quintessential pub. We say a hearty cheers to that Beth!

A bit of an adrenaline junkie Jenna gets her fixes playing county level hockey, cricket, snowboarding and Tiger Okinawa Karate

Christmas is her favourite time of year and it could be said she actually turns into an Elf, living and breathing everything festive. Top of her Christmas wish list was to design the theme for the Kempton Park party nights and we couldn’t say no to that! So we gave her the key to the Christmas cupboard and now she’s busy spreading festive cheer with every sale!l

Gemma joined the Jockey Club as a Regional Business Development Executive looking after the East region including both (because one isn’t enough!) venues at Newmarket, Huntingdon, Market Rasen and Nottingham

Based in the commercial office at the Rowley Mile racecourse in the Conference and Events team she has over five years of experience in Sales and Marketing and is passionate about delivering exceptional customer experience, developing customer relationships as well as going above and beyond in her role.

Outside of work Gemma is a gym bunny and loves to run often training for events. Her fitness comes in very handy we she has to sprint over to the July course to help a client!

Chris has been at Nottingham for four years looking after hospitality and conference events. Prior to this he worked for the Theatre and Concert Hall running a front of house team and looking after VIP guests. Chris originally worked in the corporate sector and would often bring his clients to Venues such as the racecourse so guests are in safe hands with Chris.