How did Rein It In come about?
Evie and Lois had the idea for a while, and it was concreted by a Tweet by Lizzie Kelly, wondering if there was a market for a young racing magazine. From there we made the account on Twitter and began advertising for applicants. Niamh then came on board, and then we had a brief hiatus, before making a full return, when Samantha applied. Now we are up and running and do racing blog posts on http://www.reinitinracing.wordpress.com every week.

How can more young writers join the team?
An updated applicant sheet can be found on our Twitter and Instagram and the filled-out version can be sent to us either through our social medias or through email. Applicants must be under 18 though.

Is there particular target you want to reach with the website?

We want to make horse racing more accessible to a younger audience. We want to show that racing isn’t a dying sport, and that it can be enjoyed by everyone, no matter their age or gender. As we are all currently in full time education, we also know how hard it is to access racing websites from school as they are characterised as gambling sites, so we just want people to be able to enjoy horse racing without talk of betting and with more focus on the horses and the people behind the scenes.

How should the racing authorities go about getting more young people into racing?

Evie has a post about this on the website. There are many things racing authorities could do. From making kids versions of racing websites, to promoting racing more with competitions like we saw in Great British Racing’s Stirrup Summer. It would also be an idea to work with Pony Clubs, to get people interested in pony racing, as several up and coming jockeys started there, so it would be a good idea to encourage younger people in.

What areas of racing do you cover on Rein It In?
We cover everything on Rein It In, but we do not focus on gambling. From big races, and racing news, to problems with racing and changes that we want to see, we do it all.
6. How many members does the Rein It In team have currently?
There are currently four of us. Niamh, Lois, Samantha and Evie.
7. If there was one thing you could change about racing. What would it be?
The majority of the changes we would like to see are to do with preventing the deaths of racehorses, such as less overbreeding, or a research project into the leading causes of racehorse deaths.
8. What do you hope this venture will bring the team? Jobs in the racing industry?
It would definitely be great if this could help us get jobs within racing, but we also want the site to continue even after we are 18, continually bringing people into the sport and giving them the best chance to get them into racing journalism. It also gives us the chance to voice our own opinions on racing topics, such as whip debates and drugs debates.

Article written by Jamie Lindsay