Cover image courtesy of Off The Track
In The Thoroughbred Report’s ‘Industry Profiles’, TTR AusNZ speaks to trailblazers and the unsung heroes of our diverse and vibrant racing community. Thoroughbreds have a unique ability to unite people from all walks of life, and everyone involved in racing shares one common bond — the love of the horse.
With this in mind, this segment celebrates the diversity of the industry while exploring the careers and future plans of its established personalities.
In Friday’s edition of The Thoroughbred Report, we profile Lisa Coffey of Racing Hearts Therapy to learn about her early life and what inspired her to start the organisation.
A love of horses
Coffey was born in Ireland and didn’t grow up with horses, but her love for them began after a trail ride in Spain. “I’ve ridden since I was about 12, but I came from a family that wasn’t wealthy, and we didn’t have any horses or experience with them,” she explained.
Coffey shared how her family took in students for additional income, which led to her discovery of horses. “We hosted a Spanish student during the summer holidays, and they invited me to their home in Spain. They paid for me to visit one summer, and during the trip, they took me on a trail ride. I was absolutely hooked from that moment and just couldn’t get enough. Every time they asked what I wanted to do for the day, I kept asking to go back to the horse-riding centre.”
Lisa Coffey
Upon her return to Ireland, Coffey pestered her parents for riding lessons. “I begged them to let me have lessons, but we just couldn’t afford it. Eventually, I think I annoyed them enough that they found a lady up the road whose son had competed in eventing at the junior European level. She kindly offered to teach me how to ride if I helped muck out the stables and care for the horses.”
This early opportunity set Coffey on her path. “They were so kind to me. I spent all my summer holidays living with them, stayed over on weekends, and would get off the bus after school to head to their place. They even took me to pony club because I didn’t have a float. They ultimately just adopted me.”
Riding leads to racing
Coffey explained how her journey in competitive riding eventually led her into the racing world. “I was older and had been competing a lot, but after surgery, I struggled to get fit again. One day, a friend who’s a jockey’s agent dropped by for a coffee to see how I was doing. I complained about my fitness struggles post-surgery, and he mentioned a local racehorse trainer who was looking for riders.
“I said, 'I’ve no idea how to ride racehorses with the short stirrups and those little saddles.' But he assured me they’d teach me, and since it was a National Hunt yard, the horses were older, and the saddles weren’t quite as small, so it was more manageable.
“The trainer’s name was Niall Madden. His son, Tom Madden, has since moved to Australia and is actually riding in Victoria. Their family were so good to me—they taught me how to ride racehorses and gave me the opportunity to train for my jump jockey's licence.”
Melbourne Cup brings Coffey to Australia
Up until this point, Coffey had remained in Europe and had the unique opportunity to travel with Aidan O’Brien’s impressive fleet of thoroughbreds. “I was working for a French horse transport company that had the contract for Coolmore. My job was to organise the planes and travel to races with Aidan O’Brien’s racehorses.
“I did that for a couple of years, and it really gave me the bug for travelling. I was quite new to racing at the time, so I hadn’t realised how different countries have different training techniques, or the big differences between jump and flat racing.”
Aidan O’Brien
When asked what inspired her to move to Australia, Coffey explained it came down to one particularly miserable morning of weather. “I was riding out one morning, and I think I went through three or four sets of waterproofs, and I just thought, ‘There has to be more to life than this.’
“So, I literally googled ‘horse racing jobs in the sun’ and had a choice between America and Australia. The only thing I knew about Australian racing was this fabulous event called ‘The Melbourne Cup Carnival’ in the spring, and I thought, ‘Well, that sounds very fancy and glamorous,’ and I wanted to see how things were done in Australia.
“So, it was the Melbourne Cup that brought me here!”
“So, it was the Melbourne Cup that brought me here!” - Lisa Coffey
Coffey packed her saddle and boots and landed at the stables of Champion Trainer Peter Moody, back when he was still based at Caulfield. At the time, Caulfield had on-course training and was also home to Ciaron Maher and Mick Price, both of whom Coffey rode for. “I rode for Peter Moody, and what we’d often do at Caulfield was, if we finished riding for our trainers, we’d go and help other trainers.
"So, I rode for Ciaron Maher, and then for Mick Price for quite a while as well.”
Gap in mental health support leads to Racing Hearts
Coffey was working at Racing Victoria when she became aware of the gaps in the industry’s mental health support for all participants. “I had my counselling qualifications from Ireland before I came to Australia, but I had never formally used them. I was actually working full-time at Racing Victoria, where I was offered a job teaching stable hands, track riders, and creating pathways for the apprentice jockey program.
“There was a noticeable gap in the industry for mental health support, especially for the day-to-day stable staff. While the jockeys had access to a psychologist, the trainers had no one to turn to despite being under significant pressure. Likewise, the stable staff, who were also under strain, had no mental health support.
“The industry was really lacking in mental health services across the states and nationally, and there was a big need for it, especially considering the long hours, physical labour, and wages that weren’t always great—it could be a tough gig.”
“The industry was really lacking in mental health services across the states and nationally, and there was a big need for it, especially considering the long hours, physical labour, and wages that weren’t always great—it could be a tough gig.” - Lisa Coffey
Recognising the need for more support for vulnerable people in the industry, Coffey felt inspired to make a change. “I decided to build on my counselling degree and pursued a psychology degree through Monash University. At the same time, Racing Victoria started their Off-The-Track program, and I had a small role in helping get that off the ground.
“One of the issues I felt they faced was a gap in their rehoming program for horses that weren’t very athletic—those who couldn’t be ridden regularly or weren’t considered ‘pretty’ enough for showing.
Stable staff at Coolmore | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“These horses were falling through the cracks because they had limited options for rehoming, particularly older horses. I realised that these horses, with their profiles, could be absolutely perfect for equine-assisted therapy, and that’s how I started it all!”
Racing Hearts starts up
As Coffey’s time at Racing Victoria was coming to a close, she began to sense where her true calling lay. “My time at Racing Victoria was naturally winding down,” she explained, “I felt like I had given all I could within the limits of what I was and wasn’t allowed to do in the organisation.
“I really wanted to dive into the mental health space, so I just started Racing Hearts with two retired racehorses at home, and it grew very quickly from there.”
Racing Hearts catered to horses that were better matched to life as therapy companions | Image courtesy of Racing Hearts
Racing Hearts catered to horses that weren’t suited for eventing careers but were much better matched to life as therapy companions. “It’s not something that’s talked about enough—the horses that become pleasure horses, trail riding horses, paddock companions, or in our case, therapy companions.
“We’ve had horses that we’ve sold for a dollar to clients as companions, and we’ve also re-homed horses for some of our clients. Sometimes these horses can be ridden, but often the clients don’t feel the need to ride them—they just love the horse and the energy it brings. People form deep connections with horses, just like they do with dogs or cats.
“We’ve had horses that we’ve sold for a dollar to clients as companions, and we’ve also re-homed horses for some of our clients. Sometimes these horses can be ridden, but often the clients don’t feel the need to ride them.” - Lisa Coffey
“I really believe there are probably more of these kinds of horses than the athletic ones, and I’d love to see more attention given to what a horse can provide in terms of therapy and companionship. Horses can save lives—they’re just larger than a cat or dog and take up more space, but they are equally capable of offering that same level of companionship.”
Challenges of starting a business
Beginning a business in any area isn’t easy, and Coffey learnt some valuable lessons, “The financial challenge has been the biggest one. I started off Racing Hearts as a just a proprietary limited because I was always going to go down the charity route, but I didn’t want to register as a charity starting off because I wanted to make sure that it was actually going to work as a business model before trying to turn it into a charity.
“We have to feed live animals, and if I was relying on donations and they didn’t come in for whatever reason then I’d be really struck and so I just had to try it as a business model first and it worked really well.
“I’ve also had to learn along the way about taking on too many horses and having some boundaries around taking horses from people for free. We don’t take horses for free anymore and we encourage everybody to not take horses for free because the more retrainers keep taking horses for free the more owners will just keep discarding them.
“We don’t take horses for free anymore and we encourage everybody to not take horses for free because the more retrainers keep taking horses for free the more owners will just keep discarding them.” - Lisa Coffey
“So that was a big challenge and then trying to find where our income stream was going to come from because even though our clients were paying for their sessions, there’s all the insurance, which is higher when working with animals.
“When I started to employ staff we had all the other costs that come with that, and horses they take a bit to feed and need room, so we had been renting a property in Melbourne but we just go so big we had to rent a new property, so the rent and as well as having to fix that property up and the maintenance; it was a lot, however I think I’ve had a similar learning curve to anybody who’s started up a new business in a new country for the first time.”
Another challenge that Coffey faced was navigating a team of people, “I was also probably in a bit of a hurry to employ certain staff instead of being a good leader or a good manager and just take my time to employ a really good team and get on top of toxic behaviour quickly I just employed people who were qualified and had experience as opposed to really taking note of their personalities and how they were going to fit in as a team.
Racing Hearts going on a trail ride | Image courtesy of Racing Hearts
“There were a couple of phases where the culture of the staff has been very, very toxic and it has been a big learning curve for me to have to deal with that as I never had to before. Now having the centre in Queensland I’ve been really careful about who I employ and who volunteer’s as I just won’t tolerate any kind of toxicity anymore.
“It was quite an emotional learning curse rather than the financial; because people either want to donate or they don’t and I’m not precious about people wanting to part with their money if they don’t have any emotional attachment to our cause.
“That’s fine. We’re also a new charity and we’re gaining momentum in terms of partners and supporters really quickly, which is great because we’re only going into our fifth year of operation and we’ve got some heavy hitters from the racing and breeding industry backing us or that have come on board, so I’m very, very grateful.”
Learning curves and looking ahead
As Coffey navigated her business, she came to realise the complexities of applying a blanket approach to governing racing in Australia. “Racing Hearts operates in four states, and I used to be the first person beating the drum, saying, ‘Why can’t we just have a national approach where every state does the same thing?’ I still believe we need a national approach, especially for traceability.
“However, after working with four different PRAs, I now understand why, from a practical point of view, states can’t always do exactly the same thing. For example, in the Northern Territory, it’s incredibly hot, and the equestrian community is small, with limited options for horses when they retire.
“Their model involves funding to transport horses out of the Northern Territory, which is the best option for them, and we’ve established a great partnership as a result. Racing Queensland has also been incredible—I can’t speak highly enough about their off-the-track program, which has an independent body, and one of its key principles is that funding must go directly to the horses.”
“Racing Queensland has also been incredible—I can’t speak highly enough about their off-the-track program, which has an independent body, and one of its key principles is that funding must go directly to the horses.” - Lisa Coffey
Looking to the future, Coffey hopes to raise more awareness about the companionship potential of thoroughbreds and to ensure these horses are well cared for in their post-racing lives. She believes this shouldn’t be up for debate—owners and participants should naturally want to support their horses in thriving after racing. “I’d love for Racing Hearts to no longer be something ‘new’ that I have to explain, especially within the racing industry. There are a lot of people who are now aware of what we do, but one of the most important things has been the help from race clubs and sponsors in connecting me with media, journalists, wealthy owners, and influencers.
“Often, that’s been more valuable than a race club depositing $20,000 into my account, as it allows me to build those networks. There are hundreds of thousands of owners in this country, and I constantly find myself explaining at races what Racing Hearts is. I’d love for it to be common knowledge that we’re a national charity helping people with physical and mental disabilities through work with retired racehorses.
"My goal is for Racing Hearts to become an international model, delivering the program in other countries. I had my own challenges growing up, and I can honestly say horses probably saved my life on many occasions. Knowing what my childhood was like and the limited pathways available to me, I want to help both people and horses.
Lisa Coffey from Racing Hearts | Image courtesy of Racing Hearts
“One thing I think is often undervalued about the thoroughbred, compared to other breeds, is their connection to humans. They’re handled from the moment they take their first breath, so their brains develop attachments not only to their mothers but also to humans. They grow up being able to read people as well as they read each other.
“This is a huge difference with thoroughbreds. Another topic I keep hearing about is the ‘social licence to operate’—it’s a buzzword right now. But instead of just focusing on public perception, we should be doing the right thing by these horses that bring us so much joy in the sport.
“There are so many great people in racing, and I wouldn’t have met half of them if I hadn’t moved to Australia and gotten involved in racing. It’s a wonderful way to meet people, and we should all band together to give these horses the retirement they deserve.
“There are so many great people in racing, and I wouldn’t have met half of them if I hadn’t moved to Australia and gotten involved in racing. It’s a wonderful way to meet people.” - Lisa Coffey
“There is, unfortunately, some ‘window dressing’ with certain off-the-track programs that lack substance, and that frustrates me. I’m sure it’s not simple, but we’ve been so innovative in creating syndications, micro-shares, and ownership opportunities. Why can’t we find a way to create a retirement fund for every thoroughbred born? It might be complicated to set up, but it surely can’t be that difficult.
“Racing has evolved over the decades. It was once the ‘Sport of Kings’, where the wealthy owned the horses, and the poor looked after them. But people have been clever in developing new ownership models. Let’s explore ways to support every thoroughbred.”
