The young Claregalway jockey who lost his life in a house fire in the UK last year is to be remembered with a scholarship from a UK racecourse.
Jamie Kyne (18 ) and Scottish jockey Jan Wilson (19 ) died in a fire at an apartment block in Norton, Yorkshire, in September. The pair were remembered at Beverley Racecourse in Yorkshire this week with the award of the first annual Kyne Wilson Scholarship, set up in their honour.
Apprentice jockey Paul Pickard (22 ), who was a friend of Mr Kyne’s, has become the first recipient of the scholarship, which runs for the full year. The scholarship, worth an estimated £4,000, will run for five years and will then be reviewed. The award is designed to help with the cost of fitness, correct riding attire, raising the jockey’s profile, improving his confidence, and helping to source sponsorship.
“The staff at the racecourse and regular racegoers to Beverley were shocked and saddened by the tragic events that took Jan and Jamie back in September,” said Beverley Racecourse manager Sally Iggulden this week. “We wanted to do something to celebrate their lives and it was felt that a scholarship which provided support and guidance to young jockeys would be a fitting tribute to them both.
“Jamie was a regular rider at Beverley, achieving his first double here and indeed, his last winner on Duchess Dora. Jan rode her first placed horse here, when partnering Bed Fellow to fourth place as an amateur rider in September 2008.”
Jamie Kyne was a promising apprentice jockey who had won 29 races in the season before his tragic death. His family run Kiltrogue Stud Farm in Claregalway and he had been racing for a number of years.
Yorkshire man Peter Brown (37 ) was arrested shortly after the blaze and is due to face charges of murdering Mr Kyne and Ms Wilson next month.
