Philip Shaw caught-up with Arry after hearing his good news and was fascinated to hear his story, what he found useful about the HighGround course and his general approach in preparing to leave the military after serving 38 years with the Royal Logistic Corps.

“HighGround is a great stepping-stone in getting into the industry that you want to get to. I attended the first Virtual Rural Week, which was brilliant. I know it would have been even better if we had been face to face, but it was still such a positive experience. Anna connected me with one contact in the racing world who has been supporting HighGround for many years via their organisation Careers in Racing. That led to 4 contacts and before I knew it I was being put in touch with this person, who suggested I contact that person. It was absolutely incredible how it all picked up and it all stemmed from that one point of contact at HighGround”.

Having had a full career in the military, serving 38 years and coming from a family that was passionate about horses Arry was interested in exploring what his future career options could be.  

“I went from school boy to soldier, so the step from the Green Machine to civilian life was pretty daunting, but coming from the military we learnt how to adapt. We’ve changed jobs every 2-3 years, had to move our family when needed, so you really have to apply this when making thenext step outside the military.”

After initially getting involved with Great British Racing (GBR) to support them through National Race Horse Week Arry joined Racing Welfare in September as their Fundraising  & Events Manager for the North.

“It has been a great opportunity and I count myself lucky to have joined such a brilliant organisation. I have gone from a bigger family to a smaller one, but that for me is such an important aspect of my move into civilian life. The HighGround course was hugely beneficial in terms of meeting such a mixture of people, hearing their experiences and just being able to chew the fat, which I can only imagine in magnified when in person at Bicton”.