In 2009 Alexis Laidler was crowned the Queen of Scottish Harness Racing by winning the SHRC trainer of the year award for the second year in succession. But what exactly does it take to become such a successful trainer and how does Alexis go about her daily tasks? Well she recently let us into a couple of her secrets and explained how she spends her days.

Its an early rise for the SHRC and BHRC leading trainer......5am to be exact!! The early start all makes sense considering theres generally 25 hungry horses waiting for breakfast. Husband Rocker (and stable driver) has 'pimped up' an old Asda trolley to lighten the load during feeding times! Star of the stable Laneside Lexus tends to go crazy if she isn't fed first. It seems the fame has went to her head and she has turned into quite a diva. All the horses are given hay in the morning to see them through the day. Once the horses are fed Alexis and Rocker grab a quick bite to eat themselves before the jogging commences at 6am. The older more experienced horses are first on the track as its usually still dark at 6am. Around 9am the staff arrive to lend a hand.






"We have three people who we could not do without. Vicky, Alison and Brian are fantastic and we owe much of our success to them and the help they give us. Vicky and Alison help out with the jogging and Brian does the mucking out whilst also keeping us supplied with hot rolls and tea and coffee.....he is priceless!!"

All horses in the Laidler barn are jogged for 30mins. They are then bathed and put in the cross ties with a cooler on to help them dry out. All the jogging is usually wrapped up for 1pm with the horses getting their second feed and all the staff take a 30 minute lunch break. Once lunch is over the horses are brushed and rugged before the barn is swept clean. Next up is the cleaning and packing of the harness for the following days racing when Alexis could have as many as 6 horses racing in one day.





Evening feed is around 6.30pm and all the horses get more hay to see them through until morning. The day is complete around 7.30pm when Alexis and Rocker finally get home and get some dinner for themselves.
"I'd love to say im an excellent cook and that we dine on fabulous food but the truth is we usually have something quick either from the freezer or a take-away. During dinner i usually sort out the entries for the weeks racing and we finally get the tele on around 8.30pm. If we havn't already fallen asleep then we head to bed around 10pm to do it all again the following day."





Its very much a full time job for Alexis and her staff but Alexis believes its all worthwhile. "Its without a doubt a very time consuming job but 2009 has been exceptional for me as a trainer. I'm very lucky to be supported by loyal and positive owners who have given me some excellent horses to work with. Had it not been for these fantastic owners and the team of people who work with me then I would never have been able to become the 2009 SHRC and BHRC trainer of the year whilst also achieving my dream of winning the double at Musselburgh with JR Hall and Laneside Lexus."

Good luck to Alexis and her team for the fast approaching 2010 season.