Meet the Team at Michelle Brown Greyhounds
An established family-owned greyhound training business
Michelle Brown – Professional Greyhound Trainer
I’m the owner of Michelle Brown Greyhounds having taken over the business from my parents in 2019, so growing up a lot of my memories are of dog tracks around the country and walking dogs on the track at a young age. I’ve always been involved in the business, and I used to earn my pocket money cleaning the walls of the kennels. When I left school I wanted to work with racehorses so I went to work for Eric Cantillon. I would care for his greyhounds in the mornings, his horses in the afternoons and on some evenings I would attend dog racing events. I then went on to work for Sir Mark Prescott where I learnt a lot and loved every minute, but I would still help my parents at weekends with the greyhounds, also stepping in for them when they went on holiday. After I had my children, I decided to work full-time with Mum and Dad so I could be at home. After a couple of years they decided to step back from the business a little and transferred the licence into my name. We then got the training contract with Romford Greyhound Stadium.
My main focus every day is to make sure all our dogs are sound, fit, happy and healthy. I constantly check them, watch them moving in the paddocks, how they stand, play, etc. Once or twice a week we go to the physio: I like to go so I can learn how to spot potential injuries in the dogs so I can take the right pre-emptive actions. I’ve developed a knack for spotting issues, I try to do most of the treatments myself and I get a huge buzz from seeing them get back on the track. A massive part of my job is keeping our owners up to date as much as possible, so they feel involved with the dogs. I go to the race track two or three times a week.
Hazel Kemp – Mum and Assistant Trainer
Like Michael, Hazel grew up with her greyhound-loving Dad and has been involved her whole life. Hazel is now mainly responsible for the general cleanliness of the kennels and looking after the pups. When pups are born they are cared for around the clock and the mothers and pups need a lot of feeding. We have whelped many litters over the years and Hazel loves nothing more than taking them for their first schooling trials. She’s still goes to the track twice a week.
Michael Kemp – Dad and Head Kennel Hand
Michael has worked with dogs his whole adult life, from being on the traps at Bury St Edmund’s Race Track, to having dogs in training with lots of different trainers, to then having four at home, to then 20 years ago having over 200 dogs as a business. His experience and knowledge is second to none. His main role at Michelle Brown Greyhounds is the feeding: he spends a lot of time thinking about each dog and its needs, if and when it’s trialling or racing, and if the dogs are heavy or light. He still loves going to the track two or three times a week. He also loves planning open races and looking through the calendar at what races we can target with which dogs.
Stuart Brown - Dutiful Husband and Kennel Hand
Nicole
Mum of five Nicole is a family friend and has been around animals all her life. Her main role at Michelle Brown Greyhounds is grooming, nails, teeth, some treatments, feeding the pups, changing beds, letting out and general cleaning. Nicole also goes to the track whenever she can.
Kirsty Brown – Sister In Law and Kennel Hand
Kirsty and Michelle have known each other since their school days. Kirsty has also been around greyhounds all her life and Kirsty’s Mum is also involved in greyhound breeding, having bred many litters. They also have a dog grooming business so she’s a great asset to the team. Her main roles are grooming, nails, teeth, feeding the pups, letting out, changing beds and waters.
Ian Cornthwaite – Kennel Hand
Pasco, Annette, Andrew, Ian
These guys are brilliant with the dogs and are just a phone call away if we have a lot of runners or we need to be at more than one track on race days.
Macey Brown – Daughter and Head of Cuddles
Macey is responsible for ensuring that each new litter we breed have enough cuddles as they develop from tiny pups to fully grown greyhounds. Macey loves nothing more than getting in the kennels with the pups and giving them all of her attention.
Harley Brown – Son and Head Waiter
Harley is in charge of ensuring that all the dogs are supplied with enough water throughout the day to keep them hydrated. It is a very responsible and challenging role but one that Harley relishes.
This is very much a family business and my children play their part too! They are particularly good with the puppies and provide plenty of cuddles, especially for the nervous ones. They also do their share of watering and changing beds so they’re getting a good grounding in what’s involved in caring for greyhounds.
If you’d like to find out more about the work we do here at Michelle Brown Greyhounds then please get in touch. We can tell you all about our training programme and you can book a visit to our wonderful kennels.
