At the Races presenter and former jockey Hayley Moore was knocked to the ground by a loose horse she stepped in to catch at Chepstow racecourse yesterday (22 May).
The incident occurred in the 3.15pm, a seven-furlong handicap Flat race, which had 12 runners including three-year-old Give Em A Clump.
The moment Hayley, sister of former champion Flat jockey Ryan Moore, jump jockeys Josh and Jamie and daughter of trainer Gary, stepped out in front of the horse to catch it, was captured on film.
Check this out – unreal stuff from our presenter Hayley Moore!
Posted by At The Races on Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Give Em A Clump was in the first furlong when he unseated his jockey. He then completed two laps of the track before Hayley decided to take matters into her own hands.
As he galloped towards the finishing line, Hayley walked on to the course and managed to grab his reins as he passed. She was pulled over and dragged a short distance, but hung on until the horse came to a halt.
“It looked like the horse did a funny little jump in the first furlong and then stumbled,” Hayley told H&H. “His jockey then came off and his blinkers slipped, slightly obscuring his vision — he was then essentially galloping in blind panic.
“I thought if I didn’t try to stop him, when was he going to stop? He could have exhausted or harmed himself and I was worried he would run into something. I just didn’t want him to run another lap scared,” Hayley explained.
“I could see as the horse approached me near the finish line that he was slowing a little, so I grabbed his reins and thankfully he came to a stop.”
Undeterred, the presenter proceeded to untack the horse and then continued with her work and was soon interviewing the winning jockey.
“I wasn’t hurt at all and I just carried on with my job,” she said.
Continues below…
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Hayley’s studio colleagues Bob Cooper and Jason Weaver gave viewers their own take on events.
“Goodness me, Hayley,” Bob said as he watched in disbelief. “That deserves some sort of award. If that’s what At the Races presenters have to do when we go live reporting, I tell you I’m not doing it!”
Give Em A Clump, a three-year-old trained by David Evans, was being ridden by Fran Berry, who has five wins under his belt so far this season, clocking up £123,749 in prize money. Fran walked away from his fall unaided.
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday
This week’s edition (17 May) features a full report from Royal Windsor Horse Show, including all the showing, showjumping and dressage action. We go behind the scenes with the Household Cavalry as they prepare for the royal wedding, plus check out our interview with Irish eventer Padraig McCarthy.
