The founder of an equine charity that prepares thoroughbreds for new lives after racing and helps young people who are not coping at school has been honoured with a prestigious award.

Grace Muir, who set up HEROS Charity in 2006, was given the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Community Impact accolade at the 2025 RoR Awards on Saturday (25 January). She received the accolade in recognition of “her outstanding contributions to both the racing and education sectors”.

“I am so honoured to receive this award from RoR because they lead the way in this sphere. While we also do different work at HEROS, there’s no doubt that my heart lies with the horses,” said Grace. “I hope that we continue to grow, expand, and reach more targets, making a real impact on the aftercare of former racehorses.”

In a video shown during the awards ceremony at Cheltenham racecourse, Grace explained that she started the charity with the sole intention of retraining and rehoming former racehorses. In 2015, HEROS diversified and set up an education programme, with support of funding from the Racing Foundation.

Grace said the charity sees a difference in young people “within a week” of them being at HEROS.

“We have 11- to 16-year-olds, who are not in school, but they come to us one to three days a week,” she said.

She added the charity’s mission is to capture the young people’s interest in horses, and get them back into school – with the hope they may return to HEROS to undertake a post-16 qualification and then on to employment in the racing industry.

“We also have a forest school, which we started in October 2023 – they have a half-mile walk to the forest, and actually the horses catch sight of them there and say, ‘Hi, what are you doing? Why aren’t you with us?’ Many of those [students] are now doing dual days – one forest, one equine,” she said, adding that HEROs has “lots of ideas and new things coming in the future”.

The two other finalists in the community impact award were Samantha Barton from Redberth Croft CIC with Up For An Oscar, for their work in building confidence and horsemanship skills among those who have faced adversity; and Louise Robson and Forth Bridge, of Thoroughbred Dressage, for their community outreach work.

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Charities dedicated to helping injured horses in the Gambia and retraining racehorses in the UK are among those benefiting from the £60,000 raised by the ‘Vets with Horsepower’ 2017 ride.

The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust is using the £25,000 received to buy a much-needed ambulance to take sick horses and donkeys to the clinic.

“This means we can go to do our mobile clinics and travel animals back quickly in relative comfort,” said Heather Armstrong, the charity’s director.

She said the ambulance “is something we have dreamed of for so long and have never been able to afford so we are very excited about it.”

The charity hopes to have the new vehicle in operation early in the New Year.

In the UK the charity HEROS was given £10,000 to buy digital educational tools to encourage more youngsters into the racing industry.

A Clever Touch Smart board has been bought for use in the new classroom opening in early 2018.

The charity, which retrains and rehomes former racehorses, has an expanding educational programme with courses accredited by City and Guilds level one to three.

“In recent years, the rapid development of technology has transformed the way students learn and the way educators teach. The funds kindly donated by the Vets with Horsepower team will provide a fundamental element to the success of our educational material,” said Grace Muir from HEROS.

The other two charities given funds from the 2017 ride were the Ethelbert Child and Youth Care Centre in South Africa (£20,000) and The Smile Train (£5,000).

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This year the ‘Vets in Horsepower’ team are setting off in June to the Arctic circle via Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany.

The chosen charities are the Interstate Veterinary School in Dakar, Senegal, which is urgently in need of diagnostic and surgical equipment; Saving the Survivors, a rhino and elephant sanctuary in South Africa and The Smile Train.

Founded in 2010 by Professor Derek Knottenbelt after he won a Harley Davidson bike in a raffle, the “Vets with Horsepower” team have completed seven tours travelling 16,5000 miles.

A total of £560,000 has been raised so far and 325 hours of CPD talks delivered to equine veterinary practices around the world.

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Find out why you should consider taking an ex-racehorse on and why you need to think seriously about your decision first

1. Ex-racehorses can excel in every discipline

“Retired racehorses are extremely versatile, intelligent and quick at learning new skills, therefore they can generally adapt to almost all equestrian disciplines,” says Gillian Carlisle, chief executive of The British Thoroughbred Retraining Centre. “It is however fair to say racehorses struggle with developing the same amount of collection and engagement and therefore higher level dressage can be a challenge too far for many retired horses. Over the years, retired racehorses have competed at the highest level in eventing. Obviously this needs enormous luck as well as the normal talent and dedication, but thoroughbreds are bred to compete and will always repay your efforts.”

2. …But you do need to have the right support

“Anyone who is thinking about taking on a retired racehorse must ensure they have adequate experience, suitable facilities and that they have sufficient time,” Gillian says. “It’s also preferable if they have a support network in place, whether that be an instructor or a retraining centre, so they’ve got someone to turn to if they require any help or advice.”

3. They can make great hacking horses

“There are horses who’ve never raced, or raced very lightly, and who are just too slow with low miles on the clock so will lend themselves well to an alternative career,” says Grace Muir, chief executive of racehorse rehoming charity HEROS. “They also make great hacks or leisure horses.”

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4. Many of them will already have been retrained

HEROS, for example, does a great deal of work with the horses before looking to rehome them. “We endeavour to iron out any initial common problems before we re-home our horses — standing to mount, hacking alone, turnout routines, different tack, different aids etc,” says Grace. “Each horse is different so the challenges can be very few with the horse adapting to a new way of life easily, while some take longer and can be more complex.”

5. …But they’re still not a good choice for a first horse

“A novice rider with little horse husbandry knowledge is not the right person to be thinking of taking on a racehorse. They’re not good first horses. Owners need to have an understanding of the amount of time and care required in caring for the horse,” says Grace. Graham Oldfield, co-founder of The Racehorse Sanctuary, adds the following common sense suggestions to the list of unsuitable candidates: “The very young, an elderly person who wants a quiet hack, and those who have ridden at their local riding school and have decided it is time to have their own horse.”

6. They’re very loving

“They can be extremely affectionate and thrive on human interaction,” says Gillian.

7. …But can be high maintenance

“Thoroughbreds need more frequent shoeing and dental care than many other breed,s but they amply repay this extra commitment because most thoroughbreds love the company of humans. A thoroughbred needs a purpose in life and they do not do well simply turned out in a paddock to fend for themselves,” Gillian adds.

8. The idea that thoroughbreds suffer more from ulcers and injuries than other breeds is a myth

“The ailments and injuries referred to can be associated with all equines,” points out Graham Oldfield. “Sadly the thoroughbred is believed to be worse than others, although personally I don’t think that this is the case. It’s spoken about more frequently with the thoroughbred due to the sheer numbers of horses coming out of training. These problems need to be dealt with when they occur as would be the case with any other breed.”

9. …But they may already have wear-and-tear from their racing career (that may cost you in vet’s bills)

“The National Hunt horses in general are more straightforward and level-headed, but can so often come with a history of injuries. The two, three and four-year olds coming straight from flat racing can be a lot more flighty, particularly the two-year olds physiologically as they’ve covered so much in their short lives and are still babies at heart,” says Graham.

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Past stars of the turf are returning to the racecourse this week for a charity horserace at Lingfield Park.

Run by Oxfordshire-based charity HEROS (Homing Ex-Racehorses Organisation Scheme) the raceday will take place at the Surrey racecourse this Friday (20 March).

Former jockeys John Reid, Gay Kellaway, Pat Murphy and Brendan Powell will be getting back in the saddle for the race while Pat Eddery will be acting as the race starter.

There will also be a parade of past Lingfield winners including Suggestive — whose career started with a win at the course in 2001, Zucchero — who went on to win The Lincoln Handicap, Zanay and Sri Diamond — both winners of the Winter Derby and Rapporteur who won 19 races at Lingfield.

The parade will be led by Monsignor, the face of HEROS.

The charity race is at 1.15pm.

For more information visit www.heroscharity.org

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A 37-year-old man who has never ridden before has lost nearly five stone to take part in a charity horse race.

Tom Connors is one of 12 riders taking part in a charity race later this month to raise money for HEROS (Homing Ex-Racehorses Organisation Scheme) at Hereford racecourse.

Until Tom made the decision six months ago to take part in the race he had never ridden a horse before.

Since January he has also lost nearly five stone in order to make the weight to ride in the race on the 22 June.

Tom told H&H: “When I was a young lad I really wanted to be a jockey as both my father and grandfather were jockeys.”

“But I soon realised that I was a bit too tall and too heavy. This is like fulfilling a boyhood dream.”

Tom will be riding Knowhow, who was given to HEROS by owner Malcolm Denmark.

“I sat on a few ponies when I was a boy but it wasn’t really proper riding. I’m really enjoying the experience and Knowhow is making it easier — he’s an absolute gent,” said Tom.

Tom, who is a supervisor for a tarmac firm, now goes to the gym and runs five miles everyday as part of his intense training for the race.

Tom added: “Learning to ride has been the easy part — the hard part is losing all the weight! I was 15st 10lb at the beginning of January and I’m now 10st 13lb. It’s costing me a fortune as I’ve had to buy a whole new wardrobe!

“I’d never been in a gym before January — now you can’t keep me away!”

Also riding in the race is HEROS founder Grace Muir’s husband, Kevin Bell. Kevin, who used to be a trainer, will be riding Grace’s Yeoman Sailor who won his first race under rules for Grace at Hereford, so she is hoping for a repeat performance.

The twelve budding jockeys taking part are hoping to raise around £1,500 in sponsorship to take part in the race.

Grace told H&H: “The charity is largely dependent on fund raising events and individual donations to continue its good work. We are very grateful to Hereford racecourse for this opportunity to stage our first HEROS charity race day which will include an auction, celebrity speaker and a parade by our ambassador Monsignor.”

HEROS is based at North Farm Stud on the West Berkshire/Oxfordshire border and rehabilitates and rehomes racehorses. For more information visit www.heroscharity.org

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HEROS (Homing Ex-Racehorses Organisation Scheme) are freeze-marking all their retired racehorses to protect them from theft.

Equine security organisation Farmkey will be providing subsidised freeze-marking for the horses at the HEROS centre and also for their re-homed racehorses that are out on loan.

Chief executive Grace Muir said: “A freeze-mark is often the difference between recovering your horse or losing him forever. Many of our horses are rehomed for life, so this service will provide invaluable peace of mind for both us and their new owners.”

The first HEROS horse to have been freeze-marked was Activo, a seven-year-old bay gelding owned by Katherine Ager.

Katherine told H&H: “Activo won three races but retired because he wasn’t that good. I’ve had him since October last year and so far we have just been hacking and schooling, he has never jumped. At the moment we are just getting used to each other.

“HEROS was recommended to me by a friend and as soon as I met Activo I fell in love with him, I rode him out and two weeks later he arrived at my house.

“So far it’s going really well, we do have our ups and downs and sometimes he tests my nerves as he’s full of beans, but I’m really pleased with him.”

Activo’s registration number HR00, which he received in January and now over 20 HEROS horses have been marked.

A spokesman for Farmkey said: “When Grace approached us about marking their ex-racehorses we were happy to offer HEROS a reduced rate and have allocated a series of HR numbers for their horses.”

Grace added: “Although the horses are already micro-chipped we wanted a visual sign to stop theft. We wanted people to be 100% aware that these are HEROS horses, so they are all freeze-marked HR.

Currently there are approximately 30 horses in the centres care and since the charity was established in July 2007 more than 150 horses have been rehomed.

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The charity HEROS — Homing Ex-Racehorses Organisation Scheme — is running a masterclass entitled “Optimum Health for Optimum Performance”.

The fund-raising event will be held at North Farm Stud (the headquarters of HEROS), near Wantage, Oxfordshire on Sunday, 20 May.

“The link between health and performance is critical,” said Dr Emma Baston of sponsor Merial Equine Health. “The lectures are set to be highly informative for anyone involved in producing competition horses.”

Starting at 10.30am, there will be presentations from some of the UK’s leading veterinary specialists. The speakers are: Dr Lesley Young, “Do horses with big hearts run faster?”; Geoff Lane, “Making horses that have gone in the wind, go like the wind”; and, Richard Hepburn, “Journey to the centre of the stomach”.

“All the speakers are witty and can be very funny,” said organiser Grace Muir. “Although they are experts, anyone will be able to understand it and join in.”

Mark Pitman will be chairing the seminar, and there will also be a celebrity panel present. Those confirmed to date include: Manchester City Manager cum racehorse owner Stuart Pearce; trainers Carl Llewellyn and William Muir; Richard Fuller, sales director of Fuller’s Brewery and a MFH; and, New Zealand international dressage rider Lisa White.

Following the presentations, delegates will be able to put questions to the speakers and the panel.

The price for delegates is: adults £50; students £25; and, children (12-16) £15. There is also an optional stud tour for £5. For further details or to book, visit www.heroscharity.org or (tel: 01488 638243).

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