Latest from Horse & Hound in Thoroughbreds

‘I love every inch of him’: meet the 50p former Flat racehorse jumping internationally – after four-year passport battle

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 30 May 2026 11:53:01 +0000

The owner of a 50p former Flat racehorse who is now an international showjumper – after a four-year registration battle – said she hopes this shows exactly what thoroughbreds can do.

Jessie Welch and The Iron Factor contested their first CSI event at Wellington last weekend, jumping clear in a small tour and a big tour class and contesting the 1.25m big tour final, a few weeks after the FEI agreed to accept his Jockey Club US passport.

“It’s taken a few years but this has really been the biggest achievement of my time with him,” Jessie told H&H. “It was an incredible show, I’m very happy. He’s been a godsend to me.”

Jessie used to work in racing and heard through a friend that “Sexy” was looking for a new home.

“He only ran three times – bless him, he wasn’t very good!” she said. “I worked for a pre-trainer who was best friends with his owner, and they wanted a home for him.

“I was unfortunate enough that my horse had an injury, and Alan just said ‘Look, there’s a field of old horses there, four- and five-year-olds; pick one and take it home’. I thought ‘That one looks sweet’.

“I didn’t know his name, I knew nothing about him, I just picked him out of the field, thank you very much, and took him home. I paid 50p to have him and he’s been mine ever since. I didn’t have a clue what I had.”

Giving it a go

Jessie said she had enjoyed team chasing and following bloodhounds, and had no thought of showjumping.

“I think I just saw an advert somewhere, and thought, ‘I could have a go at this showjumping malarkey’,” she said. “I hadn’t jumped much at all but thought ‘We’ll give it a crack’.

“I took him to one his first lesson in a racing saddle and exercise sheet, and my trainer looked at me and said ‘Wow, this is a racehorse’, and I said yes; he’d never seen a fence in his life.

“I took him to his first show, a 30cm cross-pole class, and he took nine of the 12 fences down but I thought ‘We’ll keep trying’ and he got better and better, and he loved it.”

Jessie said she found a good trainer, and took the view of starting him in showjumping as she would any horse.

“I just thought ‘Treat him like a warmblood, working him like a warmblood as he’s no different’,” she said. “And it’s paid off.

“My first trainer said he was a thoroughbred and they’re not designed to jump and that was that. It wasn’t plain sailing – he had kissing spines surgery as a five-year-old – but when I brought him back I was training with Ben Bick, who didn’t ask what he was.

“He didn’t care that he was a thoroughbred, he just trained us like we were showjumpers and he said ‘You’ve got a really smart horse here, and you’ll have a lot of fun with him’.”

Huge support

Ben then moved away and Jessie came south to be based with showjumper Joe Clayton at Hascombe Equestrian.

“I ended up working full-time for Joe; I have my horses there, and he’s really put us through our paces,” she said. “It’s only really the last six months, but he’s had me jumping big tracks with him. He’s been a massive mentor and supporter to me.”

Four years ago, Sexy was jumping so well, Jessie tried to register him with the FEI to jump internationally, along with another horse she had. But Sexy’s passport didn’t arrive.

“They said his US passport wasn’t deemed legitimate by the FEI so he couldn’t be registered,” she said. “I thought it would be simple but there wasn’t a way round it. I couldn’t re-passport him as he was chipped and had a passport, and effectively he was one of the most traceable horses in the country as a racehorse. But no one would overstamp it.”

Jessie added that a major issue was the lack of a page in Sexy’s passport on which he could be signed out of the human food chain.

“Not a single passport company was happy to add the page,” she said. “I didn’t know what an issue it would be. I fought but never got anywhere.”

Sexy was then out for a few months with an injury, but when he came back into work, Jessie tried again.

“I thought ‘I’m going to fight for this now, this is ridiculous’,” she said. “‘I’m with a trainer who’s travelling around Europe at internationals, and I’ve got a horse who if I’m away two in every four weeks, I’m having to leave at home. This is stupid’.

Fighting the case

“My vet got in contact with a top vet at the FEI, and they had a woman called Jen Ancliff call me from British Equestrian, and she has fought my case for the last six months.”

Thanks to Ms Ancliff’s work, and after meetings with Defra, the FEI accepted Sexy in April.

“I was straight on the case, I think I cried when they emailed to say it was ok!” Jessie said. “They wanted a scanned copy of every page of his passport – I think I had 64 pages scanned within about three minutes. You could say it’s four years too late but to be able to go to his first international and jump what he’s jumped and how he’s jumped it, means more than anything to me.”

Jessie had not had as much time as would have been ideal to get Sexy fit so at Wellington she started with the 1.10m small tour class.

“He flew round and Joe said ‘Try him in the big tour’, then he flew that 1.20m on day two,” she said. “Then Joe said to try him in the 1.25m and we had two poles; rider error that I can improve on. To me, it was a big track, and he took me round with his ears pricked the whole way; ‘I’ve got this’.”

Jessie said that there are not many thoroughbreds jumping internationally and it is nice that Sexy can “fly the flag a bit” for his breed.

“A lot of people wouldn’t realise that a thoroughbred or ex-racehorse is capable of that,” she said. “I think there is a bit of ‘That’s an ex-racehorse, it’s not capable’ but unless you told someone he was a thoroughbred, they wouldn’t know.

Picture by Charlotte Bury Photography (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“He’s in these classes, and he’s competitive; we’re not bottom of the pack, or trying to push him to a level he’s struggling with, he’s getting better and better, and up there with the best of them. To me that means everything, because it’s shown what they can do.”

Jessie added that sometimes people do not have the right attitude to former racehorses.

“People might think they’re just a cheap thoroughbred and just do happy hacking without thinking they’ve got the ability,” she said. “This has taken us a while and we’ve had ups and downs but ultimately he’s gone from a horse who took every fence in a 30cm class to being competitive in a 1.25m.

“I’ve entered him for Bolesworth and that’s bigger again but my goal has always been to jump a 1.30m, and now I’d like to think maybe it’ll be a 1.30m international, there. That’s the ultimate goal.”

She added that Sexy loves his jumping, and plays up to a big atmosphere.

“He goes in there and properly struts his stuff,” she said. “He’s just a happy horse, always has his ears pricked and he’s the easiest animal to do anything with.

“He sleeps all day, he loves life, he’s spoilt rotten; does what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, and he pays me back every minute of the day. He’s an absolute darling. I adore every inch of him.”

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Kindness, education and positive role models key to thoroughbreds’ life-long wellbeing

Lucy Elder — Fri, 22 May 2026 15:51:17 +0000

Staff education, role models and trustworthy research were the three key themes in a cross-industry discussion on how to ensure thoroughbreds’ wellbeing is the best it can be throughout their lives.

Researchers, trainers, educators and other leading industry figures debated ideas and discussed existing practices around horse wellbeing in the thoroughbred industry, from birth through their racing careers and life after racing.

“The mentoring, formal and informal, and then the environment that you’re in influences a lot of what you learn and what you come to think of as normal,” said Andrew Braithwaite, chief executive of the British Racing School (BRS), during the event at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile racecourse on 15 May.

He gave the example of the way wellbeing was a focus for last year’s refurbishment of the main BRS yard, which included “friendship grilles”, which allow horses contact with each other, and dual-aspect windows in stables, and also spoke about the school’s kindness ethos.

“When we speak to the trainees, we make absolutely clear that we’re not just talking about kindness to each other and to the humans at school. But that it’s absolutely paramount when they’re with us – and throughout the whole of their careers in racing – that you have to be kind to the horses,” he said.

Trainer Richard Phillips said “the best leaders are the best examples”, adding that thinking about how his own mentors would behave in situations has “never left” him.

“Those days, a long time ago, we had more time,” he said. “I’ve always used the analogy that I’m the headmaster of school. The people who ride the horses are the teachers. The owners are the parents and the horses are pupils. Being the teacher in the school is the most important role.”

He echoed others’ points about the important role being physically fit plays in good wellbeing for horses and said the industry “shouldn’t shy away” from that.

Mr Phillips also raised the question about how to support staff with continued learning from experts – in work time – through their careers.

“There are lots of courses out, but it’s often in their own time,” he said. “I think training staff within racing is within our compass, we can do it, we’ve got to think of a way of how we do it better.”

Anna Kerr, chief executive of The National Stud, shared how good foundations are “laid from day dot”.

“At the core it’s a partnership and we’re laying the foundation of trust; that [horses] can trust us,” she said.

She gave the example of how certain staff come in early during the season to make sure young horses get extra scratches on morning feed rounds and are used to being handled all the way through.

Many nodded to how lucky the industry is to have many great horse people “across the board” and the value of good staff, but noted that yards are under increasing time and financial pressures.

The point was also raised that changes – for example, to yard design – come at a time and financial cost, too, and that trainers want certainty, through solid research, that these will not lead to unintended negative consequences.

The panel also came up with many positive ideas. These include promoting how much British racing and the wider equestrian industry does know and is already doing well, plus a system whereby new owners are given “full disclosure” of a horse’s veterinary history and reason for retiring when he leaves racing.

“It would certainly give people that transparency of what they’re taking on,” said Therese Murphy, founder of education provider Equi-Ed.

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10 thoroughbreds including ‘one of the thinnest we’d ever seen’ now thriving in their home for life

Eleanor Jones — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 07:03:07 +0000

Ten thoroughbreds including one of the thinnest horses Redwings had ever seen are thriving in their home for life after their owner was prosecuted for welfare offences.

The charity took in four mares last March and six last month, all owned by a man from Suffolk who was banned from keeping animals for life in an RSPCA court case.

Chloe Jefferd, one of Redwings’ welfare vets overseeing the horses’ care, said a mare named Harmonia was in the worst condition of the first four mares to arrive.

“She was severely emaciated and very weak as a result,” she said. “She was one of the thinnest horses our staff had ever seen and very poorly. Severe worm damage meant she needed a plasma transfusion and intensive care.”

The other three mares were in foal, and in very poor condition.

“Very sadly we lost Solo to severe parasitic worm disease shortly after her arrival,”Ms Jefferd said.

Harmonia and Elektra a year after their rescue (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“Calypso was a wonderful mum but after a tumultuous weekend of round-the-clock care, her foal, who was born with several health issues, tragically died.

“Happily, Electra gave birth to a healthy colt, Echo, who is doing well so far.”

The four mares and the one surviving foal spent five months being cared for at Redwings’ quarantine centre. A year after their rescue, they have “settled into sanctuary life and working with Redwings’ behaviour team who are preparing them for their futures, whether that be inside or outside of sanctuary care”.

In February, they were joined by a stallion, a mare and her foal, two colts and a gelding from the same location.

“Sadly, the stallion also needed a plasma transfusion because of his parasitic worm burden,” Ms Jefferd said. “All have needed treatment for worms and the stallion and colts will need castrating.

“Whilst this is what we’re here to do, it’s becoming more and more difficult. Times are very tough and we need our supporters’ help more than ever to continue to be ready to rescue horses, ponies, donkeys and mules like these, when they need us most.”

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Do you ride a retrained racehorse? Check out the competition series and championships exclusive to you

Martha Terry — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 11:34:17 +0000

One of the many things that’s great about riding ex-racehorses is the glut of competitions and series that are not only available, but exclusive to thoroughbreds in their second career.

Whatever your discipline of choice, there are dozens of classes, predominantly at grassroots level, to kickstart your retrained racehorse’s new competitive calling, culminating in prizes and championships if your journey takes you there.

An added incentive is the prestigious shows and venues hosting the championships, such as Aintree, London International, Hickstead and Horse of the Year Show. Plus, some of these competitions for ex-racehorses have enticing prize-money to boot.

The major championships for retrained racehorses in the UK – the Jockey Club’s Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) National Championships – is a six-day competition featuring classes in showing, dressage and jumping, plus two evening performances. In 2026, this will take place at Aintree International Equestrian Centre on 18–23 August. As befits a national championships, there are qualification criteria, which we will go on to explain.

Competitions and series for ex-racehorses often have finals at prestigious venues, such as Hickstead. (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Competitions for ex-racehorses: All disciplines

RoR competition league

League runs from 1 September to 31 May (dressage, showjumping and arena eventing) or until 31 August (unaffiliated eventing, cross-country and showing), with combinations accumulating points at shows (not online) throughout this period.

At the end of the League, rosettes will be awarded to the top 10 at each level based on points submitted.

To take part, visit the RoR site for a registration form.

RoR competition league championship

In addition to the league placings, RoR competition league championships for dressage, showjumping and arena eventing will be held at the RoR National Championships at Aintree in August and are open to qualified combinations only.

The Showing League Final will take place at the Winter Championships at Pickering Grange on 19 April.

To qualify for the League Championship classes at Aintree, members must submit a minimum of four scores showing a completion result or percentage in the relevant discipline.

Many owners of ex-racehorses find their horses adapt well to eventing. (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Eventing competitions for ex-racehorses

Thoroughbreds have many attributes that can make them ideally suited to eventing as a new direction. They are often bold, forward-going, athletic and full of stamina. There are several options for those with competitive aspirations throughout the year, both organised by the RoR organisation and others.

RoR Winter Championships (Arena Eventing)

Pickering Grange EC, Leics
17–19 April 2026

Qualification: Two completion results at the level at which you wish to compete in the championships, at any venue, affiliated or unaffiliated. You may qualify for two championship classes as long as the heights are consecutive.

Email your results to aparkinson@ror.org.uk to ensure you meet the required level.

For more information, visit ror.org.uk

Connolly’s Red Mills RoR Eventing Championships

Aspen Cooling Osberton International Horse Trials (1)
22–24 May 2026

Levels: BE90, BE100 and novice

Qualification: Combinations need to achieve a minimum of two MERs, or two double clears, at BE classes at the level between 1 March–26 April 2026.

Arc Racehorse to Eventer Challenge Cup

Cornbury House Horse Trials
10–12 September 2026

Level: open novice

Qualification: Via regular novice classes in the 2026 season. Combinations must achieve two minimum eligibility requirements at the level. Horses must not have competed at Advanced or CCI4* level or above. Horses must either have raced or have been in training at a registered trainers’ yard.

Tom McEwen eventing former racehorse Dream Big. (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

RoR BE Points Series

Levels: BE80, 90, 100, novice

Series runs from 1 February to 15 October 2026, with combinations accumulating points at any of these levels at BE events during the season.

To take part, email loneill@ror.org.uk for a registration form.

RoR Competition League Eventing Series

Levels: four heights from 70cm–100cm

A series for RoR members competing at unaffiliated events. Points are awarded according to finishing position (from first down to 11th or lower), with the combination accumulating the most points within the period (1 September 2025–31 August 2026) being crowned the series winner.

Points can be won at any venue during the qualifying period. BE registration is not required.

To take part, download the registration form from the RoR website and return to aparkinson@ror.org.uk

Foran Equine Series and Awards

Highest-placed RoR awards at all BEDE events. These will be formatted through the season into a league with end-of-season prizes. Further details on eligibility, registration and prize structures will be released in due course.

Showing series for ex-racehorses

It’s wonderful to see racehorses showing off once again in front of a crowd – plus it’s great for those spectators to see some of the stars excelling in a new career. There are plenty of opportunities for competitions for retrained racehorses, in prestigious venues, whatever your level.

Tattersalls RoR Scottish Series Championship

Royal Highland Show
18 June

Qualification: Horses must have raced in Great Britain. Qualifiers are held throughout the season (prior to 1 April qualifies for 2026, afterwards for 2027). Top three qualify for championship. Prize for highest placed veteran.

For more information, visit ror.org.uk

Tattersalls Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Show Series Finals

Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting
22 June

Qualification: Qualifiers are held throughout the season (prior to 2 June qualifies for 2026, afterwards for 2027). Previous champions cannot compete in final.

Depending on the class, there are restrictions on where the horse has raced, whether it was in training and unraced, and so on. The final is split into horses whose last race was on the Flat or under National Hunt rules (including point-to-point and bumpers). Top three go forward to international arena for final judging. Prize for highest placed veteran.

For more information, visit ror.org.uk

The Jockey Club RoR National Championships

Aintree International EC, Merseyside
22 August

Qualification: Winner of each Tattersalls RoR show series qualifier (open, amateur, novice, in-hand, Scottish) from 1 August 2025–31 July 2026, plus the highest-placed horse aged 15-plus qualifies for veteran final.

For the Tattersalls RorR challenge, there is a course of eight fences (80cm in qualifiers, 85cm in final) and an individual show/conformation phase – series champion and top three in any qualifier go through to final.

For more information, visit ror.org.uk

Retrained racehorse showing classes can take you all the way to Horse of the Year Show. (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse Championship

Horse of the Year Show
8–11 October 2026

Qualification: For thoroughbreds that have raced under Rules. Via the SEIB Search For A Star qualifiers and selected other shows including Hartpury Horse Trials, Burghley Horse Trials, Equifest, National Hunter Supreme Championship Show.

For more information, visit seib.co.uk

BSHA Rising Star Racehorse to Show Horse Championship

London International Horse Show
18–22 December 2026

Qualification: Via BSHA ridden qualifiers held throughout the year, or at BSHA championships.

For more information, visit britishshowhorse.org

Dressage competitions for retrained racehorses

Just because thoroughbreds are built for speed doesn’t mean they can’t point their toes! Many racehorses have fantastic paces, and can be retrained to excel between the white boards especially at grassroots level.

The Jockey Club RoR National Championships

Aintree International EC, Merseyside
18–23 August

Levels: intro, prelim, novice, elementary, medium, special

Qualification: RoR members can qualify from 1 February for regional championships, at which they can qualify for the nationals, by submitting two scoresheets at or above the required minimum percentage (varying from 60 to 65%, class-dependent) from affiliated or unaffiliated dressage competitions.

At regionals, you must again score the minimum percentage or higher to qualify for the nationals.

Regional championships

West Midlands: Allens Hill, Worcs (2 May)
Midlands: Field House Equestrian, Staffs (23 May)
South Wales: Beacons EC, Carms (24 May)
East: Fenning Farm EC, Cambs (7 June)
South-west: Chard Equestrian, Som (13 June)
North-west: Myerscough College, Lancs (14 June)
North-east: Highfield House, Tyne and Wear (20 June)
South-east: Felbridge Equestrian, Surrey (21 June)
Northern: Greenlands EC, Cumbria (27 June)
Scottish: Netherton Equestrian, Perths (28 June)
East Midlands: Vale View Equestrian, Leics (5 July)
Yorkshire: Manor Grange, E Yorks (12 July)
Welsh: David Broome Event Centre, Mons (15 July)
Southern: West Wilts EC, Wilts (17 October, qualifies for 2027)

For more information, visit ror.org.uk

Showjumping competitions for ex-racehorses

Showjumping competitions are arguably the option taken by the least retrained racehorses, but if you need any inspiration, look no further than John Whitaker’s Philco, a full thoroughbred who won European silver and numerous grand prix trophies.

Who said thoroughbreds can’t jump! David Broome’s Philco is a prime example. (Image credit: Eamonn McCabe/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

The Jockey Club RoR National Championships

Aintree International EC, Merseyside
18–23 August 2026

Levels: 70cm, 80cm, 90cm and 1m

Qualification: These are all open classes for RoR competition registered horses, with no qualification criteria. They are run in accordance with British Showjumping rules.

For more information, visit ror.org.uk

Equiyd British Showjumping National Amateur and Veteran Championships

Aintree International EC, Merseyside
10–15 November

Levels: 85cm–1.10m

The RoR will be awarding prizes to the highest placed RoR-registered combinations in all championship classes. Horses must hold current RoR competition membership, and will need to state eligibility on entry.

For more information, visit aintreeequestriancentre.co.uk

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The rider flying between hemispheres for her spring five-star prep – and the fellow thoroughbred lover who makes it possible

Pippa Roome — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:18:49 +0000

Sophia Hill revealed her busy spring schedule flying between hemispheres after finishing third in the $100,000 LiftMaster Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase at Bruce’s Field, Aiken, South Carolina last week (27-28 February).

The 28-year-old rider competed in Britain in 2024, including finishing 22nd at Burghley Horse Trials with her top horse Humble Glory, but is opting to base herself between her native Australia and the USA this spring, having been back Down Under last season.

Former racehorse Humble Glory, by Bernardini, has been stabled with US-based New Zealand rider Monica Spencer since Maryland 5 Star last autumn, in which the pair finished sixth.

Sophia Hill has a business and a full yard of other competition horses at home, so she opted to leave “Hughie” with Monica and travel back and forth while preparing for this spring’s Kentucky Three-Day Event (23-26 April).

While she’s away, Monica rides the horse – and she’s well qualified to prepare a thoroughbred for five-star as she was second at Maryland last year on Artist and has been seventh and eighth at Kentucky on him.

Sophia flew into the US to compete in a combined event at Ocala, Florida ahead of the eventing showcase. She returned to Australia the day after, and will be back in the USA to to compete Humble Glory at The Event at TerraNova CCI4*-S (26-29 March). She will fly back to her homeland to compete at Adelaide CCI5* (16-19 April), then head back to the USA to contest Kentucky.

“It’s a lot of flying”

“It’s a lot of flying, but it’s actually easier for us doing it like this than basing in the US, because we have a team of horses in Australia,” said Sophia, who also has a two-year-old child to look after.

“We also have an income in Australia and we’re really lucky. We’re great friends with Monica and really trust her to leave Hughie with her. If it wasn’t for her, this wouldn’t be possible.”

Sophia and Humble Glory were the fastest pair of the day over Jay Hambly’s cross-country course at the showcase.

She said: “We’re pretty much following Monica’s prep to Kentucky and she was coming here, and it’s an awesome event, and there’s some good prize money. We thought ‘Maybe we can help fund Hughie’s time in the US and get some prize money!’”

The pair were 19th after dressage on a score of 35.1, but Sophia was the sole rider to finish on her first-phase score, which was rewarded with a podium place. Phillip Dutton won with Denim and Elisa Wallace was second with Lissavorra Quality

“That was so much fun. I’ve never done a cross-country quite like that,” she said.”It was just like, jump, jump, jump, and everything came up so fast, but I couldn’t have been sat on a better horse for it. He’s just so agile, has such quick acceleration, just loves to gallop and the jumps back him off. He was amazing.”

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‘Experiencing the magic’: retired racehorses mark Chinese year of the horse in city centre

Eleanor Jones — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:01:36 +0000

Two thoroughbreds visited the oldest Chinatown in Europe to mark the official start of the year of the horse today (17 February).

Former racehorses Kemboy and Nora The Xplorer met passers-by and posed for pictures under the Chinese arch on Nelson Street, Liverpool, which at 44ft tall is the largest of its type outside mainland China.

A spokesperson for Great British Racing, which was behind today’s visit, said the organisation was proud to celebrate the horse.

“In Chinese tradition, the horse symbolises strength, speed, freedom and success, all of which are qualities that resonate powerfully with the British thoroughbred, one of the most admired and accomplished equine athletes in the world,” she said.

“Elegant yet powerful, spirited yet disciplined, these horses embody the very characteristics honoured during this special year, which is celebrated every 12 years in the Chinese zodiac’s 12-year cycle.”

In celebration of the year, Great British Racing has pledged to ensure 8,000 young people have the chance to get close to a thoroughbred in 2026. As well as National Racehorse Week (22-31 August), during which young people can visit studs, training yards and rehoming centres for free, some 100 events will be held across the country.

Picture by James Speakman/PA Media Assignments (Image credit: PA)

“The free events will give people the chance to get close to the horses, meet trainers, jockeys, farriers, physiotherapists and the dedicated yard staff, and experience the magic of the thoroughbred for themselves,” the spokesperson said, adding that racehorses will also be taken into cities to meet children at community events.

“In the year of the horse, these remarkable animals stand as ideal ambassadors for British sport. They unite heritage and modern excellence, inspire national pride and provide a shared sense of excitement and optimism. As symbols of beauty, strength and perseverance, British thoroughbreds perfectly reflect the spirit of the horse, reminding us why these extraordinary animals continue to captivate audiences around the world, and help to make horseracing Britain’s second biggest spectator sport.”

Amy Bannister-Bell, who owns Nora The Xplorer, said it was “fantastic” to be able to share the horses with the public.

“Thoroughbreds are incredible athletes and they’re also very empathetic and gentle animals,” she said. “It’s brilliant so many young people will have the chance to meet them this year.”

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‘He absolutely loves it’: Flat racing stallion who won over £1m takes to new bloodhounding life ‘like a duck to water’

Eleanor Jones — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 18:04:53 +0000

A former Flat racing stallion who won over £1m and came second in the Melbourne Cup – and was not ridden for five years – has taken to his new life bloodhounding and draghunting “like a duck to water”.

Top stayer Marmelo, who was trained to Group success at home and abroad by Hughie Morrison, moved to Bruce Langley-McKim of Thorpeley Irish Draught & Rare Breed Stud last year aged 12, after years standing at stud – and is now having the time of his life.

Bruce told H&H Marmelo “didn’t get many mares” during his time at different studs, and someone suggested Bruce take him on.

“He’s having the time of his life,” Bruce said.

“We got him fit and jumped a few poles with him, then Cos Me Is Black lost a shoe and I needed to whip in for the Readyfield Bloodhounds. I thought ‘I’m going to have to take the thoroughbred’! And he absolutely loved it. He’s like an old man’s hunter who has been doing it all his life.”

Marmelo had seven wins for Hughie, including the Group Two Prix Maurice de Nieuil, and the Darley Prix Kergolay twice, and the Group Three Dubai Duty Free John Porter Finest Surprise Stakes. He broke course records at home and abroad, and was narrowly beaten by Cross Counter in the 2018 Melbourne Cup. But he had never jumped.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 06: Hugh Bowman riding Marmelo after finishing runner up in Race 7, Lexus Melbourne Cup during Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 6, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images) (Image credit: Vince Caligiuri)

Bruce said he initially took Marmelo out thinking that if the horse wasn’t enjoying himself, “I knew where the lorry was”.

“I took him out to the Cambridgeshire Draghounds’ team-chase course and thought if it didn’t go well, I could take him to the end and pretend we’d been there all along!” he said. “But in the end, we were beside the field master all day, and he’s never looked back.

“He’s fantastic with hounds and jumps anything you put in front of him.”

Bruce said Marmelo is a gentleman in the stable.

“My wife’s pregnant and I wouldn’t trust some of the stallions with her but he just wants love and attention,” he said.

Hughie told H&H he and his team always take a great deal of trouble to find horses good homes and lives after racing.

“I’m biased but there aren’t many horses who achieve what he did on the Flat and go on to hunting, taking it like a duck to water,” he said.

Hughie added that Marmelo deserved to win a Group One but as he was always being prepared for the Melbourne Cup when appropriate races were run, he did not contest them. Marmelo held track records at Chantilly and York racecourses.

“He was a very good Flat horse who broke two significant track records; what we never knew is how good he could have been over jumps,” Hughie said. “He had the speed to win the Champion Hurdle, and from his hunting exploits, he seems to have the aptitude to have no trouble jumping. He’s got many talents that should mean success as a sire of sport horses and the like. Bruce has done a fantastic job with him.”

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Tiny wearable sensors could reduce risk of fatal horse injuries

Eleanor Jones — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 12:28:39 +0000

Tiny wearable sensors could help reduce catastrophic injury in racehorses, a study has found.

Research led by Washington State University (WSU) in the US found the sensors can help identify horses at higher risk, potentially reducing injuries by 20%.

The sensors record stride movements invisible to the human eye and the data are analysed by an algorithm and compared to patterns from sound horses and those who have suffered fatal injuries. This generates a risk score of between one and six for each horse.

The researchers tested the sensors in nearly 30,000 races involving more than 11,800 thoroughbreds at 10 tracks across the US between 2021 and 2024. The study, published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, found horses with a risk score of six were 44 times more likely to suffer a fatal injury than those with a score of one. Horses with a score of six made up 0.4% of starts but 4% of fatalities.

“This technology can help us to intervene before a fatal musculoskeletal injury occurs,” said lead researcher Warwick Bayly, a professor in WSU’s college of veterinary medicine.

“We now have the potential to prevent injuries that would end a horse’s career, or even its life, and make racing safer. Our data show focusing on horses flagged with the highest risk scores could reduce fatal injury rates by nearly 20%.”

A WSU spokesperson said figures show most horses who suffer fatal injuries in racing had existing bone conditions.

“Every fatal injury is devastating, not just for the horse and connections but for the sport itself,” Dr Bayly said. “Instead of relying on what we can see – which is very little at full gallop – we now have hard data that tells us when something isn’t right.”

The study also found that horses’ age was not a significant risk factor, but males were more likely to suffer a fatal injury than females.

“It’s common to see human athletes wearing biometric sensors to monitor performance and prevent injuries,” Bayly said. “We can now use the same technology to improve the safety of horse racing. If we can identify horses at risk and intervene ahead of time, we not only save lives but also strengthen the integrity and sustainability of the sport.”

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Inspired by star thoroughbred Artist at Maryland? Discover more horses bred to race who reached the top in other disciplines

Lucy Elder — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:08:39 +0000

“Chased leaders, weakened halfway, tailed off before three out and pulled up before next. 100/1”. So reads the final entry on the late eventing superstar Arctic Soul’s racing record following his short-lived career on the track.

That uninspiring performance in a maiden hurdle by the 67-rated Luso son on a cold Leopardstown December day would close the chapter on his time in racing.

Beaten by a combined total of 318-plus lengths on the three occasions he finished, he pulled up on his hurdling swansong. But as the shimmer of the New Year sparked with promise on the horizon, so too did the dawn of Arctic Soul’s bright future.

The gelding, who passed away in 2022, would become one of the world’s top event horses, with 2018 world team gold as well as ninth place individually at the 2015 European Championships on his senior championship record.

“He’s the most amazing athlete,” says rider Gemma Tattersall (now Stevens), speaking in 2021. “He’s a super jumper and he can gallop as the day is long. He just keeps going. He’s obviously very fast, courageous and brave across country, and he also has the ability to be careful and clever, which for a big horse is really amazing.”

Gemma adds that he finds the dressage and showjumping difficult, explaining it took her a while to build the trust he needed to feel confident in high-atmosphere arenas.

“Once we had that, he really started to understand that he could still perform in those stressful situations,” she says.

The pair’s five-star record cements them among the most consistent sporting greats. They have been in the top seven at Badminton and Burghley on five occasions, including two thirds. Yet it is “Spike’s” versatility to cross any sort of country that sets him apart.

“There’s not a course in the world that doesn’t suit him,” she adds, likening him to her Bicton CCI5* winner Chilli Knight in that way.

“I prefer going around the big tracks like Badminton and Burghley with him, but you could take him around a twisty, woody track and he’d still make the time. Twisty, big, galloping – there is no track too big or difficult or tricky for him.”

The tough Presenting son Glenfly won hearts across the world with his gutsy Tokyo Olympic cross-country performance with Brazil’s Marcelo Tosi.

The gelding, formerly trained by Philip Hobbs and Christopher Kellett, didn’t trouble the judge on any of his nine starts under Rules. “Soon lost good place, ridden and labouring in rear sixth, tailed off and pulled up 11th,” observe his final race notes from Towcester.

Brazil’s Marcelo Tosi riding Glenfly at the Tokyo Olympics. (Image credit: YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)

In the years since, the now-eventer has won the Brazilian national championships three times, represented his country at the 2018 World Equestrian Games (WEG) and the Tokyo Olympics. A lost shoe across country, resulting in a sore foot, prevented the pair’s completion. But that cross-country round will live long in the memory and franks his name among the most recent additions to the illustrious role-call of former racehorses to have competed under those iconic five rings.

This is a list that includes the likes of the late Over To You, the most capped British event horse of all time, who showed little promise in training with Tom Tate, so was sent to Doncaster Sales, where he failed the vet. “Jack” helped Britain to seven team podium places, including two Olympic silvers, and also secured individual world silver at WEG 2002.

Olympic and double WEG gold medallist Ready Teddy, ridden by Blyth Tait, is another in that club. The Brilliant Invader son was registered as Striking Back, but never made it to the racecourse.

Stunning, Moonfleet and Ensign are among a handful of other eventing household names of their time to progress from track to championships.

Thoroughbreds – the first choice for Ian Stark

Thoroughbreds will always be the pick for eventing legend Ian Stark, who has feet in both the eventing and racing worlds.

“I’m very much a thoroughbred man. Out of choice, I would always go for them,” he says. “They are tough, they have a conscience, they are fairly careful and self-preserving and they have amazing temperaments – they don’t all jump well, but if they move and they jump, they are so quick and so sharp in their reactions.”

His 1999 Badminton and European team champion ride Jaybee ran on the Flat as a young horse, before switching. The racecourse was also Plan A for multiple medal-winners Arakai (pictured, below) and Glenburnie.

Ian Stark and Arakai at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. (Image credit: Getty Images/Al Bello/Allsport)

Arakai fell off a lorry ramp arriving at the sales as a young horse and went through the ring with his legs bandaged. Racing folk “didn’t want him” and he eventually found his way to Ian, bought for him by Lord and Lady Vestey.

“He was one of the nicest and easiest to ride across country I ever had,” Ian recalls.

Glenburnie, bred with Cheltenham in mind, was hunted by owner Rosi Maitland-Carew, who sent the “quite naughty” Precipice Wood son to Ian for some education.

“He came to me to be schooled and hunted. They never got him back when I realised how good he was!” adds Ian, recalling jumping five-bar metal gates on him as a four-year-old.

Ian was allowed to use Nicky Henderson’s precious grass gallops, and remembers Nicky driving alongside the horse in the car, clocking his speed.

“Nicky said, ‘Why are you eventing him?’” Ian says. “I think he would have been a Gold Cup horse. He was fantastic, I’ve never ridden anything that could recover like he could at a three-day.”

A thoroughbred who “made a lot of dreams come true”

“For me, the thoroughbred is the king of all breeds,” says US eventer Boyd Martin. “The heart, the athleticism and the stamina the thoroughbred has is something that is hard to find in other breeds.”

The tale of Boyd’s 2010 WEG ride, Neville Bardos, is well documented. The Australian-bred gelding raced as a three-year-old under the name of Hurtle and was bought by Boyd for $800 AUS. Boyd formed a strong bond with the tough gelding, climbing up through the levels. Then in 2011, a devastating barn fire hit. Neville was one of five horses to survive, recovering from burns and smoke inhalation to compete at Burghley three months later. The pair were one of only 10 combinations to finish inside the time.

“Neville is medium-talented, in all fairness,” says Boyd. “The part that makes him unbelievable is his heart.”

Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos at Burghley 2011. (Image credit: Trevor Meeks)

Blackfoot Mystery, Boyd’s Rio 2016 Olympic ride, also started life on the track, running three times before finding his way to the Thoroughbred Rehab Center in California. Lisa Peecock adopted him, starting his eventing career, before he moved to Kelly Prather and later Boyd.

Boyd remembers Rio as a “real fairytale”.

“‘Big Red’ just went beyond himself – he gave me everything he had to give,” he says. “The horse made a lot of dreams come true.”

A thoroughbred who “found friends everywhere”

Heelan Tompkins’ extraordinary journey with pint-sized eventer Glengarrick – from Pony Club to top-10 at the Olympics – tells like the plot to a novel.

The 15.2hh black horse raced in New Zealand, but was retired owing to epistaxis (nosebleeds). Carla Jimmerson took him to Pony Club, riding on the same team as Heelan. When the chance arose for Heelan to buy Glengarrick, she snapped him up – despite the fact that he was recovering from a tendon injury.

The pair were shortlisted for the Sydney Olympics and travelled the world, finishing 17th at Badminton 2003 and seventh on their senior championship debut at the 2004 Athens Games.

“Even though he’d done a tendon and bled when I got him, he never bled again nor took an unsound step. He was a really solid little horse,” she remembers.

“I guess among what made him unique was he had this amazing quiet temperament. He just found friends everywhere.”

Heelan Tompkins and Glengarrick, pictured at Aachen in 2006. (Image credit: JOCHEN LUEBKE/DDP/AFP via Getty Images)

In 2006, when “Nugget” was 20, Heelan received a call asking if they would like to compete at Aachen WEG. They finished seventh individually and were joint winners of the “best cross-country horse in the world” prize.

But their rollercoaster journey was not over. The federation would not pay to fly Nugget home, so Heelan had to return without him.

“I got a phone call in 2007, just before Christmas, from someone who had just loved Glengarrick,” she says, explaining the horse was in the UK until she could raise enough for his flight. “He said, ‘I can’t have this – I’m sending him home, he’ll be back by Christmas.’”

Sure enough, Nugget returned home to an emotional reunion. And the little horse who had taken her across the world came full circle, enjoying Pony Club once again with her niece, Kirsty Parsons, and living to the grand age of 29.

A former point-to-pointer with “an aptitude for piaffe”

Elite eventing undoubtedly has the strongest link to the track. But it cannot claim all the glory.

It was a former point-to-pointer – advertised in Horse & Hound as “bold cross-country, no dressage” – who gave Britain its first-ever top-10 Olympic dressage result at the 1984 Games.

That horse was Wily Trout, a seven-eighths thoroughbred ridden by Chris Bartle. Chris had recently finished his stint as an amateur jockey, returning to his mother’s riding school to make a go of eventing and spotted the advert in the magazine.

Chris Bartle and Wily Trout, pictured in 1986. (Image credit: Toronto Star via Getty Images)

“He was within my price range and I didn’t have much money to spend at all. I think I paid £700 altogether, for two instalments,” Chris recalls, adding that Wily Trout had been alternating between pointing and eventing when he found him.

“It was October and he was a shaggy dog when I picked him up. The moment I clipped him and saw what an intelligent, bold, lovely eye and head he had I fell for him there and then.”

The pair competed up to advanced and were preparing for Burghley when Wily Trout sustained a leg injury. It was in the process of bringing him back into work, following the horse’s recovery, that Chris discovered Wily Trout’s other talents.

“I had an amazing trainer at the time, Hans von Blixen-Finecke, who won the gold medal at the Helsinki Olympics in eventing,” he says. “We started teaching Wily Trout flying changes, and he seemed to have an aptitude for piaffe. It was just interesting and fun, with Hans’ experience and help, to train a horse towards grand prix.”

The rest is history. The pair would compete at three championships in all, adding the 1985 Europeans, where they finished fourth, and 1986 worlds to their record.

“The key to that horse is that he was so bold – he was a workaholic,” said Chris, adding that the horse’s “runaway” nature when he first arrived was never owing to stupidity or panic, but a pure desire to go forwards.

“That’s why eventually he found piaffe and one-time changes fun. He used to squeal at the beginning of the one-time changes and he would skip across the diagonal,” he recalls.

“Back in Los Angeles in 1984, sometimes he would make a mistake at the end of the 15 one-times [in training] because he ran out of room. So I actually took him down the back straight in Santa Anita [racetrack] the days before the grand prix and did 101 one-time changes just for fun. Then I had confidence that we could do 15 in the arena.”

The cream rises to the top, so the saying goes. For these horses, fate would have it that the cream turned out to be in a different jug. How lucky we are to witness what they can achieve.

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New levy on foals aims to help give thoroughbreds better lives

Eleanor Jones — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 16:11:45 +0000

A new levy on thoroughbred foals will help “safeguard the health, welfare, and aftercare of all horses bred to race in Britain”.

The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) has announced that the £60 equine welfare levy, collected by Weatherbys at foal registration, will apply to all thoroughbreds born in Britain, and foals registered for racing by the Non-Thoroughbred Register (NTR). It replaces the voluntary donation of £25 split between the TBA and Retraining of Racehorses (RoR).

“The monies collected will help underpin a more sustainable funding model to secure essential lifetime services for all thoroughbreds bred to race as well as bringing breeders’ contributions into alignment with other industry stakeholders who already provide mandatory funding for aftercare,” a TBA spokesperson said.

From each £60, £25 will go to aftercare charity RoR and £35 to the TBA “to continue vital work around equine infectious disease control and prevention, biosecurity and border controls, vaccine and medication availability and stewardship, continued support and communication of veterinary research, lifetime traceability of the thoroughbred and genetic diversity”.

TBA deputy chair Kate Sigsworth said: “While many breeders already play an active role in the homing, paddock retirement or transitioning of their horses to the leisure sector, often for life, the new welfare levy ensures that all thoroughbreds bred to race, including those sold by breeders, will have access to the services and expertise of RoR throughout their lives.

“We are incredibly grateful to all those breeders who contribute already and we see this formalised process as a significant step forward, which will ensure that every horse bred to race in Britain is safeguarded both before and after their racing careers. It is a vital step in demonstrating the breeding sector’s responsibility for the lifelong welfare of our thoroughbreds.”

The TBA said feedback from breeders had been “very encouraging”.

RoR managing director David Catlow added: “With the support of these increased contributions from the breeding sector, alongside the wider industry, RoR can continue to lead the way in aftercare for British racing and deliver on the ambitious goals set out in our 2024–2026 strategy.

“We are extremely grateful to the TBA for facilitating this process and, in particular, to breeders, whose support helps us provide an important safety net for all thoroughbreds bred for racing.”

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Foals turned out more and weaned later go on to greater success, research finds

Eleanor Jones — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 16:29:30 +0000

Thoroughbred foals who have more turnout and are weaned later are more successful in later life, research has found.

A Royal Veterinary College (RVC) study, published in the Equine Veterinary Journal, followed 129 racing-bred foals born in 2019 and 2020 from birth into training, and racing until the end of their four-year-old years. It found that those “given extensive turnout in larger pastures during their first six months of life, and those weaned later, are more likely to go on to race, compete more often, and earn more prize money”.

An RVC spokesperson said this is the first in-depth evaluation of the effect of such early experiences on thoroughbred performance.

“These novel findings can be directly applied at stud farms to help retain thoroughbreds within the industry and achieve their maximum athletic potential; outcomes that align with priorities of the Horse Welfare Board’s strategy to support the welfare of horses bred for racing,” he said.

Foals who spent more time out and were weaned later were more likely to race by the end of their fourth year, and the older they were at weaning, the more race starts they made. Those turned out in larger fields won more in prize money.

“These findings demonstrate that the first six months of life is a critical period of development in thoroughbreds, during which it is essential that turnout and weaning practices provide sufficient opportunity for positive tissue adaptation and optimal development,” the spokesperson said. “Breeders are therefore encouraged to maximise turnout whenever possible, and consider weaning after this critical period.”

Research team leader Rebecca Mouncey added: “This study is the first of its type to evaluate the effect of early-life experiences on later-life performance in thoroughbred racehorses, providing important novel findings that can be directly applied at the stud farm level to reduce wastage and improve performance in this population.”

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Who says thoroughbreds can’t do dressage? Top tips and 4 exercises to make the most of your retrained racehorse’s highlights

Oscar Williams — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 15:28:35 +0000

Top trainers and judges share with H&H subscribers their practical strategies to harness a thoroughbred’s athleticism, manage tension, and build a competitive partnership to excel in the dressage arena

Thoroughbreds – especially former racehorses – arrive in the dressage arena carrying baggage. Too hot. Too tense. Too flat. But Louise Robson specialises in dressage training for thoroughbreds and sees it differently.

Louise is founder of Thoroughbred Dressage and trainer of advanced-level ex-racers – including The late Queen’s homebred Quadrille who went from intro to inter II.

“Thoroughbreds have got the heart of a lion,” she says. “Their sensitivity is their superpower – if you ride it right.”

That sensitivity, approached with patience, becomes a fast-track to learning.

“They never want to make mistakes,” she says. “They learn fast – sometimes too fast – so you’ve got to keep their brain interested while their body catches up.”

Why thoroughbreds can excel in dressage

There’s plenty to like about training thoroughbreds for the dressage ring – especially their walk and canter.

“In racing, you don’t see trot or canter in the sales ring. You buy them off a walk,” Louise explains. “That’s why so many have natural swing and huge overtrack – and in tests, the walk is often double-marked.”

BDCC Level 3 coach and list 2 judge Alice Oppenheimer agrees: “If you can show relaxation as well, you’ll pick up serious marks.”

For FEI judge and trainer Isobel Wessels, it’s straightforward: “It’s not about what the horse is – it’s about what it learns to do. That’s what we should be marking.”

Work with the build

Thoroughbreds are often long through their body, croup-high and built to pull – that’s not a flaw, just a different starting point.

“They’re not wrong,” Louise says. “They’re built for something else. Our job is to show them a new way to use their bodies.”

Isobel agrees: “When you ask for go, they want to take the nose down and pull forward – because that’s how they win a race.

“So the horse learns to pull against the bit. They’re not so easy to collect because of that, but don’t try to squash the horse into what you think it should be. Start with what you’ve got and develop from there.

“You’re not just riding what the horse already does – you ride the solution to the problem.”

Dressage training for thoroughbreds

4 progressive exercises to try

1. Turn the shoulders (leg-yield and squares)

Thoroughbreds often move as one piece. The first job? Separate front end from back end.

“Leg-yield, squares, shoulder turns – all brilliant,” says Louise. “They teach the horse to move its shoulders independently.”

Try visualising, or marking out a square, and then on each corner the horse should bring the outside shoulder around for the turn.

“These movements help expand their chest and take their front legs out in front of them,” Louise adds. “Long-term that’ll lead to the lift and reach we’re looking for.”

2. Spiral-in to leg-yield out (on a circle)

The goal with this one is to engage the inside hind and, again, free the shoulders.

“Track straight on the circle, and you’ll feel the hindlegs come under – the circle does it for you,” Isobel explains.

From a 20m circle, spiral in to around 10-12m, then leg-yield back out to the track. Keep a slight, consistent inside bend and the tempo steady – don’t let the horse fall in or rush out.

3. Transitions and gear changes

You’ve heard it before, but every trainer we spoke to emphasised it again: transitions, transitions, transitions.

Use simple transition ladders like walk–trot–walk, walk–halt–walk or trot–halt–trot on a 20m circle to build balance. Mix in transitions within the pace, too – on a circle, ask for slightly bigger, then smaller steps, focusing on stride length while maintaining the same tempo.

“Play with the size of trot – not the speed,” says Isobel.

4. Medium canter without galloping

Practising this in canter, especially on a circle, will prep your horse to show a proper medium or extended canter in the test – without risking an accidental exit at A.

“Lengthen the stride, don’t change the rhythm,” says Alice. “We want a three-beat canter – not a four-time gallop.”

Top tips for improving your thoroughbred’s way of going

Build strength

Long-reining, raised poles, and hill work help build the right kind of muscle.

Racehorse retrainer Darrell Scaife long-reins a thoroughbred over poles – a great exercise for building strength and encouraging swing. (Image credit: Lucy Merrell)

“I’m a big advocate for long-reining, and spending as much time working off horse as on horse,” Louise says.

“Thoroughbred’s backs aren’t built to carry us – not that they can’t, but their backs drop down naturally away from us so they’ve got to be stronger to keep engaged and lift up to us – and that takes a long time.”

Polework exercises also encourage swing and a true connection.

“If the back is supple, the energy can pass through the neck to the bridle and back to the rider – it’s like a big rubber band,” says Isobel.

Try fan-shaped poles in a corner – the tighter the arc, the more lift and roundness you create.

Ringcraft and managing warm-ups

Competition day can be a sensory overload for former racers in particular, so knowing how to manage your ex-racehorse is key if you’re heading to a competition for retrained racehorses.

“You can’t sit them down and explain they’ve finished racing,” says Louise. “You often won’t know their triggers until you hit them – and when things go sideways, it’s not their fault. It’s just part of the learning process.”

To help them cope, Louise recommends mimicking the structure they’re familiar with. For example:

Walking the horse in hand on arrival
Bringing a familiar voice to call the test
Having someone lead them from warm-up to the arena

As Louise puts it, they’re used to going everywhere in a string, not leaving the group and working alone. Above all, go at the horse’s pace: “It’s a process, not an overnight fix.”

Racehorses are used to going everywhere in a string – dressage exerts very different demands in terms of training and competition environments. (Image credit: Alamy)

Both Louise and Alice add that using freestyle tests can be incredibly helpful – especially for horses that get tense in set tests. You remove the rigid “do it now” structure and instead get to ride patterns that suit your horse and how you train at home.

If your horse settles better by cantering before trotting, you can do that. If you know they need a 10m circle to set up for a better medium trot, you can build it in.

Freestyle allows you to ride the horse in their best balance – using familiar routines that create comfort and reduce tension.

Mindset: no shortcuts

There’s no fast track in dressage training for thoroughbreds – but the results are worth it.

“It’s like getting a six-pack,” says Louise. “You don’t do 30 days of sit-ups and call it done. It’s slow, it’s layered, and it pays off.

“If you school twice a week, that’s 100 sessions a year. You’ve got to love the process – and be proud of it.”

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Thoroughbreds are just as good as other breeds in five-star eventing, research has shown

Becky Murray — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 12:33:52 +0000

Thoroughbreds competing in five-star eventing are not at a disadvantage compared to other breeds – but there has been a drop in the number competing at top level from the UK.

Researchers from Colorado State University and the University of Rhode Island have published a paper in Animals, analysing FEI data from 2014–2024 to understand the impact of breed on performance at CCI5* eventing.

All top-level events during the time were included; the researchers evaluated the 71 breeds represented against penalties, in the different phases and overall.

It was found that thoroughbreds accrued more dressage penalties than non-thoroughbreds; Hanoverians had the lowest on average between 2014 and 2017, Holsteiners between 2018 and 2024.

Across country, thoroughbreds were “significantly more likely” to jump clear inside the time compared to non-thoroughbreds – almost 14% of all thoroughbred entries from the data had no cross-country penalties – but non-thoroughbreds were twice as likely to showjump clear than thoroughbreds.

No impact of breed was noted in likelihood to complete, and breed had no effect on overall penalties, “indicating a level playing field within competition”.

“Therefore, breed bias against thoroughbreds should be negated when selecting for CCI5* eventing prospects,” the researchers concluded.

Lead author Carleigh Fedorka, who events and trains thoroughbreds, told H&H the team wanted to apply data to the “negative perceptions we hear about”.

“Many people who compete thoroughbreds have dealt with negative feedback where people might say, ‘Your horse is nice, but will never stack up compared to warmbloods,’” Dr Fedorka said.

“It was fascinating to see that a lot of public perception is correct; thoroughbreds do not score as well in dressage and as someone who’s always ridden thoroughbreds, I understand that to be true.

“I think we could further disseminate it to look at whether that’s truly because thoroughbreds are not as good at dressage, or because there is a judging bias, or because Olympians tend to have a lot of funding and are probably not on thoroughbreds.

“But in the cross-country phase, thoroughbreds are more likely to go clear than any other breed and when you look at the impact of those cross-country results on overall penalties, we don’t see any other difference among breeds. That just shows how influential cross-country results are to the overall success of your horse at this level.”

Dr Fedorka added that a notable finding was a “significant reduction” in the number of thoroughbreds competing at five-star in the last five years – particularly by British, German and Irish riders.

Although the researchers do not have data as to why this is, Dr Fedorka surmises that as the US, Australia and New Zealand riders face high costs, particularly travel, to reach five-stars, more riders are likely to look at buying and training former racehorses, who are usually cheaper.

“When we published the paper, we instantly had more questions, and one we want to answer is the influence of rider, and rider experience,” said Dr Fedorka, adding that further analysis could also look at the thoroughbred blood percentage of warmbloods, breed objectives and rider funding.

“Overall, I think the main takeaway is that if we’re going to be breed-biased, let’s have some data to back it up. I’m a huge believer in nurture versus nature, and I think that how horses are raised, produced and who is producing them is as, if not more, influential than their pedigree.”

Read the full study

Oscar Fitzgerald, the new British junior national eventing champion and son to Grand National-winning jockey Mick Fitzgerald, told H&H he enjoys competing on thoroughbreds. Among his string is former racehorse Our Old Fella, a former ride of Piggy March and owned by Jayne McGivern, and he has the ride on Fiona Laing’s six-year-old Pointillism, by thoroughbred sire Pointilliste.

“For me, it’s their willingness and their enjoyment of it; they love galloping and the cross-country. Their brains are so forward-thinking,” he said.

“I think some people like a flashier horse on the flat, and there can be a stereotype that thoroughbreds aren’t always the best showjumpers. But if you get a really nice one, they can be good in both those phases, like Our Old Fella. He’s been an unbelievable horse for the start of my career and stepped me up from ponies.”

Thoroughbreds are being celebrated at Cornbury Horse Trials (10-14 September), where the winner of the new Cornbury Racehorses Eventing Challenge, “designed to raise the profile of thoroughbreds and their versatility beyond raising”, will win £45,000. The class, sponsored by Cornbury president David Howden and Jayne McGivern of Dash Grange Stud, will run at British Eventing open novice level and use a CCI2*-S dressage test.

Oscar plans to compete Our Old Fella in the Cornbury class.

“I think it’s an unbelievable opportunity, the backing is brilliant from Jayne McGivern to really give an incentive to have thoroughbreds and keep them in the sport,” said Oscar.

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Happy to the end: sad farewell to thoroughbred who completed Badminton, aged 33

Eleanor Jones — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 16:49:36 +0000

The owner of a thoroughbred who competed at Badminton and Burghley and has died aged 33 has paid tribute to his spirit – and the loving care that allowed him to have years of happy retirement.

Tamsin Woods (neé Nowell-Smith) told H&H age finally caught up with advanced eventer Conspicuous, who also completed Bramham, this week.

“He was a bit erratic, a real redhead!” Tamsin said. “He was like a ship; he’d set sail off to the field and forget trying to stop him. He was quite something – and so lovely as well.”

Tamsin bought “Copper”, who was bred by George Coombs, as a four-year-old from Nigel Taylor, and evented him to intermediate level.

“I’ve done Blenheim and Bramhan, but on a different horse, so I was riding him, thinking ‘This could be my horse’, and then thinking ‘Oh my goodness’. I was getting 20s at intermediate because I couldn’t quite hold him or control him. I thought ‘Time to hand over to someone who might be able to!’”

Tamsin gave the ride to junior European team gold medal-winning rider Tom Robinson, with whom he came 11th at Bramham in 2002 and completed Badminton two years later.

Dominic Ruane then took the reins for the 2007 season, after which Copper went home to retire. He was still hacking out, and being ridden by Tamsin’s daughter, until about six years ago.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“I’ve got a video of her being lunged on him; I said ‘You may never ride a five-star, poppet, but you can sit on this one’,” Tamsin said.

“He was unbelievable and he lived till the amazing age of 33, but my mum, Mary Nowell-Smith, is the most amazing horse keeper and did the most incredible job keeping him happy. He had four or five small meals a day, still had front shoes on so he didn’t get sore, as he had terrible thoroughbred feet, nothing was spared. I think some people would have let him go but he wasn’t ready; we were so aware, every winter I’d say ‘If he’s not right, we’ll call it’, but he was happy.”

Tamsin added that watching her horse go to the top was ‘quite something”.

“We;ve always had horses, they’ve always been part of our lives and to have a horse at that level is so special, and to be part of that journey,” she said.”I found a video of him and Tom at Badminton going through the lake, and oh my goodness. It shows him at his best.”

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‘He’s loving life’: quirky former racehorse who faced being put to sleep excels in his second-chance home

Eleanor Jones — Fri, 30 May 2025 12:28:33 +0000

An 18-year-old former racehorse who was too quirky to be rehomed or retrained, and who was facing being put down to ensure he did not suffer, has found his vocation – in a riding school.

National Hunt horse Harley came off the track seven or eight years ago, and had spent most of that time retired in a field. He is now thriving at Jess’s Horse Haven, which offers lessons and therapy for children and adults with additional needs.

Jess Ingle, who runs the centre, told H&H she wanted to share his story, to show what former racehorses can do, and “in hopes it inspires others to give these horses a second chance”.

“He was going to be put to sleep, because they couldn’t find him a home,” she said. “His previous owner was deeply concerned about his quirks and didn’t want him passed around or ending up in the wrong hands. Then she heard about us, reached out to me and said would I take a chance with him. And I said yes. And he hasn’t put a foot wrong.”

Jess has retrained former racehorses and has two of her own. She explained that Harley could not be stabled, but as her horses live in herds on her 350-acre premises, it seemed his perfect environment.

She gave him some time off to settle, then started work with him.

“Nothing’s bothered him,” she said. “The first time I rode him, there was nothing I could fault him on. We gave him more time to get his confidence, and I rode him every day, doing everything, and there was never an inch of him that tensed or threatened anything.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“We started involving him in the therapy sessions, and he’d stand there being groomed and cuddled, absolutely loving life.”

Harley was then signed off by the vet to be ridden in the riding school. He now has his regulars, who take him out in hand or under saddle.

“He enjoys it; he has his ears forward all the time,” Jess said. “I think at his age, most people would have given up on him, and I understand that, but he’s still got so much to give.

“I think the message is not to give up, and that this shows these ex-racehorses can do anything other horses can do; you just need to have the right set-up, like you do for any horse. I also think it also helps disprove the ‘nutty ex-racehorse’ thing that so many people think.

“Every time I see him, tack him up, see him being ridden, it makes me smile. Because he was going to be put to sleep and now he’s doing this, and loving it.”

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New study finds genes that may increase risk of broken bones in horses

Eleanor Jones — Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:24:21 +0000

The identification of genes that may contribute to risk of fracture in thoroughbreds could help reduce this risk in horses.

Research carried out by a team at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has identified 112 genes that may be involved in risk of fracture, in the second study of a series of related research.

“These findings will inform further research into genetic risk factors, contributing to health and wellbeing efforts and supporting the development of novel interventions to reduce fracture risk in horses,” an RVC spokesperson said.

“Bone fractures are common in thoroughbred racehorses and are sadly a leading cause of euthanasia but fractures are a complex condition; both environmental and genetic risk factors affect a horse’s susceptibility.”

The team, led by senior research fellow Debbie Guest, used stem cells from horses at low and high risk of fractures as determined from previous research, to make bone-forming cells. They then measured every gene expressed by the cells.

“The study identified 112 genes that may be involved in fracture risk and demonstrated that many of these genes regulate the bone matrix,” the spokesperson said. “However, a large number of the genes have never been studied in bone before and more research is needed to understand the function of these genes in bone cells and how they contribute to fracture risk.”

A previous study found that collagen type III, needed for normal bone formation, is expressed in lower levels in horses with higher risk of fracture. Future work will help identify other genes and processes to understand better why some horses are more susceptible to fractures.

“We know fracture risk has a genetic component and have previously developed a polygenic risk score for fracture to allow us to identify horses at increased risk,” Dr Guest said.

“In this study, we have identified many new genes which have altered expression in bone cells from high-risk horses. We can now begin to develop a deeper understanding of how bone tissue is altered in high-risk horses and new interventions to reduce their risk.”

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‘She was lucky, the next horse may not be’: trampled young mare fractured skull ‘en route to slaughter’

Eleanor Jones — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:11:16 +0000

A young thoroughbred mare who had been so badly crushed and trampled in an overloaded lorry that the driver thought she was dead was lucky, welfare experts said – but the next horse in her situation may not be.

No one has been found responsible for Glorious, whose recovery, a year after she was rescued, has been described as a miracle, by those caring for her at Redwings.

The charity is sharing her story now, a year on from her rescue, as she has been signed over into their permanent care.

“I’m not sure I have ever seen a horse suffering so much pain and distress because of her injuries,” said Nic De Brauwere, Redwings head of welfare and behaviour.

A Redwings spokesperson said that last January, a driver heading for the Continent with a lorryload of horses told people at an authorised stopping place that there was a dead horse on board.

Glorious was alive but badly injured, the spokesperson said, adding that a vet called to the scene alerted the RSPCA, which asked Redwings for help.

Glorious on arrival at Redwings (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“Glorious had sustained crushing injuries after being unavoidably trampled by other horses on the grossly overloaded lorry,” the spokesperson said. “She had a large wound on her head, a fractured skull, and injuries all over her body that got worse before they got better as her damaged skin sloughed off revealing deep open wounds. Her recovery involved many months of treatment from the charity’s experienced welfare vets, as well as other veterinary experts brought in to help.

Mr De Brauwere said it was very difficult to treat Glorious as she struggled with being touched.

“Anything to do with humans caused her immense upset, but her wounds needed a lot of care,” he said.

“We used sedation to allow us to do the most painful treatments at the beginning, and because that was done right, we could step back and only intervene when we needed to, so she could spend days at a time not needing to be handled or sedated to treat.

“The fact that Glorious survived what happened to her is a miracle and her recovery is testament to the efforts of Redwings’ vet team who used our years of experience working with frightened, painful horses, treating very complex wounds, to bring her back to health.”

Having recovered physically, Glorious has been integrated into a herd, with whom she is now a “very happy filly”. The Redwings team is now working to undo the damage done to her that affects her behaviour around humans.

“Whilst Glorious loves her herd mates, quite understandably she still doesn’t always enjoy too much interaction with people so we’re working on that,” said Redwings equine behaviour manager Sarah Hallsworth.

“She is now good to catch and we’re seeing improvement in her leg handling. She has friends, freedom and forage, the three Fs, and is enjoying the simple pleasures of just being a horse in a safe environment where, thanks to our supporters, her future is secure, no matter how quickly her behaviour does or doesn’t progress.”

It is assumed that Glorious was en route to slaughter in Europe.

“We are deeply disappointed that despite the efforts of the RSPCA, local vets and Redwings to document her suffering, no one has been found responsible and faced any repercussions for what happened to Glorious,” Mr De Brauwere said.

“Her case shows that there are still big improvements needed in checks and enforcement to protect horses being transported through our borders.

“Glorious might not have been rescued. The next injured horse probably won’t be. Crazy as it sounds given her horrendous ordeal, she is very lucky and will want for nothing here at Redwings for the rest of her life.”

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Hopes new breeding technology can help improve horses’ lives

Lucy Elder — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 16:32:59 +0000

New technology aimed at reducing inbreeding and designed to help give breeders more information when looking for a suitable stallion for their mares is up and running.

The online tool Checkmate has been launched by Equinome, which researches and develops genomic tools for the thoroughbred industry.

The tool is designed to check potential thoroughbred matings in real time for inbreeding risk. The mare owner or breeder submits a blood sample and Equinome generates a genetic profile for the mare, which is then uploaded onto the Checkmate platform.

The breeder has a secure login, which is used to access profiles of all the mares they have submitted and “match” each mare in hypothetical matings against a selection of up to 10 sires from a database of more than 400 stallions.

It calculates the potential impact of each mating on a foal, returning a risk score of inbreeding and flagging high-risk matings.

Stallion owners and managers can submit stallion profiles, which will be uploaded onto the database. They can also use the tool to check and manage mare allocations in advance of final breeding decisions. For mare owners and breeders, there is a subscription of around €200 per year for the service.

“The goal with Checkmate is to help our clients protect the health of their mares, reduce the number of lost foals and see more healthy foals progress to the racecourse,” said Professor Emmeline Hill, Equinome’s chief science officer.

Historic thoroughbred family trees are well recorded and Professor Hill explained how this tool goes beyond manually looking up horses’ pedigrees.

“A pedigree just gives you a visual representation of what might be inherited, whereas from the genetics we can measure exactly what has been inherited,” she told H&H.

“By looking at the DNA in relation to inbreeding, we are measuring how much ‘double copy’ DNA there is in an individual. In other words, how much has been identically inherited from the sire and the dam.

“What breeders try to do by looking at a pedigree is infer that – but it is only an estimation, whereas we can measure the true value. What we’ve found in our studies is that what you might expect from the pedigree doesn’t always line up with what we can measure from the DNA. So the DNA is an accurate, true measure of inbreeding.”

Inbreeding is linked to health issues, in individual horses and as a concern for the wider thoroughbred population.

Professor Hill stressed that this is “not a golden ticket to having a live, healthy foal or to have a foal who is going to be more durable”, adding: “What anybody is always trying to do is to reduce risk. But what you’re trying to do is to beat the odds and to limit any unnecessary risk, and thereby improve your chances of producing a live, healthy foal.”

She said “every foal counts” and that the aim is supporting the health of each mare and foal, as well as contributing to “the bigger picture of the thoroughbred population as a whole”.

“Reducing inbreeding in the population as a whole is going to benefit the breed in the long run and contributes to the sustainability of the breed,” said Professor Hill.

Dr Sarah Blott, a researcher in genetics at Nottingham University who is not connected to Checkmate, told H&H genomic inbreeding based on DNA testing is a more accurate way of assessing inbreeding than using pedigree information to calculate an inbreeding coefficient.

“Pedigree-based estimates of inbreeding can only predict the average amount of homozygosity (double-copy DNA) that might be expected in the genome of an inbred horse,” she said.

“Pedigree information from the past, before the advent of parentage testing, is also potentially subject to error.

“By sequencing (or genotyping) the DNA, the true amount of homozygosity across the genome can be seen. This will reflect both recent and more ancient inbreeding and give an accurate picture of the degree of homozygosity in an individual.

“Research has linked higher homozygosity with increased pregnancy loss, lower durability and a smaller probability of racing.”

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‘He makes me feel like I can fly’: former Flat racehorse takes national dressage title

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 19:19:07 +0000

The owner of a Flat racehorse turned national dressage champion hopes her story will encourage other para riders to consider former racehorses.

Elizabeth Johnson and Vegas Boy were crowned British Dressage (BD) Grade IV bronze champions at Hartpury on 22 August, four months after they contested – and won – their first BD competition.

Elizabeth told H&H that “Boycie”, who was trained by Jamie Osbourne to four wins and nine places on the racetrack, is a “shining example of the versatility of ex-racehorses”.

Boycie, now nine, has been out of racing about three and a half years, and Elizabeth has owned him for about three.

“He’s a brilliant horse, he will do anything,” she said. “My friend’s daughter does hunt races with him, and I thought ‘He’s such a sweet horse, let’s have a go at dressage’, and he’s taken to it like a duck to water.”

Elizabeth was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) 10 years ago.

“It’s left me with a limp on my right leg,” she said. “I definitely don’t trot up sound – I’m a rider and training to be a vet so the irony of that is not lost on me! But my right leg is a lot weaker, and not as effective when I ride, so that affects my balance. But he’s adapted really well to being ridden by me, and by able-bodied riders.”

Elizabeth credits her trainer Anne Marie Bork Eppers for all her help, and the team at Talland, who are “absolutely fantastic for para riders”.

“The MS does suck, but I try not to let it hold me back,” she said. “BD has one of the best pathways for people with disabilities to be involved with sport; they’re so supportive and have so many training and competition opportunities, they’re amazing.”

Elizabeth had to be classified at first to compete in BD para classes, then she and Boycie went to their first show, at Northallerton, in April.

“We did two tests and won both, then went back the next month, did another two and won those,” she said. “We had high enough percentages, and points, that I then got an email from BD to say we’d qualified for the championships at Hartpury.

“I thought we might as well go, as it would be a privilege to ride there, and my main aim was just to get a nice picture!”

But as well as the nice picture, Elizabeth and Boycie scored 65.95% to win the title.

“I’d never been in a fancy prizegiving, with a sash, and it was great to be in a line-up with all the other champions,” she said. “It was nice to meet other people who had decided they wouldn’t be defined by their disabilities but would enjoy their horses in the best way they possibly can. Horses give you freedom; I can’t run any more and I miss it but I ride an ex-racehorse who floats above the ground. Having that freedom is incredible and it should be promoted more.”

Elizabeth said she was probably the only rider at the championships with a former racehorse.

“But I think they make brilliant para horses, because they’ve seen everything,” she said. “They’re not spooky, or worried by pots of flowers or white boards, as they’re a lot less exciting than a day at Ascot. I think more para riders should consider them; Retraining of Racehorses is very good at matching people with horses and BD at helping you find the right level to compete at so I think more ex-racehorses should be doing para dressage.

“So many people when they’re asking for horses say ‘No TBs’; there’s a stereotype I’m trying to break with me and my horse. Just because you technically have a disability and ride an ex-racehorse doesn’t mean people should overlook you. We’re a great combination and hopefully in future we’ll see more ex-racehorses in para dressage.”

Elizabeth described Boycie as a “complete gentleman”, who anyone could ride.

“When I’m on him is the only time I don’t feel self-conscious about my leg or my disability; when I ride him, that’s gone and that’s amazing,” she said. “He treats me like an equal, and he makes me feel as though I can fly.”

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The impact of inbreeding on equine pregnancy loss

Becky Murray — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 21:02:27 +0000

Inbreeding is a “contributing factor” to mid- and late-term pregnancy loss in thoroughbreds, new research has shown.

Researchers from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), in collaboration with Cornell University, analysed 189 DNA samples – including a control group – and found that thoroughbred pregnancies lost in mid and late gestation had “significantly higher inbreeding metrics than UK thoroughbred adults”. But pregnancies lost in early gestation showed “no significant difference” in inbreeding metrics compared to the adults.

An RVC spokesman said that approximately five to 10% of equine pregnancies end in early pregnancy loss, and a further 7% of pregnancies are lost between day 70 of gestation and 24 hours post-parturition. But prior to the study there had been “no definitive analysis to investigate the association between genomic inbreeding levels and pregnancy loss in horses”.

The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) co-funded the study and has previously funded projects looking into causative factors of pregnancy loss in thoroughbreds.

“Several studies worldwide have indicated rising levels of inbreeding in thoroughbreds, especially during the last 50 years, which have probably been influenced by the dramatic changes in stallion activity that have occurred since then,” said James Crowhurst, chairman for the TBA veterinary committee.

“As an outcome of Professor Mandi de Mestre and Dr Lawson’s original study, which identified further lines of enquiry, the TBA, the Horserace Betting Levy Board and Weatherbys have collaborated to fund a number of ongoing research projects, such as exploring the epidemiology and genetics of congenital musculoskeletal disorders in neonatal thoroughbreds and development of a genetic non-invasive diagnostic test to assess foetal health in the pregnant mare.”

Mr Crowhurst added that the outcomes of the RVC research and the earlier studies are “vital in ensuring the safeguarding of the breed”.

“The findings will be examined by our veterinary committee and communicated to our members and the wider thoroughbred breeding industry once the work has been completed,” he said.

Discussing inbreeding in general, Tullis Matson of Stallion AI told H&H that inbreeding in equines – and endangered species – can lead to an “extinction vortex”.

“It’s not just because of the lack of numbers, it’s the inbreeding. It can cause these issues of early embryonic loss, lower fertility and lower sperm count. What we want to know is, at what percentage of inbreeding do these issues start happening,” he said.

In rare breeds, the breed conservation and management system (BCAS, formerly known as SPARKS) is used to help reduce inbreeding. The system is based on mare- and stallion-based data sheets, which are formulated using genetic analysis. These calculate the mean kinship; the relationship between any one animal and another, and the potential inbreeding from any mating.

Lucy Morgan, Gemini Genetics manager and Stallion AI services lab technician, added that it is positive that research on inbreeding in thoroughbreds is being carried out.

“There are obviously lots of different factors that come into play in breeding horses, and this research may well benefit other breeds too, for example rare breeds where inbreeding occurs. There are quite a few breeders of rare breeds signed up to the BCAS system, but there still are some breeds that aren’t signed up yet, so this may encourage them.”

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‘Don’t overlook them’: amateur owner of multi-talented thoroughbred sings ex-racehorses’ praises

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 19:51:54 +0000

The owner of a former racehorse who was “a bit useless” on the track but has completed Badminton grassroots three times and excelled in showjumping, dressage and showing has urged others not to discount thoroughbreds.

Claire Lewis told H&H she had only had “what I’d call normal riding club horses” before Master Wickham came into her life eight years ago. She said “Darsi” has shattered her previous perceptions of former racehorses, and that he is a “shining example” of what they can achieve with amateur riders.

Claire’s uncle was in a syndicate that owned Darsi during his racing career.

“But he was a bit useless!” she said. “Ironically, he didn’t have a competitive edge then, and didn’t want to win a race. They retired him and wanted him to have a second career and I said I’d have him. I took him on and I’ve had him ever since.”

Claire had not retrained a racehorse before, and there were challenges.

“He was described as ‘quite sharp’ by the trainer,” she said. “He’s quite opinionated and knows what he likes, and they couldn’t keep a jockey on him! But he really enjoys jumping; that seems to be his happy place. I spent 18 months doing things like poles and gridwork, and that seemed to turn him around.”

Claire and Darsi won 21 British Showjumping (BS) classes last year as well as achieving enough placings to net them 497 points. This meant they topped the BS/British Riding Clubs bronze league for the year. They have BS winnings in speed classes, topscores, accumulators and derby classes, and have also had a competitive eventing career. They have competed in the Badminton BE100 final three times, jumping double clear twice and just notching up four showjumping faults on one occasion, and have competed at one-star level.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“I’d say he’s now a real professional horse,” Claire said. “He doesn’t waste energy or get worked up; he’s really calm in the warm-up – once someone crashed into him and he did nothing – but as soon as he gets in the ring, he’s on it. He’s a real show-off and he loves a crowd. I can go as fast as I want, or jump round Badminton, and when we finish, he just switches off.”

Claire added that the versatility of the thoroughbred is well known, but Darsi is excelling across disciplines, not just taking part.

“He’s won nearly £5,000 affiliated showjumping, and there’s the riding clubs stuff,” she said. “And dressage; he qualified for the riding club dressage to music finals and won a national novice final. I’d been trying to qualify for Badminton for 20 years and now he’s done it three times, and he went to the Royal International Horse Show and jumped one of only three clears in the workers.

“The way I looked at ex-racehorses before him; I’d never have thought a thoroughbred would ever do all this. I think people overlook them. The number of ads you see, from people wanting to do all this, that say ‘Absolutely no thoroughbreds’, but they can do everything you want.

“This horse is a shining example of what an ex-racehorse can achieve with an amateur – don’t overlook them.”

Free passport updates for 500 owners of former racehorses

Becky Murray — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 17:52:59 +0000

A passport amnesty has been announced for 500 owners of former racehorses who have completed the Thoroughbred Census.

The census was launched earlier this year by British Racing’s Horse Welfare Board in collaboration with Hartpury University to help improve the data bank on former racehorses and the lives they go on to lead, and to promote “responsible ownership practices”.

To celebrate the census receiving 4,500 submissions to date, Weatherbys General Stud Book has launched a period of amnesty throughout November for the first 500 owners who need to update their horse’s passport, meaning the usual £32 administration fee will be waived. To qualify for the amnesty, owners must have completed the census – and need to complete a paper change of ownership application form and send this to Weatherbys with their passport before 30 November.

“The equine identification document (passport) amnesty is a significant moment in our continued efforts to improve the traceability of thoroughbreds in Great Britain, once retired from racing,” said Helena Flynn, the Horse Welfare Board programme director.

“The initial uptake of the Thoroughbred Census from owners across the country has been really positive, but the job is far from complete, and an industry-wide push is still required to promote and encourage owners of all former racehorses to participate. Whether a horse has been retired to a field or is an Retraining of Racehorses champion, we want to know about them.”

Weatherbys General Stud Book general manager Sharon O’Regan said that ensuring that all thoroughbreds go on to live “happy and healthy lives” after retiring from racing is “a cause important to all of us within the sport.”

“Since the start of the campaign we have already seen an uplift in people updating their passports which is fantastic,” she said.

“While the ongoing cost of maintaining our systems and database is significant we do appreciate that paying for the change in ownership is perhaps a barrier for some. Therefore we hope that waiving this cost for a period of time to support the census initiative will make a difference and encourage even more thoroughbred owners to bring these details up to date.

“The more complete our database, the more confidence there will be when considering welfare matters around all thoroughbreds not just those currently racing or breeding.”

A Weatherbys general stud book spokesman added that as a result of the campaign to date, the stud book has had a 44% increase in the number of passport updates compared to this time last year.

Owners of former racehorses who have not completed the census are being encouraged to do so, before the 31 December deadline. The full results will be reported during the first quarter of 2023.

‘She’s incredible’: meet the pocket-rocket thoroughbred winning with one eye

Eleanor Jones — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 12:36:21 +0000

An “incredible” sixth-generation pocket-rocket thoroughbred who had her eye removed towed her rider round the British Eventing novice at Frenchfield (2) to take the win on Saturday (9 September).

Charles and Gilda Brader’s home-bred Doubled Duchess and Nicola Mason topped their section by adding just 1.6 cross-country time-faults to their 29.8 dressage.

Nicola has been riding the mare, who is “15.2 and a half” hh, since she was a six-year-old, and competed her up to intermediate level. Then at the start of 2021, when “Ruby” came back from her winter holiday, aged nine, she had a weepy eye.

“The vet gave me some eye drops and said she’d be fine,” Nicola told H&H. “But five days later, she wasn’t really any better. The vet came back and said he wasn’t sure but gave me some stronger stuff. And it went on and on from there.”

Ruby had “all sorts of treatment”, Nicola said, and vets determined the probable cause of the issue was that she had picked up a virus, which had caused immune mediated keratitis.

“So her own immune system was attacking her eye,” Nicola explained. “Removing it was always an option but the vets said they couldn’t guarantee her body wouldn’t attack her other eye afterwards.”

Steroid treatment did stabilise the condition, but then it stopped responding.

“She’s such a stoic little mare, she likes to let her opinion be known,” Nicola said. “She’s feisty, but then she went very quiet and was standing in the back of her stable. Every time we’d got it under control, it had flared up, and we’d worried about it for so long but in the end, the decision almost made itself.”

Nicola said the surgery itself was very simple.

“It was incredible,” she said. “They did it standing, with me holding her head, in her own stable. I thought how fantastic; if you’re going to wake up missing an eye, surely you’re better off in your own stable rather than in hospital, and she was very good, it was remarkable how she coped with it.”

Ruby had a dressing on for two weeks, after which the eye socket was looking good, Nicola said.

“Then she had the staples out and I said ‘What now?’” Nicola said. “The vet said: ‘Ride her!’

“So I put the tack on and she didn’t feel any different.”

Nicola said she has noticed some changes and made some adaptations, such as always loading another horse before Ruby, so she can see it and know she is not alone. The mare is also different going through gates, as she can judge things better from further away.

“It was her nearside eye so she’s done a bit of standing on my foot – but that’s possibly slightly on purpose!” she said.

Ruby came back into work in time for a couple of events that season. She had a quieter year in 2022 as Nicola had a fall from a youngster at home and suffered concussion, and has been competing at novice level this year.

“She’s the sort of horse who’s easy to read; you know when she’s grumpy or happy and she towed me round the cross-country on Saturday; she squeals and bucks and loves it. Our attitude has been wait and see and the more we’ve done, the more amazing we think she is and she still wants to do it, which is brilliant.”

‘Exciting’ new programme to support thoroughbreds straight off the track

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 18:21:50 +0000

An “exciting new addition” to the British Eventing (BE) Howden Way programme will provide bespoke training and support to riders who take on former racehorses.

The thoroughbred aftercare programme is to be run by British Eventing and aimed to sit with the Howden Way’s regional training, talent and young horse academy and young horse leagues. Details are yet to be confirmed but it is understood that it will involve the creation of a standardised national syllabus to help horses transition from the track to a second career as a ridden horse. It is understood that it will work in a similar manner to the Howden Way, but bespoke, and designed to help horses from the moment they leave the track and take their first steps on a new career.

“The programme, within the Howden Way structure, will be specifically designed to assist riders from the initial point of taking on a horse leaving racing and transitioning to a riding horse,” a spokesman for the scheme said. “The programme will both encourage and assist those taking on a former racehorse by giving them the security of knowing they will have a comprehensive care programme wrapped around them. The programme will encompass everything that riders will need to know from both caring for ex-racehorses in terms of their nutrition, routine and welfare needs through to their ridden retraining. It will sit alongside the existing resource and guidance provided by Retraining of Racehorses.”

The training will be delivered by BE coaches at level three and above, who have undergone the thoroughbred aftercare standardisation training and will be supported by experts.

BE chair Mark Sartori told H&H: “This is a tremendous initiative and one that I’m sure will be enthusiastically welcomed by the racing industry along with the wider equestrian community. The programme will assist the thoroughbreds transition into a new life outside of racing whether it be as a riding horse or, in time, a future sport horse participating within our competition framework.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank David Howden for his support of The Howden Way which will now have the Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme incorporated into it. His vision for making top class training accessible for all horses and riders is second to none and to see this now rolled to support the thoroughbred as they leave their career in racing really highlights his vision and deserves applauding by the entire equestrian industry.”

An RoR spokesman told H&H: “RoR is delighted that the Howden Way is extending the support offered to former racehorses. We are looking forward to working collaboratively with the programme to help maximise its impact. RoR works closely with coaches from BE, other disciplines and member bodies to support the retraining of former racehorses and widen the opportunities available to them. This new programme is a great example of how we can join up and find pathways for former racehorses to retrain and transition smoothly into second careers. Currently, RoR has over 12,500 former racehorses registered, and any further investment towards thoroughbred aftercare will benefit the horses and their owners, as well as complement our educational clinics and camps that this year have attracted moe than 1,000 riders”

‘The kindness of the thoroughbred’: former racehorse spreads joy on visit to hospice

Becky Murray — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 14:19:59 +0000

A former Group One-winning racehorse has spread joy on a visit to a hospice that was “incredible to witness”.

In partnership with racehorse rehoming and retraining charity New Beginnings, York racecourse equine ambassador Goldream (Remy) and Welsh section A Poppy visited families at the Sunflower Wellbeing Hub at St Leonard’s Hospice in York on Thursday (27 July).

The visit follows new research released by Bristol University via the International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses on the “mounting evidence” that former racehorses are “particularly well-suited” to providing equine-assisted services and therapy.

John Kirk, who has Parkinson’s disease, met Remy and Poppy at the Sunflower Wellbeing Hub.

“‘It’s brought John to life, I’ve not seen him animated like this in a long time or move so well. It’s remarkable,” said Jan, John’s wife.

“John has a history with horses as his first job after qualifying as a doctor in 1958 was in Africa. His job involved travelling many miles every day in remote, mountainous terrain on horseback seeing patients, so being up close with Goldream and Poppy was especially poignant for him.”

Pat Atkinson of New Beginnings said the way Remy and Poppy responded to each person they met at the hospice was “incredible to witness”.

“We are so proud of them both, with Remy being an outstanding example of the kindness of the thoroughbred along with its versatility,” she said.

Rachel Banks, occupational therapist at St Leonard’s, said the hospice is “sincerely grateful” to New Beginnings and York racecourse for arranging “such a special afternoon” for their patients, visitors and staff.

“Having Remy and Poppy here was an absolute privilege for us all, giving patients a truly memorable experience to talk to their families and friends, with lots of reminiscing about past experiences with horses,” she said.

“Thank you to all involved in making this invaluable visit happen.”

York racecourse senior marketing and sponsorship manager Amy Swales added that the Remy and Poppy’s visit was an “absolute privilege” for the racecourse.

“The positive impact they had on the wellbeing of the patients and their families at St Leonard’s was almost instant,” she said.

“The thoroughbred is a truly remarkable and adaptable species and we are so grateful to be able to celebrate and admire them as athletes throughout our racing season. Now, to see Remy along with the thousands of other former racehorses leading meaningful lives in their second careers is just as rewarding”.

Call for owners to take part in first British horse census

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 08 Jul 2023 18:21:27 +0000

Britain’s first census of thoroughbreds will help traceability of former racehorses – and the sustainability of equestrian sport, it is hoped.

British racing’s Horse Welfare Board (HWB), with Hartpury University, is encouraging all owners of former racehorses to complete the census, which launched on 28 June, before 31 December.

The main aim is to help improve traceability of thoroughbreds after they have retired from racing, to “know where they are, throughout their lives”. It is part of the HWB’s five-year welfare strategy “A Life Well Lived”, which committed to improving the lives of all horses bred for racing, from birth until death. Those behind the project want to make connections and work with bodies across the industry.

“The nice thing about this is the message of the industry joining hands, beyond racing,” HWB programme director Helena Flynn told H&H. “This is something fundamentally different and bigger; there are a lot of surveys in the industry, but this is a census, and this is a call for action to be involved.”

The census, in partnership with Retraining of Racehorses and supported by World Horse Welfare and Weatherbys, also focuses on responsible ownership, including ensuring all horses’ passports and ownership details are up to date. This is ensured “meticulously” by Weatherbys but declines once horses retire and go into private ownership. This issue applies across the industry.

Participants will be asked for horses’ passport and microchip numbers, age, residence, second career and more, to “provide a robust view of the 2023 British retired racehorse population”.

Hartpury head of research Jane Williams said: “We’re delighted to be part of this proactive initiative as Hartpury is committed to supporting the sector to improve the quality of life of the horses we all love.

The census is an opportunity to understand more about lifetime care of thoroughbreds, generate evidence to safeguard against disease outbreaks, and show the huge benefits thoroughbreds bring to so many people.”

Take part in the census

All owners of former British-trained racehorses will be encouraged to register them, free, with RoR.

The charity’s managing director David Catlow said: “The ‘social licence’ for the use of horses in sport is under increasing scrutiny and what happens to former racehorses after they retire is identified as a particular concern. This is a significant step towards ensuring thoroughbreds enjoy a healthy and caring existence and will provide the racing industry with the relevant data to guide future decisions”.

Ms Flynn agreed, adding: “This is how we can play a part in ensuring the sustainability of this industry and sport. This is fundamental to that. Aftercare is an emotive subject, and if we can have greater understanding of that, it will make a huge difference.”

The census can be completed online, and at major equestrian events.

World Horse Welfare CEO Roly Owers said: “This is an excellent initiative along the road of improving traceability for all thoroughbreds. Full traceability lasts a lifetime as a horse bred for racing will always be a racehorse in the eyes of the public, and they rightly hold the industry responsible for them throughout their lives.

“There really is a collective responsibility to make this work towards the much-needed goal of full traceability, both for the sake of the horses and the reputation of the industry.”

Thoroughbreds to be recognised at Olympics, but still can’t contest World Breeding Championships

Becky Murray — Mon, 15 May 2023 17:22:10 +0000

Thoroughbreds will be recognised at the Olympics for the first time – but they will still not be allowed to compete at the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses.

Previously, full thoroughbreds including retired racehorses competing at Olympics were listed as “breeding unknown”. But from next year at the Paris 2024 Games thoroughbred breeding will be recorded on starting lists and results. Breeding will also be listed for thoroughbreds at all FEI competitions.

The move follows discussions between the European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation (EMHF), the World Breeding Federation for Sports Horses (WBFSH), the FEI and the International Stud Book Committee.

“The issue arose because, under a memorandum of understanding between the FEI and the WBFSH, only member studbooks of the WBFSH have historically been credited, and the WBFSH only has members that specifically breed horses for the Olympic disciplines,” said a EMHF spokesman.

Paull Khann, EMHF secretary general and member of the International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses steering group, welcomed the news.

“Much effort is made around the world to encourage the owners of retired racehorses to explore second careers for them,” he said.

“This recognition will both further the message that thoroughbreds do go on to compete with distinction in other equestrian disciples and prompt more thoroughbred owners to consider this retirement option for their racehorses”.

WBFSH general manager Nadine Brandter added that the organisation recognises the “extensive influence” the thoroughbred has had on sport horse breeding and development – and that “undoubtedly the thoroughbred deserves recognition”.

“We believe that it is the entire equine sector that must stand together to face this challenge, and so it is natural that the WBFSH would support this”.

But despite this, the WBFSH has confirmed that thoroughbreds will still not be permitted to compete at the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses.

“The WBFSH recognises the significant impact that the thoroughbred has had, and still has, on the development and evolution of the warmblood and thus sport horse, but unfortunately, being classified as a non-WBFSH breed, the thoroughbred is not eligible for participation in the World Breeding Championships, nor for inclusion on our WBFSH rankings,” a WBFSH spokesman told H&H.

“To enter the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses, the horse must be registered in a studbook that is a full member of the WBFSH, meaning its main purpose was to be bred for one of the Olympics disciplines.”

New research highlights links between stress, genes, and behaviour in equines

Lucy Elder — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 19:33:20 +0000

NEW research has taken a look at young thoroughbreds’ stress responses, their genes and their behaviour in a study that highlighted interesting links between the three.

Scientists at University College Dublin and Plusvital Ltd in Ireland’s study: “Integrative genomics analysis highlights functionally relevant genes for equine behaviour” is the result of a four-year PhD research project. It examined the stress hormone cortisol and the results of a questionnaire in 100 yearlings as they encountered key milestone events during the early training period.

One finding was that observations of the yearlings’ behaviour did not tally with the cortisol (stress hormone) results.

“This means that some horses experience stress without acting out,” said senior scientist Professor Emmeline Hill.

“Identifying genetic markers for the stress response could therefore have value in identifying horses most susceptible to stress.”

The scientists compared genetic profiles of the yearlings that were best able to cope with early training to those less able to cope. They then used genetic data to pinpoint genes that were most likely to impact on coping ability.

Professor Hill added that genetics “doesn’t have all the answers” but the research provides “a sound scientific basis for genetic screening tools” to support welfare.

“The ‘nurture’ aspect of behaviour is of course a major factor, with the management of the animal impacting on its temperament,” she said. “Our research has revealed genetic markers that could be used to identify animals that will benefit most from more nuanced handling. In time these makers could also be developed into tests to inform breeding decisions.”

H&H vet Karen Coumbe said that behaviour involves “many complex traits, which will have both genetic and environmental causes”.

“Although these findings are interesting, it remains to be seen whether identification of particular genotypes can be used to adjust training and handling or to intervene for the benefit of animal welfare,” she told H&H. “Certainly, in racehorses, athletic talent is still going to be paramount in any breeding programme and the same is likely for sport horses too.

“The truth is that it may not be as simple as one might hope, especially as these things are not straightforward to assess or measure.”

No horses, no sport: thoroughbred breeders make average £33,000 loss per yearling

Lucy Elder — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 17:23:00 +0000

Breeders are being left on average £33,000 out of pocket to get a horse through his first year of life, leading to concerns for the future of the sport.

The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) has raised serious concerns over the “long-term decline” of the profitability of the British thoroughbred breeding industry and the huge impact losses are having on small breeders, following a new economic impact study.

It warned that if the industry is not sustainable, there is “no future for our sport”.

The report, commissioned by the TBA and carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, is the third produced since 2014 and uses the same metrics so direct comparisons can be made.

“We all see the headline numbers with, £1m, £2m, £3m yearlings, but what we don’t take into account [when we read those headlines] is that there is an extremely long tail in respect of British-based sales,” said TBA deputy chairman Philip Newton.

The study shows that the median profit for yearlings is around -£33,000 and for foals approximately -£27,000.

“It is really concerning, because how sustainable can this be in the long term?” Mr Newton added.

“We have to find a way to make the returns better and ensure more breeders can make some sort of commercial return.”

The last economic impact study, released five years ago, found that in 2017, 66% of breeding operators surveyed were unprofitable. It added that the number operating at a loss had risen significantly, contributing to a decline in the number of small breeders; those with one or two broodmares.

The latest study echoed those findings of unprofitability, but this time with a more urgent warning.

“The majority of breeders operate at a loss, and that average loss made per GB sale has risen consistently since 2014,” stated the 2023 report. “Unfortunately, on its current trajectory, it is likely that these losses will worsen, leading to operators leaving the industry, and the number of elite thoroughbreds bred in Britain declining. On current trends, any future report will paint a significantly worse picture in terms of losses and exits.

“These trends would bring into question Britain’s status as a world leader in thoroughbred breeding.”

Since 2009, the number of British breeders with one or two broodmares has declined by 1,338, from 3,764 to 2,426.

Major concerns with recruiting and retaining staff were found to “have compounded the problems” of breeders, with the report waning staff shortages “will be an important blocker to industry growth unless solutions can be found”.

The study shows a drop in contribution to the UK economy of around £52m in four years, from £427m to £375, which is attributed, in large part, to industry profitability and payroll.

While the direct contributions are down, it remains a significant contributor to the economy, putting in around £375 million, and TBA chief executive Claire Sheppard added that the indirect impact – its contributions to its supply chain – remains strong.

TBA chairman Julian Richmond-Watson said the report “gives us the ammunition to push on”.

“We believe in owners, we believe in breeders, we believe in everybody else, but if we don’t have the horses, we don’t have an industry,” he said.

The introduction of the Great British Bonus (GBB) scheme in June 2020, which is worth up to £20,000 bonus prize money per race, matched a marked uptick in the average price of British fillies at sales.

“It’s made a huge difference,” said Mr Newton, adding that it has halved the gap between the average prices of fillies and colts. “GBB is working and making a difference everywhere: on the racecourse, in the breeding shed and in the sales room.”

He said promoting and developing the “gold” team of quality British broodmares is the key to “a real chance of a sustainable industry”, and that the TBA also wants to encourage and develop a base for the entire racing programme, nodding to the importance of diversity within the breed.

Ms Sheppard said: “It is of fundamental importance that as the TBA, and as an industry, we take action based on a sound and robust evidence base, and have a real depth of understanding of underlying trends across the whole industry.

“The long-term declining trend in the key indicators are an ongoing concern, but there are signs of hope for the future in the upturn in the 2022 British-born foal crop numbers and the positive impact of GBB on sales prices and owner returns.

“The report demonstrates that incentives and strategic interventions can work, we need to learn from this and set out a plan to take this forward with the support of breeders and the racing industry as part of racing’s new strategy.”

‘He put us on the map’: top sire with enormous legacy dies aged 28

Lucy Elder — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 18:00:07 +0000

The 11-time British champion National Hunt sire Kayf Tara died “peacefully in his paddock” this morning aged 28.

The eight-time winner of the Horse & Hound Cup, presented by the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association for the leading active National Hunt British-based stallion (chase winners), retired from stallion duties in 2020.

He spent his last two years in happy retirement at Overbury Stud, where he moved after winning the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot for a second time in 2000. Today, he died following “the routine he’d had since arriving” at the stud all those years ago.

Manager Simon Sweeting paid tribute to Kayf Tara, who was the first stallion to retire to Overbury Stud under his tenure.

“This is a very sad day for all of us at Overbury,” he said. “Kayf Tara really put us on the map and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been with him through every step of what transpired to be an extraordinary career as a jump stallion, in which he won more championships than any other British National Hunt sire in history.

“I remain immensely grateful to Sheikh Mohammed and the Darley team for entrusting him to us. He’s been such a great servant to the National Hunt game and to Overbury Stud, where he was looked after for most of his time by Dan Matty. We will miss him terribly.”

Kayf Tara, pictured winning the Prix Kergorlay at Deauville in 1999. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Kayf Tara, bred by Meon Valley Stud, enjoyed top success in his four-year career on the racecourse.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute and laterly Saeed bin Suroor for Godolphin, the Sadler’s Wells son, out of top broodmare Colorspin, won 10 of his 15 starts. These included the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 1998 and 2000, which was his final race. He also scored two Irish St Legers, the Goodwood Cup and the Yorkshire Cup.

He went on to spend 20 seasons at stud, leaving an enormous legacy in National Hunt racing.

His progeny include Edwardstone, who landed his third Grade One victory in the Tingle Creek Chase on Saturday, as well as Thistlecrack, Special Tiara, Edwulf and Carruthers.

Time was called on his career at stud in 2020, owing to declining fertility, which was the year his final crop of foals was born.

“We are all very grateful to Simon Sweeting and his team at Overbury for taking such great care of Kayf Tara for all these years, and we are very proud of the enormous contribution he has made to National Hunt racing and breeding in Britain and beyond during that time,” said Sam Bullard, Darley’s director of stallions.

‘His bar bill was extortionate!’ Sad farewell to 38-year-old ex-racehorse who enjoyed a Guinness a day

Eleanor Jones — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 15:09:29 +0000

The owner of a former racehorse who died this month aged 38 – having enjoyed a daily Guinness for years – has paid tribute to a horse who may have been the country’s oldest thoroughbred.

Jill Conway’s Kurdish Prince, who raced on the Flat and over hurdles, died on 6 October, when his great heart finally gave out.

“I knew he couldn’t live for ever but it still came as a shock,” Jill said. “I’ve got stables in the back garden and he passed away under the cherry tree. He was where he wanted to be.”

Jill had owned Prince for over 35 years; she told H&H she was one of a syndicate of four who owned him in his racing days.

“I was given one leg of him for my birthday,” she said. “He fractured the top of one leg when he was 23, and I thought that was probably the one I was bought!”

Prince did not have huge success in his first career – “I don’t think he liked racing that much,” Jill said – and when he was seven, she took him on and they enjoyed dressage and jumping.

Kurdish Prince as a four-year-old, with jockey Stevie Dawson (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“He was quite a character,” Jill said. “He used to go on mad bucking sprees; corkscrewing in gallop, and if he didn’t like someone who rode him, they couldn’t even get him to walk. We’d have mad rides in Epping Forest, in the dark under the moon.

“I ended up in a yard associated with the Badminton estate and we use to ride round there. I’ve had the most amazing riding with him, and through him met amazing people, who have become lifelong friends.”

Prince, who Jill said was nicknamed Turdish Prince by racing staff as he was so dirty in the stable, enjoyed many happy years with Jill. Vets thought when he fractured his shoulder some 15 years ago that he would have to be put down, but “I told them ‘He’s not ready to go yet!’” Jill said. He recovered to continue enjoying ridden work until he was about 33.

He lived his latter years in a field opposite Jill’s house.

“He had three big meals a day; he’d lost quite a few teeth so it was all soft food, and his can of Guinness every day for years – his bar bill was extortionate!” Jill said. “His field was right opposite the pub so I always felt like the evening entertainment, with my pink wheelbarrow, his food and the Guinness.”

Prince’s final service to his owner came after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February.

“It was so odd; when I had my first chemo treatment, I went to see him and his head shot up,” Jill said. “He came marching over and was fussing, then when I walked away, he marched along with me.

“He knew something was wrong and he kept me going through everything. I had major surgery and was in hospital nine or 10 days, and when I came out he was so pleased to see me. He kept going till October, then his heart just gave out.

“He’d lived with various friends in his field but seemed to outlive them all; I think his best friends became the deer and foxes. The deer would be in the field with him and I used to see fox cubs playing round his feet, which was lovely.

“I think he had me well and truly under his hoof but he was very special, and a very hard act to follow.”

‘A fantastic supporter’: respected thoroughbred breeder dies aged 97

Becky Murray — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 17:03:32 +0000

The respected thoroughbred breeder and owner, Evie Magnier Stockwell (née Hallinan), died peacefully at home on 10 September, aged 97.

Born in Cork, Miss Hallinan became immersed in racing when she married Grange Stud owner Tom Magnier in 1947. When her husband died in 1962, she raised their four children – John, Peter, David and Anne. John left school to help with the running of the stud and working farm, which at the time stood horses including Even Money. John later founded the world-class thoroughbred breeding operation, Coolmore Stud.

Known for her blue and brown silks, Mrs Stockwell had much success over the years with horses including Liscanna, The Bogberry, Luas Line, Kitza and Brave Anna. Some of her most notable winners included the Aidan O’Brian-trained Hit It A Bomb, winner of the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turn in 2015, and Fairyland – winner of the 2018 Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes and the 2019 Group 1 Flying Five Stakes. Mrs Stockwell also owned listed winner We Are Ninety, with her twin sister Lady Mimi Manton, who predeceased her last month.

Her other children also followed in her footsteps in the thoroughbred industry – David manages Castylehyde and Grange Studs, and Anne runs Tally-Ho Stud with her husband Tony. Peter, who died in 2019, owned Brittas House Stud.

A spokesman for Leopardstown racecourse paid tribute to Mrs Stockwell and said she was a “fantastic supporter” of the industry.

She is survived by John, David and Anne, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Horse who played Seabiscuit in Oscar-nominated film dies age 24

Becky Murray — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 13:24:04 +0000

A thoroughbred who starred in the 2003 Oscar-nominated film Seabiscuit has died from colic aged 24.

Popcorn Deelites, one of seven horses to play the racehorse, died at Old Friends, a thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, where he has lived since he retired in 2005.

The farm’s founder and president Michael Blowen announced the gelding had died on 23 January owing to “complications from colic”.

Seabiscuit was written and directed by Gary Ross and was based on the 1999 non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. The film, starring Toby Maguire as jockey John “Red” Pollard, follows the career of Seabiscuit in the United States during the Great Depression. It was nominated for multiple awards including seven Oscars, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actor Guilds Award.

Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion after he failed to win many of his early starts. When the gelding was assigned to a new trainer, Tom Smith, and paired with jockey Red Pollard, he began tasting victory. In 1936 the trio won the Scarsdale Handicap in New York, and the following year won California’s most prestigious race, the Santa Anita Handicap. In 1937 he won 11 of his 15 races and was the year’s leading money winner. When Red was injured in a fall from a different horse in 1938, jockey George Woolf took the reins, and rode Seabiscuit to victory against Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Seabiscuit was retired in 1940.

Popcorn Deelites, known as “Pops” appeared in numerous scenes throughout the film, including the famous race against War Admiral. Following filming Pops returned to racing for owner David Hoffman and trainer Pricillia Leon. During his career he had 58 starts, 11 wins and earnings of $56,880.

Jockey Gary Stevens, who was inducted into the United States Hall of Fame for his racing achievements and played rider George Woolf in the film, remembers his equine co-star fondly.

“Popcorn Deelites was a star in Seabiscuit,” he said. “He was my go-to guy in all the big scenes. He not only won real races multiple times, but he won the famous match race playing Seabiscuit.

“He was kind, fast, and a great friend that lived out his life at Old Friends in the paddock next to my other buddy, Silver Charm [Gary’s 1997 Kentucky Derby winner]. RIP, Popcorn.”

Michael Blowen added Pops’ Hollywood history made him an “enormous fan favourite”.

“But what really won people over was his warm personality and friendly demeanour. Fans adored him and he adored the fans,” he said.

“He will be sorely missed here on the farm, but I’m sure that his old pal and paddock mate, Special Ring, will miss him the most.”

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Fatal foal disease: study likely to inform future breeding

Eleanor Jones — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 12:03:09 +0000

THE first finding of fragile foal syndrome (FFS) in a non-warmblood, a thoroughbred, is “significant” and may mean more screening is carried out in future.

A study by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) with the University of California Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL) and Rossdales Laboratories, Newmarket, recommended the disorder be renamed from warmblood fragile foal syndrome.

Foals with the connective tissue disorder, caused by a DNA change in the PLOD1 gene, are usually born with extensive lesions caused by very thin, fragile skin, and musculoskeletal abnormalities. These mean they are typically aborted or stillborn or have to be put down.

FFS had been associated with warmbloods, but having identified the change in the PLOD1 gene in other breeds, Rebecca Bellone and her team at VGL approached the RVC equine pregnancy laboratory to screen for the condition in its bank of cases of pregnancy loss.

A thoroughbred foal put down owing to skin lesions was tested and it was found that the PLOD1 variant was the likely cause of its condition. This is the first documented evidence of FFS caused by the PLOD1 variant in a breed other than a warmblood.

The study, published in the Equine Veterinary Journal, highlights the importance of genetic testing to inform breeding decisions and avoid producing affected foals. FFS is recessive, so foals will only be affected if they have two copies of the gene mutation, one each from the dam and sire.

British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) president Huw Griffiths said the study was a “great example of collaborative work” that will lead to better understanding of the condition.

“Hopefully, this case will prove to be relatively isolated and the numbers of thoroughbred foals lost to this condition will be few in number,” he said. “Thankfully, we have significant data with respect to foetal losses in thoroughbreds and it will be interesting to identify to what extent FFS may be involved in these losses.

“The one positive with this disease is that it is possible to screen for genetic susceptibility and, therefore, prevent future losses via the avoidance of breeding a mare and a stallion who both have the gene mutation.”

James Crabtree, a member of BEVA’s health and medicines committee, said the study is likely to have an impact on selection of thoroughbred breeding stock.

“The difference in selection pressures between breeds may have contributed to the higher prevalence in warmbloods,” he said. “But the presence of the mutant genes in other breeds suggests the mutation could have occurred spontaneously more than once or may date back even further.

“The true prevalence of the mutant gene will likely become known with more widespread field screening of thoroughbreds.”

The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association vet committee chair James Crowhurst told H&H this first recorded case is significant.

“We are aware of studies in a small number of thoroughbred mares and horses in training, showing that there is a low level of carrier status. In the future, more screening may be needed, to avoid the problems that already exist in some warmblood populations,” he said.

‘A wonderful legacy’: much-loved British stallion put down aged 21

Becky Murray — Mon, 17 May 2021 10:03:56 +0000

The much-loved thoroughbred stallion Primitive Proposal has been put down aged 21, leaving a “wonderful legacy”.

Primitive Proposal, by Primitive Rising and out of Louella With Love, had been owned by Charles Upham of Langaller Stud for the last eight years. “Percy” competed in eventing, showjumping and dressage in his youth; he qualified for the Burghley Young Event Horse final as a four-year-old and in 2008 qualified for the British Dressage winter regionals. He went on to concentrate on his breeding career.

Charles told H&H Percy was put down on Wednesday morning (12 May) owing to cancerous melanomas in his sheath.

“He was becoming swollen and was obviously in a fair bit of discomfort, and there was no way back,” he said.

“On the morning he was put down we stuck to his routine. I took him out and he trotted across the field and was whickering and calling to the mares at the bottom of the hill then came trotting back to the gate as he usually does, and we put him down there.”

Charles described Percy as a “lovely person”.

“He was always pleased to see you, he greeted you and wanted you close to him,” he said. “He would always put his head in your hands and stick his tongue out through his teeth. Whenever you left he would call to you as if to say ‘don’t leave me, stay and talk to me for longer’.

“He was really good to handle and to collect from. For a thoroughbred and an older horse you couldn’t have wished for a nicer or more genuine horse. He used to go in the paddock every day, but after 10 minutes he’d always be back at the gate kicking it, wanting to come in. He wanted to go out, have a buck and a roll and then he’d say ‘I’ve done that now I want to come back in’.”

Percy’s offspring include advanced eventers and show horses, and stallion The After Party, owned by Nick Gauntlett.

‘He loves to learn — he is just like a sponge and his lateral work is already there. If you

(Image credit: Samara Swan)

Group One-winning racehorse joins The Queen’s Barbers Shop at top showing yard

The gelding joins the Queen’s Barbers Shop at showing producer Katie Jerram–Hunnable’s yard where he will retrain for his new

(Image credit: Samara Swan)

“We put on a little display in front of the house with all of Nicky’s clients there and the people who owned Jack as a racehorse (the Hanbury Syndicate] and we had the most wonderful day, seeing all his horses and being able to show Jack off,” Allister said. “They had a few schooling fences so we popped over those. He thoroughly enjoyed that; thought it was amazing.”

Over the past few weeks Jack had become lame with suspected arthritis in his shoulder and the decision was taken to put him down.

“It was very sad to hear but he had a great life and had a lot of care and attention,” Allister said. “He got to experience a varied life and everyone had him thought the world of him.”

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

18 (tongue-in-cheek) reasons cobs are better than thoroughbreds

Aimi Clark — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 12:24:01 +0000

Tough, resilient, reliable and brilliant fun. Of course no horse is perfect, but cob owners and riders have got a pretty good deal. Here are 18 reasons why Aimi Clark thinks they are so much better than thoroughbreds. Thoroughbred lovers — get ready to fight your corner...

1. No time to ride today? No matter – your cob will still be as safe and chilled out as he normally is tomorrow. And, come to think of it, next week. But pity the girl on your yard whose thoroughbred has been on box rest — aren’t you glad you don’t have to get on that?

2. Box rest isn’t something you’ve ever given much thought. Cobs don’t break as easily as thoroughbreds.

3. Admittedly thoroughbreds go faster, but when it’s stepped on a stone and hopping lame, your cob will plough ahead. Remember the hare and the tortoise?

4. In fact, barefoot is an option for your mighty cob’s strong feet.

5. You don’t have to hold your breath when you bring your cob in from a muddy field, because he rarely loses shoes. His legs don’t swell to twice their size at the first sign of mud fever either.

6. While your friend spends a huge chunk of their pay cheque on hard feed for their thoroughbred, your cob looks great on little more than hay and grass.

7. You also don’t have to waste lots of money on rugs to keep him warm in winter. He doesn’t sulk because he’s thin-skinned and cold when it rains in the summer, and he is far more tolerant of pesky flies.

8. Your toddler, mum and 80-year-old grandparents can all ride him. He’s a truly safe all rounder, but still brilliant fun when you get on to go hunting or cross-country. Put a novice on a thoroughbred and see what happens when they hold the reins too tight and let their lower leg slip back…

9. When you take your cob to a show, you don’t have to allow extra time for calming them down just to get a saddle and bridle near them.

10. No need to factor in time for plaiting either — we’re team hogged manes!

11. And those awkwardly narrow, high withers on thoroughbreds that often require a made-to-measure saddle? Pah!

12. You don’t need several layers of thick pads underneath said saddle either, because your cob’s saddle truly fits, and he isn’t prone to allergies or rubbing.

13. Hacking out is fun. Your cob will go first or last, and you don’t panic when another horse (probably a thoroughbred with questionable brakes) gallops past.

14. That thoroughbred was probably fidgeting, leaping around and generally being a bit too excitable earlier, while your bemused cob stood perfectly square.

15. Your cob is not sensitive skinned and he loves a good groom. No bared teeth or flailing limbs to be seen!

16. Vices — what vices? Chewing on wood is not usually a cob’s idea of fun.

Continued below…

(Image credit: Lucy Merrell)

Cobsmopolitan anyone? Why show cobs have such brilliant names

If you glance at the cob entries in

(Image credit: Lucy Merrell)

8 reasons everyone needs a cob in their life

(Image credit: Lucy Merrell)

17. And he’s definitely not a fussy eater — nor does he ever get so stressed that he goes off his food.

18. Admittedly cobs tend to have a cheeky streak — that loveable cobby charm and charisma — but when they get to the point when they might hurt themselves, they stop. They’re quite clever like that.

Don’t miss this week’s cob special of Horse & Hound magazine (21 January 2021).

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

‘His legacy will stand the test of time’: Frankel and Enable’s breeder dies aged 83

Lucy Elder — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 18:03:18 +0000

One of racing’s greatest owner/breeders, Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, has died aged 83.

Prince Khalid was the breeder and owner of the legendary Frankel and dual Arc-winner Enable.

He died peacefully today (Tuesday, 12 January).

The great Dancing Brave and Arrogate were among the other racing stars to carry his green, pink and white silks, which were worn by a total of 500 stakes winners, of whom he bred 440. These included 118 Group and Grade One winners, of whom he bred 102.

“The whole of Juddmonte feels a huge sense of loss. Prince Khalid will always be remembered as a quiet, dignified, benevolent family man, whose horses spoke for him,” said Juddmonte chief executive Douglas Erskine Crum.

“He leaves a legacy that will stand the test of time. His contribution to the development of the thoroughbred will have long-lasting effects.”

Prince Khalid Abdullah, owner and breeder of dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Enable and the great Frankel has passed away todayPrince Khalid Abdullah, owner and breeder of dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Enable and the great Frankel has passed away todayHere's a look back into Prince Khalid's outstanding and iconic contribution to Racing pic.twitter.com/pdBs73tqlyHere's a look back into Prince Khalid's outstanding and iconic contribution to Racing pic.twitter.com/pdBs73tqly— ITV Racing (@itvracing) January 12, 2021— ITV Racing (@itvracing) January 12, 2021

Prince Khalid’s love of racing began in the 1950s. He bought his first racehorse in 1977 and the following year purchased Known Fact, who would go on to become his first Group One and first Classic winner, as well as the foundation stallion for Juddmonte’s breeding operation. He would also go on to sire the prince’s first homebred Group One winner, Warning.

The Juddmonte enterprise grew from its foundation at a Wargrave farm in 1980 to become the powerhouse of global thoroughbred breeding it is today.

British Horseracing Authority chairman Annamarie Phelps said it is “extremely sad” to hear of Prince Khalid’s passing.

“His name and distinctive racing silks will for ever be associated with some of the greatest horses and unforgettable moments in the sport’s history, from Dancing Brave to Frankel, Enable and many more,” she said.

“His Juddmonte breeding operation has also been a feather in British racing’s cap for many years and those exceptional bloodlines, which will be enjoyed for generations to come, are a priceless gift to our sport from an exceptional man. He will be sadly missed by the racing world.”

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

New schemes to improve traceability of racehorses H&H Plus

Lucy Elder — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 15:58:33 +0000

As the throughbred world strives for improved traceability of its equines throughout their lives, Weatherbys has announced its e-passport will go live to the UK and Irish thoroughbred market in 2021. H&H finds out more about the benefits it will offer...

THOROUGHBRED owners are being urged to ensure their horses are correctly registered as the industry pushes to improve traceability.

It is a legal requirement for the new owner of any horse to update its passport with the relevant passport-issuing authority (PIO) within 30 days of purchase.

The racing industry is pushing for greater awareness and compliance of this, regardless of what a horse’s post-racing career is, or is hoped to be, as the industry tries to better understand what happens to thoroughbreds throughout their lives, before, during and after racing.

Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) and Weatherbys both have plans to help improve traceability.

On 24 September, Weatherbys announced it is more than two years into producing an e-passport, which will go live to the UK and Irish thoroughbred market in 2021.

It is designed to provide “a single, secure platform for all regulatory and legislative requirements relating to identification, health, welfare, movement and ownership”. The digital document will also include stallion, mare and foal registration, pre- and post-racing vaccinations and medications, ownership updates and full identification details.

The e-passport is also hoped to improve compliance with owners reporting horses’ death to the PIO, by making this easier.

Weatherbys stud book director Simon Cooper told H&H elements of the technology are already in use, including functions around vaccinations and movement of horses that support Britain and Ireland’s “return to racing” protocols.

Mr Cooper said the e-passport will ensure change of ownership is “not only easier, but more secure and accurate”.

“This will require both the vendor and the buyer to submit, like change of ownership for a car. While the paper passport remains a legal requirement, these will be required to be sent to the PIO for verification of change of ownership,” he said.

Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association CEO Claire Sheppard said the e-passport is central to a number of projects it is working on with Weatherbys.

“The equine movement element of this technology was vital at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic as it was used to track the movement of thoroughbreds during the breeding season,” she said.

RoR is urging all owners to ensure they comply with the legal requirement regarding updating ownership details and is also encouraging owners of horses who do not compete in its series to register with them for free, so it can help improve traceability of more thoroughbreds.

One of the ideas RoR is looking at is implementing a search facility on its website, using information from its own database. The aim is to help horses’ previous owners and racing connections find out where they are now, and vice versa. The organisation is looking at GDPR-compliant ways of helping both sides get in touch with each other.

British Horseracing Authority director of equine health and welfare David Sykes told H&H ensuring horses bred for racing can be traced across their entire lifespan is a key priority in the industry’s Horse Welfare Board strategy.

“The systems in place to trace thoroughbreds are as advanced as for any sector of the horse population, but we are constantly working to improve the capture of relevant data to more accurately represent outcomes for retiring horses as part of our ongoing commitment to traceability,” said Mr Sykes, adding a simplified online process for retiring racehorses – a separate process to updating ownership details – was launched in February, designed to maximise traceability and improve data and understanding of how horses retire from racing.

“This aims to make the process easy and simple to follow and assist owners in ensuring they meet their legal responsibilities, but we need their help to ensure this system is used as widely and comprehensively as possible.”

H&H 1 October 2020

‘Finding a diamond in the rough’: how a former show rider found success buying and selling thoroughbred foals

Hannah Lemieux — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 16:35:57 +0000

Four years ago, Sophie Buckley bought her first three foals at the thoroughbred sales. Last week, she sold a Cable Bay colt — a €4,000 purchase — for an impressive 160,000gns at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale (pictured below as a foal and at the sales).

However, it is Sophie’s unusual approach to preparing yearlings for the sales, which makes her stand out within the bloodstock world.

In a competitive industry, which is focused primarily on making a profit at the sales, Sophie uses her background in dressage and showing to concentrate on the finer details when prepping yearlings.

“I prepare my yearlings differently to others in the industry,” said Sophie. “It’s not just about making a profit, it’s about also giving the yearlings the confidence to go onto their racing careers, and give them the ability to cope with life.”

Sophie’s Cable Bay colt as a foal (left) and ready for the yearling sales (right). (Image credit: Sophie Buckley)

After purchasing foals at the sales in November, they are turned out in the field and “well fed”. Sophie then begins their sale ring preparations around July, before they head back to the sales from August through to October — a busy time for all involved.

“Each day, I make sure the yearlings are doing something different at home,” she explained. “They will either go on the walker, be hand-walked, lunged or I ride-and-lead them off my hunter up the gallops.

“I don’t like the idea of them just going round in circles. It’s good to teach them to go up the gallops in a straight line and be next to another horse in an open space,” she added.

“I use my background in showing and dressage to produce the yearlings correctly. For example, I lunge them like dressage horses with a Chambon and incorporate transitions, so they have to use their natural balance. I believe it’s all about the marginal gains, although some yearlings are harder to work with than others.”

Continued below…

(Image credit: Sophie Buckley)

Eventer buys TB colt for £50k — sells him for £450k

The Irish rider made a hefty profit after the sale of a thoroughbred colt she had owned for less than

(Image credit: Sophie Buckley)

Before breaking into the world of pinhooking, Sophie — who grew up in Ireland — enjoyed success in the show ring when under the tutelage of show producer Frances Cash, and also trained with international dressage instructor Gisele Holstein.

She also credits support from working hunter specialist Rory Gilsenan, who has been shortlisted for Absorbine Inspiration of the Year awards at the 2019 H&H Awards.

Sophie and her husband, Charles, with their two children, are based at Culworth Grounds near Banbury, where they have been creating a purpose-built equestrian facility.

“It’s hard to break into the bloodstock industry, and it took me many years,” said Sophie. “That first year I purchased three foals, the next I had six and then the following I bought 12 — each year went well and it just grew from there.

“When buying foals at the sales pedigree is important, but there is certainly an art to buying foals. You have to have an eye for their athleticism — they must have a good walk and good conformation. It’s all about finding a diamond in the rough.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

The athletic thoroughbred: everything you need to know

Emily Donoho — Sat, 22 Dec 2018 16:24:32 +0000

Few breeds can claim as much influence on modern equestrian sport as the thoroughbred horse. Many other breeds, from American Quarter Horses to Morgans, Irish Draughts to Standardbreds, European warmbloods and many more, have been infused with thoroughbred blood to enhance refinement and athleticism.

Thoroughbreds themselves appear everywhere, from taking their riders around the hunting field or dressage ring, to excelling at the highest levels of eventing, showjumping, and polo. Their heart, work ethic, and people-oriented nature makes them excellent all-round riding horses, although they can be energetic and forward-going, so are not ideal novice rides (as with any breed, there are always exceptions).

Primarily, though, thoroughbreds are known and bred as racehorses. The breed was founded in England in the 17th and 18th centuries, when English mares were bred to three imported stallions of Barb, Turkomen, and Arab lines.

The General Stud Book, the first official register of horses, was established in 1791, only listing horses that could be traced to those three stallions and to 43 “Royal mares” imported under the reign of James I.

The end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th saw horse racing increasing in popularity and the creation of the English ‘Classic’ races such as the St. Leger, the Oaks, the Derby, and the 2000 Guineas. The first English steeplechases, an idea adopted from Ireland, were established in the 1830s, and the most famous of these, the Aintree Grand National, was first run in the late 19th century.

In the United States, now the world’s largest producer of thoroughbreds, Flat racing took off in 1868, becoming immensely popular in the 19th century. After a worrying spell when bookmaking was banned in the early 20th century, it bounced back when pari-mutuel betting was legalised in 1908 and horses like Seabiscuit and Man O’War became as famous as human celebrities. After hitting a flat spot following WWII, the 1970s saw another boost with equine stars like Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed winning the Triple Crown (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont – three Grade One stakes races held within a month of one another).

Racing has attained mainstream press and TV coverage of an extent not found in most equestrian sports, not least because people can bet on it. Famous racehorses like Frankel, Kauto Star, Red Rum, and Sea The Stars have become household names in the UK.

The racing industry has substantial net worth, in the UK contributing £281 million to the economy, while in the United States it is worth $34 billion. Although a horse cannot be registered as a thoroughbred unless it has been conceived by live cover — the Jockey Club does not permit artificial insemination, which limits the number of foals a stallion can sire — Britain produces about 5,000 foals per year, and the US produces roughly 20,000.

Only a fraction of the horses produced become successful race winners, but many more find their way into riding homes and second careers. There is a wide range of competition series in Britain supported by Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), a charity dedicated to promoting the welfare and rehoming of ex-racers.

Thoroughbreds dominate the sport of polo and have a long history as successful upper level eventers. Sixteen of the 56 starters at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2018 were thoroughbreds, 11 of which were “off the track”. William Fox-Pitt’s champion eventer Parklane Hawk, a full New Zealand thoroughbred, won Burghley in 2011 and Kentucky 2012, and New Zealander Jock Paget’s Clifton Promise, another New Zealand Thoroughbred, won Badminton in 2013. Gemma Tattersall’s Arctic Soul is another former racehorse that has excelled in the sport. Eventing had drifted away from primarily using Thoroughbreds when it dispensed with the long format around 2003, but now they are making something of a comeback as upper level cross-country courses demand more endurance, and most of the top horses have a substantial amount of thoroughbred blood.

Although it is less common to see one on the international grand prix dressage stage, American Hilda Gurney won team bronze on her ex-racer Keen at the 1976 Olympics and competed him again at the 1984 Olympics.

Before warmbloods were readily available outside of Europe, it wasn’t unusual to find thoroughbreds showjumping international grand prix courses in the ‘80s, with horses like Touch of Class, the mare who secured the gold medal for the American team in the 1984 Olympics, or Gem Twist, the individual silver medallist and part of the American silver medal winning team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

For most riders who aren’t looking for FEI prospects, thoroughbreds can be an excellent mount for any discipline.

Susan Corbett, who owns Girsonfield Stud and Racing in Otterburn, Northumberland and has bred racehorses for 25 years, told Horse & Hound: “We feel that thoroughbreds have so much more to offer than any other single breed — with elegance, speed, movement, intelligence. As fashions continually change in eventing, showjumping and dressage, it usually comes back to the thoroughbred to take the prizes!”

Unlike other horses, there is no “breed standard” for thoroughbreds as breeding has aimed for speed, rather than establishing a specific phenotype. However, certain characteristics enable a horse to run fast, and thoroughbreds are instantly recognisable. They have a refined head, deep chest, lean body, and long, flat muscles, with well-angled shoulders and powerful haunches. Their height can range from 15hh to 17hh.

Although they are in many respects the supreme equine athletes, one should be aware of health problems which turn up frequently in the breed. Racing pushes horses to the limits of their athleticism, and while plenty remain sound, many don’t, and potential owners of ex-racers should be on the lookout for common problems like stress fractures, bone chips, bowed tendons, and sacroiliac damage. There are also some conditions thought to be genetic due to a high percentage of inbreeding (90% of thoroughbreds are related to Northern Dancer). These include bleeding of the lungs (exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage) and small, flat feet with thin soles and walls.

Anyone interested in owning an ex-racehorse should contact RoR. They explain on their website: “Clearly not all racehorses go on to star in a different sphere, but RoR hopes that, on seeing what can be done, more riders will think about taking on a racehorse when they are looking for a new horse. This will help racehorse owners and trainers, equine charities, retrainers and, most importantly, the horses to find secure and knowledgeable new homes.”

In addition to liaising with the racing industry and the general equestrian community, they provide competitions for ex-racers in showing, eventing, dressage, showjumping, and polo.

Susan Corbett reflects: “I hate the fact that people expect ex-racehorses to be given away when so much work goes into their education — especially on our yard we really give a full education — just in case they do need a future career away from racing. RoR classes are helping greatly to counteract this problem.”

Eventer buys TB colt for £50k — sells him for £450k

Hannah Lemieux — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 10:00:47 +0000

An Irish event rider who runs a solo operation buying and selling young racehorses at horse sales made a hefty profit when her Dabirsim colt sold for a remarkable €500,000 (£447,572) on Wednesday (4 October).

Co. Kildare-based Edie Murray-Hayden bought the colt (pictured, above) last year at Goffs November Foal Sale for €56,000 (£50,117).

After 11 months spent at Edie’s 35-acre Gormanstown Stud, during which time he was backed, the youngster was sold for half a million Euros to agents Sackville Donald at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale.

“His sire was unknown when I bought him, but I fell in love with him and was willing to take a chance on him — there is a lot of luck involved in this game,” Edie told H&H.

“He was very good-looking and an exceptional walker. Despite his unknown sire, he looked a good enough horse and I had done my homework.”

The Irish rider buys and sells — referred to as “pinhooking” in the bloodstock industry — from her 10-stable farm and usually buys one or two foals each year.

“It’s great to see the horses go on and race — it’s even better when they prove themselves,” said Edie, who previously worked for big breeding operations including Coolmore and Godolphin.

“I knew he was an exceptional colt, but I didn’t think he’d go for that much money. Once the price went above €200k it all became a bit of a blur — usually you can remain astute but I definitely got a bit lost at that point.”

Edie (pictured, below) was a member of the first Irish pony eventing team and was the first reserve for Ireland at the 2002 World Equestrian Games. She also produces event horses up to two-star before selling them on, alongside pre-training racehorses.

Courtesy of Gormanstown Stud (Image credit: Courtesy of Gormanstown Stud)

This is not her first “pinhooking” success — after setting up Gormanstown Stud, she bought Sir Prancealot for €52,000 as a foal and sold the future sire for €142,000 at the 2011 Orby Sale.

The Willie Mullins-trained Black Hercules, a Cheltenham Festival winner, also spent time in Edie’s care when she bought him as a three-year-old before selling him on.

“I actually find it harder to sell the eventers because you take them up the levels and they gain your trust — you get to know them over a longer period of time,” added Edie.

“With the yearlings, it is slightly different because I only have them for about 10 months before they are sold.

“The profit will be re-invested into my farm — I have been overwhelmed by the media attention and the well wishers.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Help! What should I feed my fussy, underweight thoroughbred? Spillers explains… Promotion

Spillers — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 07:25:38 +0000

Spillers' equine nutritionist Clare Barfoot provides one H&H forum user with some helpful advice on how to feed her fussy underweight thoroughbred that requires more condition

Q: Feeding a fussy, skinny thoroughbred: “I’ve got a slightly skinny thoroughbred I’m trying to fatten up. The yard where I keep him doesn’t feed ad lib hay or haylage which isn’t a help, but there’s nothing I can do about it. My horse won’t eat a huge quantity of grass nuts, chaff, unmolassed sugar beet or purple ready mash. I also personally I don’t like linseed so won’t use it. Currently my horse is fed on a combination of a balancer, molassed sugar beet, and conditioning cubes, with a bit of oil and handful of outshine. He has put some weight on, but not really as much as I would like over past couple of months. Any suggestions welcome!”

A: This is a difficult challenge if you can’t feed ad lib forage as the best way to achieve weight gain without compromising digestive health is to use forage. However, the first thing to do is condition score your horse so you have a good idea how much condition he has to gain for example on the 1-9 scale aim for a score of five. For a clear walk through of how to do this visit the SPILLLERS® BCS calculator. If he scores less than a five it’s time to review his diet.

The best strategy to employ is making your horse’s meals as energy dense as possible while providing extra fibre in the form of chopped fibre. As I don’t know how much you are feeding I can’t advise you specifically, but assuming you are feeding twice a day I suggest you first check you are feeding the recommended amount which for a thoroughbred weighing 500kg would be approximately 3kg of conditioning cubes per day. Opt for a conditioning cube that contains a controlled level of starch, digestible fibre sources and a high level of oil such as SPILLERS® Conditioning Cubes in order to reduce the risk of excitability which is both undesirable and could cause more weight loss. If you are feeding at least 3kg per day you will not need to feed the additional balancer as the cubes will provide a balanced diet.

Continued below…

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(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Height: 15.2hh

Age: 12

Gender: mare

Selling points: “‘Zoe’ was produced to race but never had a racing career. I have owned her for the past seven years. Zoe was my first horse and she has an excellent temperament. She hacks alone and in company and is snaffle mouthed at all times. We have spent the past six years hacking around the Peak District National Park before relocating to Surrey. She is now for sale as I have had a baby and no longer have time for her. She has good paces and a careful jump. She is very easy to handle and will go out with mares, geldings or alone. She can also live out in the summer. We have done lots of road work and she will lead nervous horses who are not used to hacking out.”

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Height: 16.2hh

Age: nine

Gender: mare

Selling points: “This horse has been mainly used for dressage but she can also jump and has hunted and done cross-country in the past. She would suit an owner who is into competing as she has a lot of potential to do well in all disciplines. I have owned her for just over a year now and took her to my first dressage competition last June to be placed first with a score of 63.91% and qualified for the Sunshine Tour at Hickstead in September 2015. She is good to do in all ways, a little mare-ish but I believe it’s more her personality! Not a novice ride. She loves to work and responds very quickly to what is being asked of her. A truly beautiful horse with a lot of personality.”

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Fast, beautiful and adaptable — 7 reasons why we’re rooting for thoroughbreds

Carol Phillips — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 12:30:11 +0000

Are you on team thoroughbred? Find out why H&H's website editor is rooting for this sleek and speedy breed

Before we go any further I have to confess that I am a big fan of the mighty thoroughbred (TB). Having owned and ridden a range of types and breeds of horses since I was a child, I would now choose them (or a horse with a very high percentage of TB blood) over any other.

But while not wishing to over generalise — everyone involved in horses knows that every horse is an individual, and there are exceptions to every rule — I don’t believe thoroughbreds are suitable for everyone.

That isn’t to say you have to be an expert to have one — you just need to understand their mindset. If you can do that, thoroughbreds can make excellent horses for both competition and pleasure riding alike.

Here are just a few reasons why I rate thoroughbreds so highly.

1. Thoroughbreds love to work, and I mean LOVE to work

Of all the horses I’ve ridden since childhood, my TBs have been the most naturally motivated. As soon as the tack comes out, they have their head over the door and can’t wait to find out what challenge that ride is going to bring.

2. They learn quickly

Explain a new exercise or technique carefully to a TB and they’ve got it. Even if they might find it difficult physically at first, they will typically give it a really good try. And when you ask for it next time, they will remember. Rarely do you find yourself having to go over and over the same exercise once they’ve got it sussed, unlike some other breeds I’ve known. However, this can also work against you so it’s important you make sure the habits TBs learn are good ones.

3. Thoroughbreds thrive on a regular routine

Whether that routine is in at night and out during day, living out 24/7 (yes, contrary to popular belief most TBs can cope perfectly well living out full time if they have good food, adequate shelter and are rugged appropriately), or whatever suits your lifestyle, given sufficient time to adjust they are generally happy horses to have around. But if you want to be able to leave your horse standing in its stable until lunchtime on Saturday because you’ve had a big night out on Friday, a TB is probably not be for you.

4. Whether they were bred to race or for other sport, thoroughbreds can be exceptionally quick

Obviously not all horses make it on the track, but those that don’t still have a pretty impressive turn of pace when asked which can leave most of your friends eating your dust while out on a fun hack.

5. A popular misconception is that thoroughbreds are spooky

In my experience this simply isn’t the case, especially those that have been in training/have raced. Having been exposed to traffic, travelling and all the hullaballoo of the racetrack at a young age, hacking out and going to shows is something most take in their stride. However, that isn’t to say that they never spook — after all what horse doesn’t? — and when they take evasive action they are typically quite quick, so a decent seat and a sense of humour will help you to enjoy the ride. See my earlier point about TBs not being for everyone…

6. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, TBs are typically elegant beasts

Look down the line of any hack class at a county show and the majority of the beautiful horses you will see are exquisite thoroughbreds demonstrating manners in spades. Who wouldn’t want to take one of those home?

7. Thoroughbreds are typically very adaptable sport horses with big hearts

Whether it’s turning on a sixpence on the polo field, galloping round a cross-country course, jumping huge hedges out hunting, floating around the show ring or pointing their toes in the dressage arena, once you’ve identified the sport that your TB is best suited for, you can be sure you’ve got a willing partner.

Are you a fan of the mighty thoroughbred? Let us know by emailing hhletters@futurenet.com

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Painting ex-racehorse Metro Meteor signs his own book

Eleanor Jones — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 12:45:53 +0000

A FORMER racehorse who found a new career in the art world is now signing copies of his biography.

Metro Meteor, who had won more than $300,000 on the track in America, retired as a nine-year-old owing to severe knee injuries.

His new owner, artist Ron Krajewski of Pennsylvania, US, taught him to create “abstract paintings”.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Ron said: “He’s got a habit of putting stuff in his mouth and bobbing his head.

“I thought if I could teach [him] to hold a brush, maybe we could do something with him.”

The bay gelding took to his new career with alacrity, developing a style of building up his pieces over several days. Word has spread about Metro’s talent and his paintings are being snapped up, with one selling for more than $2,000.

His work has also been displayed at Gallery 30 in Gettysburg, where there is a waiting list of 80 people interested in Metro’s art, according to a gallery representative.

The money has been used to pay for Metro’s own vet bills, and his talent is also helping other thoroughbreds. Half the proceeds from the sale of the paintings is donated to the New Vocations Adoption programme, which helps retired racehorses find “second careers and loving homes”.

So far, Metro has raised more than $80,000 for the cause.

Ron said: “Sometimes Metro can be a jackass. He is temperamental, stubborn, dominant, and just plain cranky.

“But I have to remember that he is just a horse. I have grown to love him and gave up trying to change him a long time ago. He is Metro. And he paints.”

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Metro is now the subject of Ron’s book Painting With Metro: How a Crippled Racehorse Rescued Himself (and Me) With a Paintbrush, which is out on 5 April.

And, showing himself to be as handy with a pen as with a brush, the former racehorse even signs his own book.

Painting With Metro: How a Crippled Racehorse Rescued Himself (and Me) With a Paintbrush by Ron Krajewski with Susy Flory

Carole Mortimer: Let’s try to work together again [H&H VIP]

Carole Mortimer — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 10:55:35 +0000

Despite sharing the common denominator of the horse, in recent years the horse world has become increasingly divided.

A recent look through old Badminton programmes made me realise just how much racing and eventing have become divorced from one another, having previously shared much in common — not least breeding.

Up until quite recently, some Badminton horses were bred for racing. Many were by National Hunt sires and most by thoroughbred stallions. It was interesting to note stallions that had sired both Badminton horses and Grand National runners — winners even.

Speculator, ridden by the late Richard Meade to win Badminton in 1982, was by Specific, the sire of the 1970 Grand National winner Specify.

Question is another that sired 1969 Grand National winner Highland Wedding, as well as successful event horses. What is the likelihood of that happening now?

Seeking the thoroughbred

Much has changed. With a combined 13 miles of steeplechase, roads and tracks and cross-country, eventing was formerly a sport of stamina. Dressage and showjumping ability didn’t feature as they do now and are two of the reasons why the type and breeding of event horses has changed.

But, despite the changes, breeders are increasingly asking for — and struggling to find — thoroughbred stallions to breed an event horse, which still needs speed and stamina.

It used to be easy. The likes of Specific and Question were just two of the hundreds of premium stallions available to serve thoroughbreds and non-thoroughbred mares through the former subsidised Hunters Improvement Society (HIS) scheme that came to an end in the early 1990s.

Another anomaly is that in the sport horse world, very few breeders now use a thoroughbred; there is little need for them. While there are a few studs left that still stand sport horse and thoroughbred stallions, for many standing the latter is not financially viable.

Tellingly, the large private sport horse studs in Germany — Schockemöhle, Sosath and Sprehe — have just one thoroughbred between them.

It seems to be left to the subsidised Celle National State Stud to supply the thoroughbred. Interestingly, Celle has several, including five available by frozen semen for very reasonable fees.

Fragile breeding industry

So in the UK, thoroughbred stallions are increasingly found at thoroughbred studs that do not breed sport horses. Are there thoroughbred studs that even accept non-thoroughbred mares these days? And of course, there is the huge issue regarding the method of reproduction; sport horse breeders generally prefer artificial insemination (AI), which is taboo in the thoroughbred world and another reason for the two groups moving further apart.

Yet, ironically perhaps, while some are looking for stallions there must be thoroughbred stallion owners looking for more mares. Last year, a report commissioned by the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association* declared the British thoroughbred breeding industry to be “fragile”.

One of the reasons is that in 2013 just 647 foals intended for National Hunt racing were born, compared to 2,400 in Ireland. This means there are some British-based thoroughbred stallions of National Hunt type not doing a lot. Many of these have affordable stud fees.

I am most likely being naïve, but is there not an obvious solution? Could we not join forces to make some of these stallions available to non-thoroughbred mares — just like it used to be? I suspect there are plenty of reasons why it is not possible, but surely someone could initiate a move to bring the two factions nearer together again.

* www.tinyurl.com/BreedingCrisis

Ref: Horse & Hound; 5 February 2015

More opportunities for ex-racehorses

Amy Mathieson — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 13:55:05 +0000

Former racehorses with racing-related blemishes, and thoroughbreds that have been in training but have not run in a race, will have more opportunities from next year as Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) broadens its competition series.

The change follows recommendations from a recent review into how the charity spends its money. The review was prompted following more applications for funding due to the growing popularity of ex-racehorses.

One recommedation is that the “series should be expanded to include classes for those that were in training but never raced” and to “create classes for horses with accidentally received blemishes”.

These issues have long been gripes for owners.

“They [RoR] are currently excluding the very horses they were set up to champion, and I feel strongly about this,” one reader recently wrote to H&H. 

To counter this RoR has teamed up with the Thoroughbred and Retired Racehorse Association (TARRA) for the show series in 2015 and there will be a final at the RoR Championships at Aintree in August 2015.

“The classes will continue under TARRA rules whereby racing injuries are ignored. An important change is that the series will be for amateurs only,” said RoR’s Di Arbuthnot.

A series of in-hand and ridden showing classes are run by TARRA. Classes are held throughout the country.

“It will allow horses that have raced overseas or have not reached the racecourse chances to compete under the RoR banner,” added Mrs Arbuthnot.

Grassroots boost

The charity has seen an increase in interest in recent years — in part thanks to the “Kauto Star factor”.

More than 10,000 ex-racehorses are currently registered for competition with RoR. However, it’s not all about the high profile horses. RoR is also looking to expand the grassroots series, with more eventing and showing due to an “increase in registrations at that level”.

“It was also clear that many lead useful lives at ‘grassroots’ level and catering for these is equally important to promote demand,” stated the review.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (13 November 2014).

Funding for vet projects on offer

Sophia Heath — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 12:00:49 +0000

Applications are open for funding from the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) for new veterinary research projects for 2015.

The HBLB is looking to support “robust research projects that benefit racing and breeding thoroughbreds”.

The organisation is also offering “small grants” for projects that last for less than a year with costs under £10,000.

Professor Willie Donachie, chairman of the HBLB’s veterinaryadvisory committee, said: “The twin track approach worked very well last year, with 17 exciting new projects starting in 2014.

“The improved funding position, with the Levy Board, the Racing Foundation, the British European Breeders Fund and the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association all working together has reinvigorated the programme.”

Applications close on 2 July or research projects and 11 June for small grants. The awards for 2015 will be approved in mid-December.

For more information visit: http://egs.hblb.org.uk

ITM unveils new website

Martha Terry — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:00:50 +0000

Irish Thoroughbed Marketing (ITM) has launched a multi-lingual interactive website, giving information about the thoroughbred industry in Ireland.

The website, which took 8 months to develop, is a database with information such as sales dates, stallion nominations, trainer contacts and racecourses. It features a horse ratings search tool, enabling buyers and bloodstock agents to filter and search for horses using a number of different criteria.

ITM general manager Elaine Hatton said: “Visitors to the site will be treated to an easily navigable experience that is not only aesthetically pleasing and filled with wonderful imagery, but is also a source of up-to-date information and news from around the world.

“The ‘media centre’ is a rich source of material that will be welcomed by journalists and others with an interest in facts and figures.”

Information is currently translated into Russian, French, Mandarin, Spanish and Turkish, with further languages planned in the second phase of development.

The website is optimised for mobile and desktop technology.

Visit www.itm.ie

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