Flaygray wins at Horse of the Year Show

So the British horse show season drew to its climax with the Horse of the Year Show, and ex-racehorses took their place amongst the ribbons with the SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse Championship. Who would have thought, ten years ago, that ex-racers would ever get a look-in at the HOYS arena? – except perhaps in disguise as something else!

But now retrained racehorses are mixing it with the show-pros, and doing brilliantly. This year’s winner was the gorgeous grey, Flaygray, a 10-year-old gelding by Terimon. Owned and ridden by 28-year-old Faye Hesketh, from Preston in Lancashire, Flaygray went beautifully, looked fantastic, and was a worthy winner. 

Indeed, the pair have had a marvellous first season together, winning their first two outings and coming 5^th ( out of  47) at the Great Yorkshire Show. They took the Supreme Championship at the Area NPS Show as a show hack, and won the Racehorse to Riding Horse classes at Aintree, Windsor, and the North of England Show . And then claimed the HOYS title – not bad for starters!

Flaygray has become a superb show-horse now, but in his former career he was a pretty decent racehorse too. He was bred by Alison Lee, a vet from Carnforth, Lancashire, and was trained by former National Hunt jockey Chris Grant in County Durham. Flaygray ran twelve times, mostly over hurdles on the northern tracks, and claimed two wins, three thirds, and some £10,000 prize money. He last ran at Wetherby in May 2012 (and came an ignominious tenth of ten! Ah well, he was no doubt trying to explain that he was ready for a change of lifestyle….) A good thing his people listened, because he was about to embark on an even more successful, second, career.

Initially, after his retirement from racing, Flaygray was kept quietly at home by Miss  Lee, spending some twelve months as a much-loved ‘field-ornament’. But then his farrier, Richard Helliwell, persuaded Miss Lee that letting Flaygray loll about much longer was a waste of a good horse. The lad was ready for another job! (Anyone involved with retraining retired racehorses will say that, after a period of rest-and- chill-out time, the horse will ‘tell you’ when he’s ready to start doing something else.)

And as it happened, Richard was the partner of Faye, who was thinking about looking for an ex-racehorse to show….  Richard showed Faye a photo of Flaygray, Faye fell in love, and the rest, as they say, has become fairy-tale-like history.

Flaygray has made a fantastic, and remarkably speedy, transition from racehorse to riding horse. ( Probably that twelve months chilling out helped – it usually does.) He and Faye had only been together three months when they started winning in the showring. Clearly they have gelled extremely well together. Faye says, “Grazie is such a nice person, easy and very good to do, he is such a good boy.”

Of their HOYS triumph Faye said : “It means a lot to win at HOYS, when you work week in, week out. Ever since I was a little girl I've dreamed of a day like today, but you never think it’s going to happen.”

Well – it has! Who says dreams can’t come true?

Having gone straight to the top in their first year of ROR classes, Flaygray and Faye have little to prove in that area. Next year, Faye says, she hopes to show Flaygray in Hack or Novice Riding Horse classes.

On present form, Flaygray’s second career will be even more successful that his first!

Full results of the HOYS  SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse class were:

1st - Flaygray - Faye Hesketh
2nd - Chouxdamour - Claire Oliver
3rd - Buckingham Boys - Clare Poole
4th - Jack the Giant -  Allistair Hood
5th - Astrobrava - Rebecca Lowe
6th - Valentine Jak - Donna Bamonte
7th - Decimate - Lynn Russell
8th - Ingleby Hill - Shelley Heywood
9th - Midnight Chase - Sally Hayward

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Superstar Ex-Racers - Coolmore on TV

I saw an amazing broadcast from Channel 4’s ‘Morning Line’ at the weekend, coming live from Coolmore Stud in County Tipperary, Ireland.  And it had ex-racehorses aplenty – Big Time!

To open, we were allowed a peep over the stable door of the mighty Galileo -  one of the best TB stallions  in the world, and sire of some of the best racehorses – as he contentedly munched his breakfast hay. And then, through the Irish morning mist,  came a parade of some of the world’s best, most beautiful, and successful stallions. One by one they were brought from their individual turnout paddocks (each gate with the horse’s brass nameplate attached) and stood before us by their personal handlers. Nick Luck, the programme presenter, and some of the Coolmore staff, introduced each horse, outlining its racing triumphs, personality, breeding characteristics, and successful progeny.

It was wonderful to see them all, no longer sleek and hard racecourse warriors, but  fat, relaxed and contented, being still ‘on holiday’ from the covering season. Galileo was walked out first for us – such a pretty horse, and looking quite chubby! – strolling meekly  beside his handler like the perfect child’s pony.

Then we met one of my old favourites, the gorgeous, dark-and-handsome Yeats – who raced so long and so successfully. He’s thirteen years old now, but still looked full of beans. MV Magnier, son of the owner, told us that Yeats ‘means more to Mum and Dad than us kids’!

Next came Dylan Thomas – a giant of a horse ( Coolmore’s biggest stallion, apparently.) Both he and Yeats are now proving good dual purpose sires, getting  jumping winners under National Hunt rules as well as on the Flat. Rock of Gibraltar, who was introduced next, looked small compared to Dylan Thomas, but we were told he is nevertheless ‘energetic’, just as he was on the track.

In the adjoining paddock, looking with interest at the camera, was 21-year-old Danehill Dancer. He is retired from stud duties now, it was explained, having covered an estimated 5000 mares. (So he’s certainly earned his rest!) He sired some great winners, including recent champions Kingston Hill and The Grey Gatsby. As with the other Coolmore stallions. Danehill Dancer will live out the rest of his days in his personal paddock at the stud, cared for by the people he knows and who clearly think the world of him.

Next we saw the newest recruit to the Coolmore’s ranks – War Command – who we saw being walked sedately round the empty yard. He had only arrived two days before, having just retired from racing, and was being kept quietly on his own in order to settle in to his new home.

Derby winner Pour Moi was paraded next, one of Coolmore’s  more recent stallions. His first crop of yearlings has been well-received at Newmarket’s Yearling Sales this week, one fetching over 200,000 guineas.

There was breaking news on the programme, too, that the fantastic horse Australia, winner this year of both the English and Irish Derbys, as well as much more, was retiring early from racing due to a foot infection. He would be arriving at Coolmore within days, to prepare for a no doubt spectacular stud career. Australia is by the legendary Sadlers Wells out of the brilliant mare Ouija Board, and the world’s biggest – and richest! – TB breeders are desperate to send their mares to him.

Australia and War Command are entering a fabulous life. The Coolmore stallions are treated like royalty (as indeed they are, of the equine kind), with their personal stables, paddocks, and loyal attendants, and with the world’s best vets, farriers and other horse care experts to guide their management. Moreover, they have the enduring care, respect, and love of their own dedicated handlers. And, of course, a rather pleasant lifestyle with the ladies….

As life-after-racing second careers for ex-racehorses go, it doesn't come much more successful – and glamorous! – than this.  To borrow a phrase from soccer – that other sport full of expensive and spectacular male stars – “ The boys done good !”

I recommend trying to catch this programme on Channel 4 On Demand.  The horses are wonderful to see – and the glimpse we were given into Coolmore’s private museum – never filmed before – is amazing! Look out for Sadlers Wells…!

Retrained Racehorses on TV

Some great publicity for retraining of racehorses on TV today! At The Races did ex-racehorses proud by giving us not one, but two, separate features on them during the channel’s lunchtime programme.

First, the opening slot on the coverage of racing from Plumpton was Mick Fitzgerald introducing the demonstration of ex-racehorses given there today by Moorcroft, the racehorse rehabilitation centre based in West Sussex. There was an interview with the Manager, Mary Henley-Smith, about Moorcroft’s work, and the on-going need to fundraise. (That’s one of the reasons why displays such as this one are so important, to show people just what can be achieved.) Then the horses were introduced and shown being ridden (one more calmly than the other, admittedly!) round the parade ring. They looked well and, as was pointed out, now that they were almost fully retrained, they had acquired a very different shape to in-training racehorses. Not only were they both flexing their necks  well and coming down nicely on the bit, but they had considerably more flesh on their necks, bellies and quarters! They looked like proper riding horses – exactly as they should.

Straight after this feature came another, this time a report from Luke Harvey on the work of Greatwood – another of the big racehorse rehabilitation centres in the UK. Helen Yeadon was shown explaining how racehorses are re-schooled  - with some good clips of the work in progress - and then rehomed into hand-picked loan-homes. Importantly, the feature also showed the brilliant work Greatwood has developed with equine-assisted learning at its base in Wiltshire. Greatwood uses some of their ex-racehorses in specially devised programmes to help both children and adults overcome various learning issues. ATR showed some tantalizing glimpses of this work in action. For a more in-depth look, though, go to Greatwood’s website to see videos of this fantastic horses-helping-humans education – it really is amazing and heartwarming. Who said ex-racers can’t do other jobs? How does racehorse-to-special-needs-teacher grab you?

Well done At The Races, and thank you, for giving rehabilitated racehorses a good chance to show off before a wider public. And for anyone who missed it – it’s well worth seeking out on catch-up TV.

Moorcroft  -  www.mrwc.org.uk

Greatwood – www.greatwoodcharity.org

Ex-Racers OK! - At Last!

It’s amazing, and heartening, to see how popular ex-racehorses have become over the past five years. A decade ago nobody ( or hardly anyone!) wanted a retired racehorse. Too many ‘issues’, people thought. Ex-racers were crocked in the body and crazed in the head.

Also, and pretty crucially, the competitive showing and jumping community felt there was no place in their disciplines for Thoroughbreds, and especially not ex-racing ones. The favoured breeds for jumpers were hulking Hanoverians and Warmbloods.

Tb’s are speedy and nippy, but their natural athleticism was downplayed by many, who said they did not have the ‘power’ for the big courses. (Have any of those detractors actually seen  the Grand National fences?)

In showing, there were just no suitable classes for TB’s. A smaller, very pretty one could sometimes do fairly well in hack classes, if it moved elegantly too. But hack classes are few and far between, especially at local level.  And so are ex-racers with a beautiful ‘daisy-cutting’ action! TB’s have evolved to cover ground at speed – not dance daintily though the park with an elegant lady aboard.

A big brawny ex-chaser type might just about have scraped a place in a local hunter class – if there were no half-decent ‘proper’ hunters in it.  But many judges were very sniffy about it.

Finding any event ex-racehorses could excel in was difficult, however well re-trained they were. And there was a definite prejudice against them, amongst riders and judges.

Fast-forward a few years, and what a difference!  Thanks to the brilliant work of the Retraining of Racehorses organisation, and the lower-key constant plugging-away by dedicated smaller groups and individuals, retrained racehorses have hit the big time! Racing heroes strutting their stuff in new, life-after-racing careers keep hitting the popular headlines. Kauto Star  is doing dressage, as is Grand National winner Neptune Collanges. Kauto’s old rival Denman is enjoying life teamchasing. And that beautiful  grey steeplechase warrior, Monet’s Garden, having suffered a life-threatening illness, is now delighting the crowds again, this time in showing classes.

Indeed, these days showing retired racehorses – thanks to a whole series of Ex-Racehorse showing classes offered at local and national level,  is a booming sphere, with professional show-producers getting involved.

At the recent Great Yorkshire Show, there were 47 entries in the ROR class. (Pity the poor judges, having to sort through that lot!) What’s more, since ROR changed their rules, these were all genuine ex-racehorses, who had actually raced. No protected un-raced TB’s allowed these days!

(Until recently, the rules allowed ‘racehorses’ to be shown if they had simply ‘been in training’. This meant that ‘show quality’ youngsters could be cherry-picked by sharp-eyed producers, sent to the yard of a licensed trainer for a few weeks, then returned home, unraced and therefore totally unscathed and blemish-free, ready for a prize-scooping showing career.)

Not any more! In that GYS class, the 47 horses had, between them, won a total of £603,551  in racecourse prize money. Three of them had won over £70,000 each.   The biggest prize-earner was Fortunate Isle, a 12-year-old chestnut gelding who had won £80,332 running under both Flat and National Hunt Rules. ( He wasn’t quite as good in this particular arena, sadly, not being placed on this occasion.)  Conversely, the winner of this huge class, the 12-year-old gelding Liverpool, had no racing winnings at all! The third-placed horse, though, a 9-year-old bay gelding called Irish Mayhem, was the second-highest racing earner, having won £70,358 on the Flat running in the Godolphin blue colours of Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum.  For the results record, the horse placed second in the class was Sister Gee, a 12-year-od bay mare who had racing winnings of over £3000.

Number-crunching also showed – in this particular class anyway – that successfully retrained racehorses come from all types of racing, both sexes and all ages. At Harrogate there were 24 entries from Flat racers, 22 from National Hunt, and 11 from the point-to-pointing field. Several horses had tackled all three!  There were 35 geldings and 12 mares (perhaps reflecting that many ex-racing mares go on to breeding careers.)  There were three 5-year-olds in the class, while the oldest contestant was the 20-years-young bay gelding Feel A Line. This grand old lad wasn’t placed on this occasion – but since he had already won almost £21,000 on the racetrack he didn’t owe anyone anything!

It was a pleasure to see them all looking so well, successfully re-trained and happily doing ‘another job’ – and proving the old detractors so wrong!

Re-training the Blog!

It’s a long while since this blog posted anything. Life, work, family, and, of course, ex-racehorses, so often take up more time than you expect, and the pure fun-stuff, like blogging, slips off the to-do list for another day…. Suddenly years have gone by! Some people said not to resurrect ‘Ex-racehorse Life’, just start a whole new blog. But why? The subject would be the same. And new readers might be interested in some of the earlier posts here, old though they are. So – here we go again.

For older readers, here’s an update on some old friends. Most of the horses, over time, went out into the big wide world to do other, non-racing jobs, just as planned. And, thankfully, I’ve been able to keep in touch with all of them and they have all been successful. As the saying goes, ‘Horses leave hoofprints on your heart’ – and sometimes they even come back to retrace their steps!

Beautiful Miraed went to a new home to do showjumping and hunting, as well as showing. Now aged fourteen, and still full of beans, she has recently found a new, less busy ‘happy hacking’ home, and is cosily settled in a livery yard just round the corner! Small world.

Dara finally got his back issues sorted – apparently it all stemmed from an old injury no-one had known about. He is now enjoying life with his new ‘Mum’ winning showing classes and doing Le Trec.

Magic went to a horse-ology college, to help train students. Four days after arrival he threw a wobbly and dislodged the instructor riding him, who broke a wrist. Magic got expelled, as ‘unsafe for students’ – which is ironic because he was always the kindest, gentlest horse who just loved people. (Except for that instructor, obviously!) Magic is now teaching novices to ride and doing wonderful RDA work with youngsters who have various disabilities. The kids all adore him, and he loves all the fuss they give him. Just goes to show…

Count finally got the hang of circles, and grasped the concept of self-carriage. ( Well, almost, some of the time.) He has successfully taken part in several lengthy Charity and Fun Rides, and is now also doing well showing at local shows. Although, at one show last year he threw an almighty buck and deposited his rider  onto the deck. The class, incidentally, was called ‘Ideal Partners’ – LOL!  Which all proves that retraining racehorses is more of an art than a science, and in some cases - eg Count! – is always a Work In Progress.

Big H is sixteen now, and doesn’t do much at all except keep an eye on young horses that come to the farm. He takes his Herd Leader duties very seriously, and gives each newcomer to the field a pep-talk on the house rules before allowing them to graze and, eventually, to try a bit of respectful mutual grooming. H is also very protective of people. If any of the youngsters start getting too boisterous or bargie, H will place himself between them and the humans – and the young four-leggeds know to keep their distance! Ex-racehorses can be re-trained for many things, and most of them can happily do more than one new job -  but becoming a Knight In Shining Armour  surely takes a VERY special ex-racer indeed!  

Ex-racehorse champions at Greatwood Open Day

Some celebrity ex-racehorses will be strutting their stuff at Greatwood's Open Day on Sunday, 14th June. Bindaree ( former Grand National winner turned dressage star!), New Seeker, Cool Dawn and Edredon Bleu are just a few of the former champions who will be parading to delight the crowds. Also there, of course, will be Greatwood favourites Deano's Beano, Montendre, and Potentate, as well as all the current ex-racer 'guests' in the various stages of their rehabilitation.

As you'll no doubt already know, Greatwood Retired Racehorse Centre, ( on the A345 just outside Marlborough in Wiltshire) is a charity that relies on donations to fund its tremendous work rehabilitating and rehoming ( where possible) ex-racehorses that have fallen on hard times. ( And there are an enormous number of them these days!) Not only that, but Greatwood has now expanded its activities so that children with special needs can visit and interact with the horses. Two 'Special Needs' groups helping each other ! - the way the world ought to be.

So, the annual Open Day is an important opportunity for Greatwood to show what it does, and hopefully attract those much-needed funds and sponsorships. This year's event is sponsored by William Hill, and will be a fun-packed occasion. Apart from all the horses, there will be a display of working sheepdogs ( and ducks and geese!) by Bob Hogg,as well as various family entertainments, trade stands, refreshments, and a picnic area.

Tickets cost just £5, and children under 12 get in free. Dogs are welcome on a lead.
Sunday 14th June 12.00noon - 4.00pm
For more info tel: 01672 514535

Royal Predica - Veteran Champion

Ange and Perds have done it again ! Royal Predica won the Veteran Section in his TB/ex-racehorse class at Devon County Show , and came 5th overall. Not a bad achievement for this ex-Grand National steeplechaser who had never even seen a showring when Ange got him just over two years ago. Ange is thrilled. "He was an absolute star," she says. "He was sooo chilled, and went the best he's ever gone."

Perds' preparation for the show had been delayed due to him having a cough, so schooling and getting fit had only really been possible in the two weeks prior to the big day. Just proves, you can't keep a great champ down ! Well done, Ange and Perds.