Shilpa On The Gallops

We had a great visit to see Shilpa and Maisey yesterday, my friend Ginette had kindly agreed to give both horses a Photon Therapy session which is a bit like acupuncture but it uses red light instead of needles.  Both girls enjoyed their sessions and found them very relaxing which was the aim of the morning.  The girls enjoy their spa sessions and we enjoy spending some quality time with them so it was great all round.


As if the morning couldn't have been better Simon invited us to go and see Shilpa work on the gallops, they were taking two horses up that morning and Shilpa was going to be ridden by Luke Kilgarriff who  is Simon's Apprentice Jockey and a really nice rider.  They boxed over to the gallops and Shilpa loaded and travelled well.  Ginette and I had a bit of gallop envy when we saw the facilities and even I would have loved to have had a good blast up the hill and I am not known for getting out of working canter.  The gallops feature a tower with comfy seats, a heater(!!), binoculars, stop watches and Ginette reckoned a megaphone although I am not sure bellowing out of the tower would have been that constructive seeing as Simon and Luke know what they are doing and we don't.


Shilpa worked really well, Simon and Luke were both very happy at the end of the session and we managed to get some great photos.


Hacking Up To The Bowl


Luke on Shilpa on the right hand side.

The Bowl

Used for warm up by going once round the bowl in walk, trot and canter, the track goes around the edge of the large field, you can just see it behind the far white rail.  Also notice how steep the sides of the bowl are as that leads on to the next photo The Hill!

The Hill

This was taken from the viewing tower looking up the hill, Shilpa went up the hill three times.

Luke and Shilpa going up the hill.

  

The hill again taken from a bit nearer the top, even this photo doesn't show how steep it is.  Shilpa seemed less concerned about it than we were and we drove up (a bit hairy in places!).

Bit nearer to the top again.

Hacking back down the hill, nice to see her relaxed and Luke riding on the buckle.

 Luke walking Shilpa around to cool off before loading up to go home.

We had a great day again and many thanks to all at Simon Earle Racing for their hospitality.  We are really pleased with how the horses are looking and going.

Faithful Servants

We went to Ascot sales this week and I saw a side of racing that I really don't like.  Church Island an Irish trained horse who has won around £300K in his career was entered for the sale sold as he stands.  For non auction goers this means he is not being sold open to the vet, if a horse fails a vet then the sale doesn't have to go through, eg you pay your money and you take your chance on him.


I really wanted to see him as as he is a 'name' in our house and it isn't often you get to see a horse that successful up close and personal.  As a horse owner I was desperate to get my hands on him and I have to confess a small part of my romantic soul hoped that we could buy him for a useful job running for us and then retire him with dignity.


Well, what can I say, I don't want to tar everyone with the same brush but often the Irish horses in the sales are shown a bit in the rough.  Personally I don't mind this as I like to see a horse that has been out in the paddock and generally living like a horse, however a horse person can see a horse that is healthy with a bloom to the coat even if it's dirty and hairy, a bright eye and a general bit of sparkle about it, compared to something that looks a bit dull and uninterested in life.  Church Island unfortunately to me fell in to the later category.  He was a real gentleman in the stable but he reminded me a bit of a favourite old teddy bear, fluffy and a bit battered around the edges.  For a 12 year old I would have put him as late teens easily.  Their demeanour can be a lot to do with where they are, and the journey they have had over here, and I'm not saying he was being badly treated as the lad with him clearly had a very soft spot for him.  What annoys me and makes me really sad is that he was there in the first place.  To me a horse that has won his owners £300K in prize money owes them nothing, he deserves the best spot in the nearest paddock where he gets the most carrots from the people walking past.  The retirement in the home for ex-race horses where he parades on the open days and people come up and feed him polos and tell him that they once won £50 on him and took their girlfriend out to dinner and now they are married with two kids.  Or the housewife who used to scream him home on the TV while the kids rode him over the last on the back of the sofa.


He categorically does not deserve to be at Ascot racehorse sales being sold for £3,000 as he stands.  I know who bought him but I don't know who he is if that makes sense.  I just hope it was one of his former connections who will give him the retirement he deserves, or someone who wants a nice horse to explore the countryside on where they both can look at the hedges and dream of the days when they were flying over them.  


I wish you luck Church Island.