What with one thing and another it has been an exciting few weeks in EPDS Central. One of the exciting projects that we have been working on is the EPDS Racing Welfare Best Turned Out. A few weeks ago EPDS group sponsored the entire card at Huntingdon Racecourse, as part of this sponsorship we gave over two races to Racing Welfare as we are keen supporters of the work that they do. During the day all of the EPDS Partnership members enjoyed going in to the paddock and judging the best turned out for each race as well as presenting the prizes.
A best turned out is a lads way of getting recognition for all the care and attention they give their horses both on and off the course, as well as this is puts a bit of cash in their pockets, the prize is usually £25.00 so it is worth winning. We took our job seriously and often found it hard to decide between two or three horses in the paddock.
During and after the day we got chatting about how much fun we had had, and how nice it was to award the prizes. One trainer actually came up to thank us saying it was the first time the lad had ever plaited his horse so to be rewarded with a BTO on his first effort was great. Talking to Racing Welfare about how it would be good to do something bigger we hit upon the idea of a BTO series throughout the year that would ultimately benefit an entire yard as well as individual lads.
The idea is this, one race at one course per month (so 12 races over the year) we award a special BTO prize, instead of one lad winning we award a first, second and third with cash prizes (£50 to the winner) along with a gilet. Each yard that comes first, second, third is awarded points and the yard at the end of the year with the most points gets a cash prize for all the staff of £1000 and a trophy.
The racecourses have been great and all the ones we wanted have come on board, the dates/locations for the series are:
Huntingdon- January 27th, Warwick- February 11th,Carlisle- March 18th, Ludlow- April 5th, Fakenham- May 27th, Stratford- June 2nd, Worcester- July 31st, Bangor on Dee- August 31st, Market Rasen- September 29th, Fontwell- October 6th, Wetherby- November 17th,Wincanton – December 6th (Final)
This means the first one is tomorrow at Huntingdon, the course where the idea was formed in the first place!
We will let you know the winners and will be keeping a running total of the scores as we go through the year.
For more information about Racing Welfare please see here: http://www.racingwelfare.co.uk/pressReleases_detail.php?ID=51
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
It's Tomorrow! (Again)
Another exciting day ahead, Lisselan Amazon runs in the 1.50pm at Taunton tomorrow! This will be her second run over hurdles after her trip out last week. Last time she parted company with Gerard at the fifth fence, this time obviously we are hoping she will have learnt from that experience and will jump cleanly round.
Her jockey for this outing is Luke Kilgarriff, Luke was an apprentice jockey and then left racing to train at Bath Spa to be a teacher under the JETS scheme. This scheme supports people coming out of the racing industry in re-training for another career. Luke still rides and schools for Simon during the uni holidays and has worked a lot with both Amazon and Shilpa. He now holds an amateur licence and I am really pleased we are able to give him the chance to ride for us, even if it does mean he is probably bunking off a few lectures ;) He is a lovely chap and I hope they both have a lot of fun tomorrow, unfortunately I will be watching from the bookies near my work, not from the course.
Emma who is a member of the Racing Club and an excellent photographer has kindly agreed to take some piccies tomorrow so check back here for a full report and photos of the day.
Her jockey for this outing is Luke Kilgarriff, Luke was an apprentice jockey and then left racing to train at Bath Spa to be a teacher under the JETS scheme. This scheme supports people coming out of the racing industry in re-training for another career. Luke still rides and schools for Simon during the uni holidays and has worked a lot with both Amazon and Shilpa. He now holds an amateur licence and I am really pleased we are able to give him the chance to ride for us, even if it does mean he is probably bunking off a few lectures ;) He is a lovely chap and I hope they both have a lot of fun tomorrow, unfortunately I will be watching from the bookies near my work, not from the course.
Emma who is a member of the Racing Club and an excellent photographer has kindly agreed to take some piccies tomorrow so check back here for a full report and photos of the day.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Taunton 9th January
It was an exciting, exhausting, emotional day (well for me at least), both Lisselan Amazon and Shilpa got in to their races and Simon said we were good to go, so we went.
Amazon's race was first of our two at 2.40pm, our hope for this race was that she would get round, she has only been jumping a few weeks and this was her first time over jumps, first time on a UK racecourse, first time over that distance and first time racing for 230+ days. Gerard was instructed to give her plenty of time to see the fences and generally keep her out of trouble. Unfortunately watching the race back it got a little bit scrappy at the back, they were all Novices after all, and Amazon hit the top of fence 5 , pecked a bit on landing and Gerard carried on going and hit the deck.
Amazon bless her carried on going without him, went through the finish post and got turned round by some of the placing horses and bought back to the paddock. She looked like she had had a great time, ears pricked and if you can describe a horse as smiling that was her. Once I got over my initial ~gulp~ and had shouted 'don't step on your reins' at her as she went past me on the course, I had to smile at her demeanour as she was led back to the stables, she looked like she had been at the best party ever. Next time Maisey finishing with Gerard on top would be good, I suppose if nothing else it christened the new silks.
A few photos:
Katie, Holly and Amazon going to the paddock
Holly and Amazon in the paddock
Katie, Holly and Simon saddling Amazon
Gerard, Holly and Amazon in the paddock
Gerard and Amazon on way to start
Circling just before the start
Circling at the start
Plan for Amazon is to run her again quite quickly as long as she is not too tired from her race yesterday, we need her to run three times to get a handicap. Hopefully she will run again at Taunton as this will be the best learning experience for her, exactly replicating what she did yesterday but this time picking her feet up a bit more!
We then had to wait for the last race of the day, 4.10pm for Shilpa, which in some ways was a very long wait and in others went really quickly. Again this was Shilpa's first time racing for us and her first time on a course for around five months. My hope was just that she would get round safe and sound, the others in the partnership had a cheeky small each way bet but on the whole we had no great expectations other than to see where we were with her. Well what can I say, she ran a cracking race, looked really good jumping apart from at the last when she landed a little four footed which lost her some ground. She then ran on to get fourth which meant that although we didn't see a return on our each way bets, we did as owners get prize money!!! Simon was really pleased and Gerard who had ridden her before for previous trainers said some very complimentary things about the change in her way of going and how much more settled she was with her racing. This is great because that is exactly what Simon has been working on at home.
Some pictures of Shilpa:
Katie, Holly and Shilpa on the way to the paddock
Holly and Shilpa in the paddock
Holly and Shilpa in the paddock
Gerard, Shilpa and Holly about to go to the start
Gerard, Shilpa and Holly about to go to the start
Gerard and Shilpa on way to start
Gerard and Shilpa circling with the others at the start
Gerard and Shilpa at the start
Gerard and Shilpa at the start
Shilpa smiling at the camera
Can we go yet?
Plan for Shilpa once we have assessed her this week is to maybe get one more race in at the end of Jan/beginning of Feb as long as the ground stays good (she prefers good ground to soft). She will then have a few weeks off doing some more intensive muscle building training (aka dressage!) and then come back out again for the Spring/Summer season where the ground should be more to her liking.
I was really proud of both girls and think we have some very exciting times ahead with both of them. All of us in the racing partnership and the club who were there yesterday had a great time, Taunton is a very friendly racecourse and it was fantastic to have 'access all areas' owners badges, I think I can safely say that myself and Natalie saw every part of the course, including the burger van (twice!).
We still have a couple of shares left in Shilpa and spaces in the racing club for Amazon, further info can be found at www.epds-racing.co.uk.
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Tomorrow!!!!!
Well John and I joked that Maisey (Lisselan Amazon) would race before Shilpa, and she is, by 90 minutes!! Yes, both girls are running tomorrow for the first time owned by us, and in Maisey's case the first time on a UK racecourse and over jumps.
We are really pleased and excited and I am particularly happy that they will be travelling to Taunton together and will be support for each other, they are very close friends now. Both girls are being ridden by Gerard Tumelty. Our only hope is that they give a good account of themselves although I am sure all in the partnership and racing club will be having a little flutter.
I'm having that anxious mum fluttery stomach feeling and not sure I will be able to watch, apparently Henrietta Knight always hides behind the stands so if I see her I am going to ask her for her best hiding places.
We will let everyone know how it goes tomorrow.
We are really pleased and excited and I am particularly happy that they will be travelling to Taunton together and will be support for each other, they are very close friends now. Both girls are being ridden by Gerard Tumelty. Our only hope is that they give a good account of themselves although I am sure all in the partnership and racing club will be having a little flutter.
I'm having that anxious mum fluttery stomach feeling and not sure I will be able to watch, apparently Henrietta Knight always hides behind the stands so if I see her I am going to ask her for her best hiding places.
We will let everyone know how it goes tomorrow.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Welcome Lisselan Amazon
We have mentioned Amazon (Maisey) in passing but thought she deserved a post all of her own. Amazon is the second horse to be owned by EPDS Racing and is our racing club horse, she is also in training with Simon Earle and will in time transition to barefoot racing.
So why did we buy her? Well the short answer is that I was persuaded to go to Ascot Sales with JTB as a bit of a day out (as we are local) and I have to confess I lost control of him. The longer answer is that we had been discussing the idea of a racing club and also how exciting it would be to take something from the flat and school it on for jumping. I can think of no trainer better than Simon for teaching a horse to jump so it seemed like a good plan. Amazon fitted the bill perfectly, she is by Golan so nicely bred, is a four year old with a strong stamp and has previously been trained (and won) in France. The trainer had 12 horses at the sale who had all travelled from France overnight, even though she had had a long and tiring journey her nice nature and movement really stood out to us. Temperament is very important to us, a trainer once told us that the nice natured horses get most care and attention on a yard and from my experience with my own horses they respond best when they know they are loved and appreciated. Simon's team are all really positive about both girls and how they are to do, what is even nicer is that they are now next door to each other, go out in the paddock together and get on really well.
Simon reports that Amazon is quick and bold and we are hoping that she will carry this on to her career over jumps. We would like to see her run in the new year but time will tell.
A picture of Amazon:
So why did we buy her? Well the short answer is that I was persuaded to go to Ascot Sales with JTB as a bit of a day out (as we are local) and I have to confess I lost control of him. The longer answer is that we had been discussing the idea of a racing club and also how exciting it would be to take something from the flat and school it on for jumping. I can think of no trainer better than Simon for teaching a horse to jump so it seemed like a good plan. Amazon fitted the bill perfectly, she is by Golan so nicely bred, is a four year old with a strong stamp and has previously been trained (and won) in France. The trainer had 12 horses at the sale who had all travelled from France overnight, even though she had had a long and tiring journey her nice nature and movement really stood out to us. Temperament is very important to us, a trainer once told us that the nice natured horses get most care and attention on a yard and from my experience with my own horses they respond best when they know they are loved and appreciated. Simon's team are all really positive about both girls and how they are to do, what is even nicer is that they are now next door to each other, go out in the paddock together and get on really well.
Simon reports that Amazon is quick and bold and we are hoping that she will carry this on to her career over jumps. We would like to see her run in the new year but time will tell.
A picture of Amazon:
Membership of the racing club starts from £20 per month, more information can be found here: http://www.epds-racing.co.uk/racing_club.html
Saturday, 26 November 2011
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 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!).
Luke walking Shilpa around to cool off before loading up to go home.
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.
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.
Friday, 4 November 2011
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.
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.
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