Victor Dartnall unveiled a strong team of horses, including plenty of exciting future prospects, for the forthcoming winter jump racing season at his annual owners' day on Sunday.
Dartnall endured a torrid time after the outbreak of equine herpes virus at his Barnstaple yard last October that resulted in the death of several horses. But wins from both Ambion Wood and Seebright in the spring plus several decent placed horses signalled that the yard is back on song, and about 35 horses will represent the trainer this autumn and winter.
Professional event rider Helen West, who recently took over the management of equestrian venue Bicton Arena in East Devon, has said measures have been taken to ensure the going is safe at its British Eventing competition (August 17 – 18).
The long, dry hot spell has resulted in hard ground across the UK, but water will be added to all the courses during the week prior to the event and it will also be aggravated.
Helen said: “As an event rider myself, I know how important it is that the ground is safe for horses to run on and in light of that we will be pulling out all the...
Families flocked to Newton Abbot Racecourse on Sunday (21 July) where kids were entertained not only by top action on the track, but by a new interactive ‘Kids love the Races’ roadshow designed to entertain and engage children in the sport.
Here, budding young jockeys enjoyed finding out more about the equine and human stars of the sport, designing their own racing silks and taking a look at some specialist racing equipment. They also got to check out what racehorses eat to keep them in tip-top condition and learnt about what happens at the track.
As Friday 31 January 2014 marked the beginning of the Year of the Horse in the Chinese calendar, the RSPCA is announcing a huge rise in the numbers of horses rescued and taken in by the charity in England in 2013.
The charity is also highlighting some of the incidents from the past year that made 2013 unlucky for our equine companions.
Figures show that the number of horses taken in or rescued by the charity in England rose by 69 per cent compared with 2012. In 2013, the RSPCA rescued, collected or took in 1,526 equines, compared with 901 the previous year. These horses...
