News

We are delighted to annouce a unique RoR clinic with the established trainer of young and problem horses Gary Witheford at Sparsholt College in Winchester on Tuesday evening 27th March, 2012 from 7pm to 9pm. Gary specialises in Natural Horsemanship and the Call up Technique and he has vast experience within the racing industry having worked with thousands of yearlings and young racehorses early on in their career and is a specialist in re-training them for a life after racing.

So if you are looking to tackle a specific problem, such as loading, spooking, aggression, traffic problems or bolting and want to initiate a transformation in your relationship with your ex-racehorse, then this RoR clinic is a great opportunity to watch or take part in discovering techniques to help you overcome any challenges.  Many owners have been astounded at the vast changes seen in just one clinic session.

See how to initiate a transformation in your relationship with your horse for just £25 by playing an active part in the training and being introduced to techniques to carry on at home. Or for just £10 come along, watch and learn new approaches and ideas from Gary, and you can book a ticket in advance online.

To apply to bring your horse to Sparsholt College Demo on March 27th:

If you would like to bring your horse to the clinic, please contact Suze Witheford (preferably by email to info@garywitheford.co.uk) with details of the issues you would like help with. There are limited spaces available for this.

The Venue Information:  Sparsholt College Hampshire, Westley Lane, Sparsholt,
Winchester, SO21 2NF.

More about Gary Witheford

With over 25 years experience, initially in racing and then working and studying with the pioneers of new methods of horse training in America and Scandinavia, Gary has developed a unique insight into the psychology of the horse. He uses the term natural horsemanship to best describe his training methods that are based on observing horses in the wild, in particular how one lead mare actively manages the behaviour of other horses in a herd without the need for aggression.

Gary's ability to get the best from the most difficult and sometimes most dangerous of horses, was identified at an early stage. Eventually, he decided to concentrate on bringing on these difficult youngsters. Ignoring the horse's past history he would start from scratch, building up its confidence until it was safe and ready for racing.

Gary has developed a unique insight into the psychology of the horse, he is passionate about the work he does with horses and has created his own unique techniques to deal with equine traits and behaviour in a shorter period of time than it usually takes using more traditional methods. His training methods are based on observation of horses in the wild.  He does not resort to beating, shouting or abuse, but uses calmer, straightforward methods that allow the horse to quickly learn and respond in the light of their own natural behavioural patterns. In this way they learn to accept human control as quickly as possible and are ready for race training in a much shorter space of time.  To find out more visit www.garywitheford.co.uk

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Of course, we mean your ex-racehorse! Tell us in no more than 25 words why you love your ex-racehorse?

Every entry we receive before midnight on 13th February 2012 will go into a prize draw for a chance to win themselves an RoR jacket! Plus, the top ten loving quotes will be featured on our website and receive an RoR DVD.

To enter - all you need to do is tell us why you love your ex-racehorse (max 25 words) and e-mail your very own valentine message about your ex to info@ror.org.uk by midnight on 13th February 2012.

T & C's Only one entry per person. No cash alternative. Competition is open to UK residents only. Prizes can only be sent to a valid UK address. The winner will be chosen at random from all valid entries. The winners will be contacted via email. The Judges decision is final and no correspondance will be entered in to. The competition will run from Friday 3rd February 2012 until midnight on February 13th 2012. www.ror.org.uk is compliant with the data protection act. Our policy is such that we will not pass on your details to any third party without your prior consent.

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This year we want to share with you some of the real life stories to celebrate your remarkable achievements, your unstoppable determination and show the love that you have retraining and caring for your ex-racehorses. We start with with 18 year old rider, Lucinda Peat's story and over the coming months we will also be featuring more real life stories, as well as sharing a selection of the amazing entries that were commended by our judges in our 2011 RoR Heart awards.

Lucinda's story....."My riding career has been inundated with set backs, so much so that I feel it's only really beginning since I've taken on ex-racehorses. I took on  7yo Bobby (Fairlea Bob), who was trained by Rose Dobbin, with 4yo Charlie who had been bred to race. Both horses were sent down from Yorkshire to Hampshire and Bobby just turned up at the stables with Charlie, another ex-racehorse deemed unbreakable.

I have never had any funding from anyone not even my parents. I got a pony on loan aged 14 without my parents knowing and from that day when the pony arrived, I have worked so hard earning money to keep the horses going without any support at all from anyone.  Bobby's career consisted of 8 starts and not being placed above 6th. I hope to compete him BE and BSJA this year which I am very excited about. I have put together a video of Bobby's story from straight off the track to how he is now.

I have taken to schooling other peoples horses, taking on full, part, backing liveries and doing the odd bit of buying schooling and selling to fund the horses. I also have a lovely mare Boo (Kabougg) trained by Alan Mcabe, who is out of Tabougg and Karameg, she had 10 starts and no placings above 8th place, she is now competing showjumping and competed last weekend 2ft 9 and 3ft and hopefully with be eventing BE this year (My lovely chestnut Boo, also deemed unbreakable, is pictured here). I am hoping to find sponsorship so that I can continue to take on ex racehorses and turn their lives around then loan them to lovely homes so that they maybe enjoyed and loved.

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Due to the great response from riders, the Karen Dixon MBE demo at Bishops Burton EC this Saturday February 4th, will now start an hour earlier at 9.30am but still finish at 12.30pm.  There are still spaces available to watch, which will be a great chance to see riders and horses of different levels and abilities working with Karen and also to take away some practical retraining tips. The cost is just £10, payable on the day but please e-mail to book a place by 3rd February. 

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Lynn Russell will be holding a 'Racehorse to Riding Horse Masterclass' on 4th March at Durfold Farm, Plaistow Road, Dunsfold, Surrey GU8 4PQ.

Lynn has been involved with the retraining of racehorses for several years and the event is run in association with RoR. This workshop is open to all ex-racehorse owners and will be especially valuable to those have qualified/are hoping to qualify for the RoR/Tattersalls Show Series final at the Hickstead Derby Meeting.

The day runs 9.00am - 5.00pm, lunch, tea and coffee provided, and is limited to 8 horses. The cost per horse and rider is £100. Spectators are also welcome at £25 per person (lunch, tea and coffee included).

For more information visit our Clinics page or www.topcobs.com

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The shows and dates are now all up on our website for the popular RoR/Tattersalls Show Series and the Retrained Racehorse Challenge for 2012.

Visit the RoR Series/Showing page for the full list, and in Diary Dates you will also find details of the Show Secretaries and their contact details for each show.

The first class for the RoR/Tattersalls Show series kicks off on 1st April at the British Show Horse Association (BSHA) Southern Spring Show in Somerset.

Good luck to all competitors with their ex-racehorses during the busy show season ahead.

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The Ballroom at the Grange City Hotel, London, was packed to capacity for the glittering British Horse Foundation Breeders dinner and Awards Ceremony held on Saturday the 7th January, incorporating the South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB) and the charity Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Elite Performance Awards for ex-racehorses. 

Four Star eventer, Jess Mead’s, Dry Old Party, won the Eventing award, he was ridden by Tom McEwen in to 19th place at Burghley in 2011 in their debut at this level. They are hoping to compete at both Badminton and Burghley this year. Tom went on to say “I’m planning on spending the prize money from this award on training and entry fees for next season”. The consistent Advanced horse Seven O Seven and Sam Penn took the Eventing runner up spot for owner Sophie Bunch.

The Elite Performance Award for Showing was given in two parts, to the winner of the SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse Championship held at the Horse of the Year Show, which was Katie Jerram with Mr and Mrs Michael Jerram’s, Night Prayers. Katie is thrilled with Night Prayers who had such a successful time at HOYS this year, also coming 4th in the Small Hack Class. Night Prayers will continue his career in Small Hack Classes. The winner of the Tattersalls and ROR Thoroughbred Show Horse Championship at Hickstead was Lizzie Richmond with her own and Freda Johnson’s Treat Em Mean, who took the other Showing award. In only their first full season together, Lizzie and Treat Em Mean have impressed the judges at several major shows.

International Dressage judge David Trott with his own and Derek Frankland’s, Theme Park took the Dressage Award for the second year running. David said “I didn’t set out to try and win the SEIB and RoR award this year as I didn’t want to go ‘pot hunting’ having won last year. He has just performed so well this season”. Alex Phillips and her own horse, Star Of Memory who also competes at BE100 eventing took the runner up spot for the dressage award.

The 20 year old mare Vite Etoile took the Show Jumping Award for Nicola Braidwood. This exceptional mare who Nicola has owned since a four year old has evented to three star level and now the pair go out and have fun show jumping. Clare Valender with Jenny and Barry Barnes horse, Moritz took the runner up award for Show Jumping having won in newcomers classes and been placed in foxhunter classes.

Charlotte Wilson In the RoR Racehorse to Dressage Series, Charlotte Wilson took first place in the E53 Dressage Final which took place at Vale View Equestrian Centre in November 2011. Other winners at the Championship included Alex Phillis riding on Star of Memory in the RoR N35 class and Beckie Northover who took 1st prize in the RoR P19 Final on her ex-racehorse, Come On Nellie.

The Endurance Award went to Lizzie Livingstone and Quercus Maximus for attaining the highest number of Endurance Great Britain trophy points in 2010. Lizzie and the 18hh Quercus Maximus are only in their second season of competing in Endurance and have completed a total of 9 rides this year. Runner up for this award was Lorna Kidson with Paul Wright and Margaret Donnolly’s horse Jack Dawson.

These valuable awards have a total prize fund of £17,000 donated by RoR. Leading equine insurance brokers SEIB are enthusiastic sponsors of these awards with a strong company ethos in putting something back. The awards provide a focus for ex-racehorses competing in the disciplines of Eventing, Dressage, Show Jumping, Endurance and Showing and have encouraged more riders to recognize the talents and versatility of the thoroughbred and their potential for success in another sphere.

Equine Insurance brokers, South Essex Insurance Brokers who provide cover for horses, horse boxes, yards and much more, instigated the former Racehorse to Riding Horse Performance Awards in order to support the retraining of the thousands of racehorses who come out of training each year. “The Performance Awards also provide a platform to show how a correctly re-schooled ex-racehorse can be successful in a new career and continue to have a bright future, competing successfully in many different disciplines. This year’s competition has proved yet again the versatility and resilience of the thoroughbred”, says Nicolina Mackenzie, Marketing Manager of SEIB.

Di Arbuthnot, RoR director of operations, said “This series provides a focus for ex-racehorses competing in the disciplines of Eventing, Dressage, Show Jumping, Endurance and Showing, and I hope it will encourage more riders to recognize the talents and versatility of the thoroughbred and their potential for success in another sphere.”

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This year's winner of the SEIB/Racehorse to Riding Horse Show, Champion rider Katie Jerram is running two evening demos for the RoR.  The first will take place at Crow Wood EC, in Preston in Lancashire on March 9th and then another on 23rd March at Scottish National Equestrian Centre, in West Lothian, Scotland between 7 to 9pm on each date.

The demos with Katie provide a great opportunity for anyone wishing to learn more about ringcraft and at just £10 to attend will be of real benefit to anyone involved in the showing world, thinking of entering or looking for improvements in preparation for the new season.

This new date extends our calendar of education events into the spring and we will be continuing to add dates - so keep looking on our site, facebook and follow us on Twitter too!

On Saturday 4th February, Olympic star Karen Dixon MBE will be hosting a demonstration at Bishops Burton College in Beverley, Yorkshire.  Due to the response, this will now take place an hour earlier from 9.30am but still finish at 12.30pm.  There are spaces available to come along to watch Karen teaching a variety of ex racehorses and their owners at different levels of their retraining. 

On Sunday February 19th between 2pm to 4pm Caroline Creighton will host another demonstration for us at Stretcholt EC, nr Bridgewater in Somerset.

BE Accredited coach and top international eventer Nick Gauntlett will be heading up our "How to retrain your ex-racehorse" demonstration on Saturday 10th March between 10.30am to 12.30pm at West Wilts Equestrian Centre, Holt in North Trowbridge.

At just £10 to attend, the How to Retrain your ex-racehorse demonstration events provide a great chance to see first hand top coaches working with a group of mixed ability ex-racehorses. Share expertise and knowledge that will help you gain new ideas for retraining your ex-racehorse including training tips on the flat, as well as advice on jumping. 

How to book

Payment is required on the day, however, in order for RoR to have an idea of the level of attendance please email your name and those in your party if you are coming along with friends to lquainton@ror.org.uk. To apply, horses must have raced or been in training and be registered with RoR.

Calendar and venues for 2012 RoR educational events in the UK are:

13th January 2012 - Demo with Jeanette Brakewell at Osbaldeson EC, Ross Farms Lancs Ltd, Blackburn BB2 7LZ. Directions

4th February 2012 (9.30am to 12.30pm) - Demo with Karen Dixon at Bishop Burton College, Bishop Burton College, York Road, Bishop Burton, Beverley, HU17 8QG. Directions.

19th February 2012 (2pm to 4pm) - Demo with Caroline Creighton at Stretcholt EC, Stretcholt Farm, Stretcholt, Nr Bridgewater, Somerset, TA 4SR.

9th March 2012 (7pm to 9pm) - Demo with Katie Jerram at Crow Wood EC, Royle Lane, Burnley, Lancashire BB12 ORT.

10th March 2012 (10.30am to 12.30pm) - Demo with Nick Gauntlett at West Wilts EC, Melksham Road, Holt, North Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 6QT. Directions

23rd March 2012 (7pm to 9pm) - Demo with Katie Jerram at Scottish National EC, Oatridge, Ecclesmachan, West lothian, EH52 6N

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Happy New Year! We really do hope it is going to be a great year for you and for all equestrians across the UK, as we all look forward to the Olympics and supporting Equestrian Team GBR. There is no doubt that it is going to be a busy year for the RoR too as we are in the throws of planning our full 2012 calendar for the RoR Series, as well as a range of education events and clinics up and down the country. We will be adding all the details to our website over the coming weeks, so do keep checking our diary dates or sign up for an e-mail newsletters.

Also in 2012, we are once again looking forward to holding a number of ex-racehorse parades at some of the UK's top race meetings and racecourses. This is always a great opportunity to showcase some of the incredible work and great achievements of ex-racehorses going on to new lives and helps us to promote the work of the RoR to a wider audience. So why not read some of our inspirational success stories or even send us your own story.

Watch out too for 2012 Monkey business.... RoR's administrator Laura Quainton will be keeping a blog as she starts on retraining her ex-racehorse Monkey to hopefully be out eventing in the RoR/Bedmax series in 2012.  Monkey has just come back from a weeks schooling and is progressing nicely says Laura but she says; "One step at a time! He will hopefully do some unaffiliated bits in march/April and well, we will go from there!!"  So look out for Laura's blog later this month as we follow her progress.

We will also be keeping our website more up to date with real life stories, news etc ....so keep visiting or follow us @rorlatest on Twitter or Facebook

Looking forward to 2012 and best wishes to all our supporters.

Di Arbuthnot

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Pictured here is this year’s winner of the RoR Festive Photo Competition, ex-racehorse Bijou Rock, the chestnut on the left in the picture seen here next to his stablemate and partner in festive fun Eric.  For entering into the Christmas spirit owner Janice Masone from Wiltshire and her stunning ex-racehorse Basil win one of our much coveted RoR rugs.  We think Basil looks handsome and has shown himself to be a great sport joining in the Christmas fun!  Thanks to every one who took the time to enter and congratulations to Basil our Christmas star!

Do send us your photos - if you have any great photos of your ex-racehorse then why not send them into us at info@ror.org.uk.  We may feature your horse on our site if it's a good one!  (Note: please send the file as a jpeg and as small a file size as you can to enable it to be downloaded faster.)

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Vite Etoile ridden by Nicola Braidwood has taken this year's top spot by winning first prize in the RoR National Performance Awards. Ex-racehorse Vite Etoile came 1st in this year's league table with the highest notional prize money totalling £200.

Owner Nicola Braidwood, who bought 20 year old Vite as a four year old to retrain following her career as a flat and jump racehorse, is absolutely thrilled with Vite's win and the £2,500 first prize. The 2nd place award of £500 goes to Moritz ridden by Clare Valender. Nicola and Claire will now both attend the prestigious British Breeders Dinner and Awards Ceremony in January 2012 to be presented with their respective awards.

A further four prizes of £500 each have been awarded to the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th highest graded notional prize money horses during the twelve month period, which ran from 1st October 2010 to 30th September 2011.

Additionally, the results have been confirmed for the winners of this year's RoR Regional Champion Awards to recognise the highest place horse in each of the Regional Leagues. Each regional winner will receive a prize of an RoR embroidered rug and RoR jacket.

This year's full national and regional results are as follows:

RoR/SEIB Elite Performance Award - National Performance Awards 2011/2012

1st - Vite Etoile ridden by Nicola Braidwood  - read Vite Etoile success story
2nd - Moritz ridden by Clare Valender
3rd - Petite Pistolet ridden by Kieley Powles
4th - Zolushka ridden by Emily Clifton
5th - Red Minster ridden by Lauren Belt
6th - Hunting Pink ridden by Suzanne Patch

Regional Winners:
(Placing nationally in brackets)

Region A - Marino Tino ridden by Kelly Bywater (23rd)
Region C - Centrefold ridden Lauren Poole owned by Mr A Hollingworth (20th)
Region D - At Loggerheads ridden by Carole Stevens (26th)
Region E - Petite Pistolet ridden by Kieley Powles (3rd)
Region F - Fair Exchange III ridden by Karen Howard (30th)
Region G - Golden Fitz ridden by Rebecca Blain (33rd)
Region I - Vite Etoile ridden by Nicola Braidwood (1st)

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Retraining of Racehorses is delighted to again be involved in offering dressage, showjumping and combined training classes at The SPILLERS® Trailblazers Championship Finals, 2012.  We now have all the latest information online including details of UK dates for the Dressage qualifying classes in 2011 and 2012 throughout the UK - find out more on the Trailblazers information pages.

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With the growing interest in the RoR in Scotland and following the success of the David Gatherer courses this year we a looking to encourage our RoR horses and riders to compete in some unaffiliated dressage and combined training classes this coming winter.

Gleneagles Equestrian, Auchterarder, Perthshire PH3 1NF will be offering RoR rosettes and prizes in the following classes:
Prelim Combined Training : 17th December, 21st January , 18th February with the final on 24th March 2012.
Dressage, Prelim and Novice Classes : 8th December, 12th January, 16th February, with the final on 15th March 2012.

Further details can be found at www.gleneagles.com/activities/equestrian/calendar-of-events

It is also hoped that we will be offering rosettes at the forthcoming competitions at SNEC, Oatridge, West Lothian, EH52 6NH.

We do hope that you will be able to support these events and if you have any comments, suggestions or queries please contact carolannmagee@aol.com or call: 07811 460380.

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Competitors enjoyed a terrific day on Saturday November 11th taking part in the inaugural RoR Racehorse to Dressage Final, which took place at Leicestershire's Vale View Equestrian's Autumn High Profile Show.

Charlotte Wilson (pictured right) took 1st prize in the RoR E53 Dressage Final, riding on Elverys. Alex Phillips was awarded 1st prize in the RoR N35 class on Star Of Memory and Beckie Northover took 1st prize in the RoR P19 Final on her ex-racehorse, Come On Nellie.

All of the winners picked up a 1st prize of three hundred pounds each with prizes of two hundred pounds to 2nd placed and one hundred pounds to the 3rd placed in each of the three RoR Racehorse to Dressage Finals.

The full results of the 2011 Racehorse to Dressage Finals are:

RoR E53:

1st - Charlotte Wilson - Elverys

2nd -Sarah Ormond - Don't Tell Louie

3rd - Frances Turner - Prophet's Star

RoR N35:

1st - Alex Phillis - Star Of Memory

2nd - Pippa Weld-Blundell - Firmount

3rd Rachel Burgess - Wot A Handful

RoR P19

1st - Beckie Northovers - Come On Nellie

2nd - Pippa Weld-Blundell - Firmount

3rd - Laura Sennett - Ballyards

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If you have already kindly registered your ex-racehorse on the RoR database and wish to change your details please ring us on 01488 648998 rather than register again.

This will just help ensure we do not have duplicate details on your horse and keeps our database accurate and up-to-date.

Thank you to all those who do register your ex-racehorse, the information is very valuable to us and utlimately ensures we can provide a better service to meet you and your ex-racehorse needs.

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Please remember to notify RoR of any change of ownership with your ex-racehorse if you have previously registered with RoR. 

To do so email info@ror.org.uk or telephone 01488 648998.  It is important for us to keep our records up-to-date so please do contact us.  

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