Racehorses are professional athletes. We do a lot to keep them sound and happy.
In the pictures you see an example of kinesio-taping. This is a sports taping method that promotes the healing of traumatised tissue and muscles.
You may have seen this on TV before (on the sports channel), because it is commonly used in all types of sports: tennis, rugby, soccer etc..
I was first introduced to it (on myself) years ago when I was working in New York. I used to get my left shoulder taped on a regular basis due to an old riding accident: a horse flipped over on top of me causing a dislocated left shoulder. pretty painful…
Now kinesio-taping is getting more and more established in the equine world. I've been wanting to do the course for ages, who knows maybe this year I will be able to attend. Time is of the essence!
My friend Jo Gapp, an equine vetphysio and veterinary nurse, who I worked with during my time at Rossdales was one of the very first to tape horses in Newmarket. Of course it was one of MY trainees. Jo offers a variety of different therapies, the taping is used in conjunction with other methods.
In these pictures you see taping of the lumbo-sacral area: the "engine" is behind, so most problems originate there as well… I have found that the kinesio tape sticks best in the summer months, when horses don't have to wear stable rugs , you usually only leave it on for a few days anyway.
Lamont Racing (www.lamontracing.co.uk) was one of my biggest supporters last year. I owe more than a thank you and a blog post to Craig and Eilidh McClymont.
It all started with a Sunday morning phone call (around 6 o'clock) with some unknown country code. It was Craig calling from his work in Kazakstan. Between the bad connection and the scottish accent I thought it was a prank. But, it was not candid camera!
To this day I still sometimes have difficulty understanding Craig; that's easily blamed on me being German…
This year as well as last Lamont Racing has joined up with the London Market Racing Club on a few horses in training with myself in Newmarket. Two very exciting prospects are the french bred fillies we bought at the Osarus sale in La Teste. The flashy bay filly pictured above has a phenomenal stride on the racetrack as well as the mind of a racehorse.
A french satellite string is in the works.
A big thank you to LMRC and Lamont for their ongoing support!
Let the racing season begin
It's a Girl!
Tosca, my good filly, had her first foal in the early morning hours of February 21st at Clementine Stud in Normandie France. This is a picture of the filly by Maxios on day 4. She is still unnamed, but a few names starting with T are floating around in the room: Traviata, Tenacity …. .
Tosca was my first runner and first winner on her lifetime debut, she owes us nothing. She beat listed fillies multiple times, she taught me a lot. We put our money where our mouth is: I bought her at the BBAG yearling sale, brought her back to Newmarket and we did all the ground work got her going and sent her all the way back to Baden Baden for her debut in the fillies sales race.
We are very excited to be part of Maxios' first crop, he is a picture of a racehorse with an unbelievable pedigree. There is a great website just about him: www.maxios.de
More baby pictures to come!
Most of the pictures in this blog come from the lens of Michael Smithson, one of the greatest racing fans I know.
To me Michael is the "official" Newmarket photographer, it feels like I've known him all my life. Racehorse photography is Michael's passion, I don't think there is a yard in Newmarket that he hasn't taken pictures for. Of course the Simcocks come first!
Michael has been there for all my ups and downs, driven to race meetings with me all across the country , except for Redcar …. :)
Love for horses is what got me into horse racing , from the first time I went racing with my family who are avid racing fans, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Passion is what keeps us all going in this game, riding out the lows, working long hours, braving the cold and the dark rainy days. Always looking forward, believing in yourself and living your dream.
So, a big thank you to the fans that love this sport for it's beauty ; not just odds and numbers, because it's so much more than that.
Spring is finally here! The days are getting longer, exactly what we need: the more daylight the sooner we can pull out and train. I love to be the first one on the heath, if I were on the other side of town I would beat Clive Brittain to the punch :)
It's been a quiet winter racing wise for me. Only Angel Rosa, the filly that I'm riding in the picture above, ran twice for us in 2015 so far.
From the outside looking in one would never know what an accomplishment that actually was. So I figured this blog would be a good venue to tell the readers about the unsung heroes and success stories that don't necessarily make the headlines.
Angel Rosa changed hands a few times before she was sent down to me in Newmarket by her lovely owners, who basically acquired her out of pity. Their faith and perseverance made it possible for her to run after 462 days off the track.
"Angel" does live up to her name, it was her that "brought back" two of the best and highly respected riders in Newmarket. One had suffered an open fracture of the tibia the other multi knee ligament damage with avulsion fracture of the medial femoral condyle.
As a great horseman in Kentucky once told me:
"If you look after the horse, the horse will look after you"
