Get Back To Me: retirement

        We have been lucky again to find a lovely new home for Get Back To Me (stable name: Tommy) who has recently been retired at the age of 10.  I delivered him a few weeks ago to his new home near South Molton in Devon.   If you are a horse, this is the one place where you would want to be! Fresh air, no traffic, amazing views and green fields with lovely hedges for shelter (and for picking at!).  My drive down there included several miles of the smallest single track country lane before we got there.  As with Headly it is so nice to find people who really care about retired racehorses.  Tommy is getting his own, made to measure saddle before he is being ridden. 

      We were pleased, again, that Get Back To Me has been retired sound, has never fallen and has perfectly clean legs.  Sadly he never produced his considerable potential due to numerous niggles over the years and never had the chance to prove what he could do.  His owner has been brilliant throughout and very loyal to his horse but it was felt, quite rightly, that it was time to stop.  Tommy will be very pleased that he can enjoy life without the pressures of being a racehorse.  We hope to hear from time to time how he is getting on.  Some pictures below of his time with us.

Get Back To Me (left) enjoying the paddocks with Headly's Bridge (right)

 Christmas Day!

 Gridwork

Headly's Bridge retired and on to a new home

                It was a mixed day recently when I took Headly’s Bridge off to his new home between Bath and Bristol.  I was sad to see him go but also pleased that he looked quite happy walking out to his new paddock with interest and had already forgotten about me!

                Headly has been with us since he arrived in October 2010 from Ireland as a 4 year old and has, over the past 7 years been great fun. He has been retired at the grand age of 11, sound and in good health.  He has never fallen in his career and has won and been placed many times.  It is so important to us that he was retired sound and without any leg trouble. 

                We hope to see him in the future doing some of the ROR (Retraining of Racehorses) parades and doing a bit of eventing etc.  It is very important to me that the racehorses go on, once retired from racing, into something that they enjoy as they so deserve it.

                I remember clearly the day we went to see Headly in Ireland with his owner – what fun was had on that trip!  He has been such a kind, gentle and fun horse but also a successful racehorse.  He ran 30 times for us over hurdles and fences and in that time won 4 races and was placed 15 times and earned over £39,000 in prize money and had a highest official rating over fences of 135.  Most notably he bolted up by 19 lengths to win at Newbury under jockey Andrew Thornton - his first time over fences.  I understand that by Headly winning that day at Newbury one lucky person won the Scoop 6 and became a millionaire!  He won at 14-1 and wasn’t near that price again.  We’ll leave you with a couple of Racing Post comments from his career & some photographs from his time here.  We wish him a long and happy retirement. "No hanging around in this open looking handicap but the race produced a clear cut winner in Headly’s Bridge leaving his hurdle form behind and fairly bolting up on his chasing debut at Newbury." "Headly’s Bridge put in a useful performance under top weight traveling well and asserting readily when asked, he has earned a crack at something better."