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Dear Friends,
Meeting HRH The Prince of Wales
We were delighted to be introduced to HRH The Prince of Wales after
the Rundle Cup polo match at Tidworth in July. Simon has long been a
supporter of the Inspire Foundation, who organised part of the day's
programme. As well as Simon riding in the Jockeys v Eventers Polo match,
we offered a day racing as an Owner with Saucy Night in their charity
auction, helping to raise a good sum for their work in spinal injury
research. The organisors of the charity were kind enough to suggest we
should meet His Royal Highness and tell him about what we are doing. The
work being done at Highgrove has long been an inspiration to us and we
are trying to reproduce as natural and organic an environment as
possible for the horses here. There has been recent coverage about
Highgrove using Biodynamic practices and we have been applying our
second round of Biodynamic preparations ourselves this month to further
enhance the power and energy in all our paddocks. It was a great honour
for us to be able to tell his Royal Highness about racing barefoot and
treating horses as naturally as possible.
From 'untrainable' to winning by
14 lengths
Tihui Two arrived at our yard with a reputation of being difficult
to ride and control. Her owner was having to consider giving up on a
racing career for the 5 year old mare. The horse was brought to the
yard for Simon to 'have a look at' which turned into a schooling
session. By the end, with Tihui never having jumped before, Simon was
riding her happily over jumps bareback without a bridle! With faith
restored Tihui was put into training with us (shoes and all) and her
talent was very quickly evident. Before starting her first bumper she
was a little temperamental but raced well and closed 10 lengths in the
final furlong before getting beaten a short head. Just before her second
race Hartpury College's Equine Science Manager, Kathryn Nankervis, was
visiting to observe and test a few of our horses. Kathryn has tested
many horses, but after lactate testing Tihui remarked that she was the
fittest horse she had ever tested. Mick Fitzgerald took the ride for
Tihui's second race, and let her bowl along in front where she could not
have looked happier. The race looked 'hot' with Tihui taking on a
previous winner and well regarded horses from big stables but she never
looked like being caught before storming 14 lengths clear without being
asked any questions. She has been transformed from a potential retiree
to a top prospect for the coming season.
More world class facilities come
on line at Simon Earle Racing
We are absolutely ecstatic at the new 82 foot double track walkers
that have now been completed. Both are unique in the world and within
just a few weeks of use we are seeing superb results. The outer track
has a special soft track made from a formula similar to that seen in
children's playgrounds, it cushions every stride, provides good pressure
up through the frog, and produces almost no wear for barefoot horses.
This walker is already greatly improving all our horses feet and
shortening the time required to transition from being shod to racing
barefoot. The "Softwalker" will also be invaluable for any horses who
have been jarred up or are sore after a race. The inside track is even
more unusual - designed exclusively for barefoot horses the walker is
filled with smooth round pebbles and greatly speeds up exfoliation
inside the foot. The effect is astonishing and in the words of barefoot
expert KC Lapierre who has been to inspect the new walkers "you'll have
indestructible feet in 8 weeks on this walker".
Because of the continued interest in the Seawalker, and now the
Softwalker, the Equine Health Centre is now able to supply both models
fully installed, via a joint venture with Belebro (the walker
manufacturers) and Justin Chittenden (who managed our installations).
Please contact Justin for more information on 07775 762749 or
justin@equinehealthcentre.co.uk
The barefoot cavalry is getting
ready to mount
We now have over 20 horses in barefoot transition the great majority
of whom will be running this year. We are truly delighted by not just
the number of horses that owners have sent to us but also the quality.
We now have some very good flat horses, some unraced youngsters, and an
equally impressive group of horses preparing for the coming jumps season
(for full details check the Horses in Training list on the website).
We'll keep you posted as the new crop, and indeed previous barefoot
winners Saucy and Kavi get ready to race. Without putting ourselves
under needless pressure its fair to say we expect great things in the
months ahead.
Media update and upcoming
demonstration
The shoot for Horsetails on the
Discovery Channel seemed to go very well and will be screened next
spring. We will update you when we know the date and time. BBC Inside
Out recently came and shot a piece that is being shown on BBC South
shortly. There was an interview with Simon in the latest issue of
Horse & Hound, and Eamonn would like to humbly apologize to everyone
for any upset caused by the full page blow up of his face in
Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder Magazine this August. In his own
words "great article, shame about the face".
Simon and Saucy Night will be demonstrating
barefoot jumping at this year's Natural Horse Gathering
on September 11th at Vowley Farm in Wiltshire. Last year's event was
very interesting and this year's promises to be even larger and is open
to the public. More information is available from
www.vowleyfarm.co.uk
Assistant Trainer
Thanks to the tremendous support we have been receiving for our new
approaches to training naturally; we now expect to have 45 horses in
training within the next few months. We have decided to have 45 as our
maximum in order to focus on quality and individual care. Like any
successful business we need to have the best quality team in place to
ensure we can continue to give the best to both our horses and indeed
their owners. To that end, we are hiring an Assistant Trainer. As many
of you are very involved in racing and other equestrian businesses we'd
like to enlist your help with this vitally important new hire. If you
know of anyone that would fit the following role please ask them to
contact us. All applications will be handled in strictest confidence.
The Assistant's duties will include managing around 12 full time grooms
and yard staff as well as part time help. They must be extremely well
organised and excellent with staff, owners, and practitioners. Good
riding skills would be an asset but this is primarily a management role.
We believe that attention to detail makes the difference and the key to
this role is to ensure everything is done exactly as agreed, including
managing individual feeding and supplement regimes for each horse. They
will be responsible for running the yard while Simon is away racing and
they will also be required to go racing on a regular basis. Although a
background in racing is not essential, over 5 years in professional
equestrian businesses managing successful operations is. The candidate
must be open to working within our holistic principles and be constantly
able to learn new ways of working. Full details are on our website:
www.simonearleracing.com
Horses Available
Please see the 'Marketplace' section of our website for details of
some exciting prospects to become involved in:
www.simonearleracing.com
Humble thanks to all the new
owners who have entrusted us with their horses and thanks to everyone
for your continued support which is greatly appreciated.
Simon Earle & Eamonn Wilmott
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