Wincanton Racecourse

All About The Horse Horses For Courses Raceday

@RCAShowcase Objectives

Wincanton has passionate National Hunt racegoers that value insightful demonstrations and we wanted to offer something in line with this local knowledge. Of these racegoers, we have over 400 active Annual Members, a number that we have nurtured and grown over the years. We always organise stable visits during the season which are very popular so we thought some additional horse activities would go down well. Being a small racecourse we can create a really intimate atmosphere, where racegoers can get up close to these additional activities.

It was the first running of the Jim Morgan and Ronnie Stevens Memorial Race. These were two hugely popular local racegoers. Ronnie and his wife lived in Ditcheat and were close friends with the Barbers and Nicholls. His favourite horse was Denman and his family were thrilled to find out that ‘The Tank’ would be leading the runners to the start for his race. Likewise, Jim Morgan was a friend and supporter of Paul Nicholls and friend to Angela Yeoman who is also the Secretary and long time supporter of the Wylye Valley Pony Club who came to do their display on the day.

Objectives: • To recognise the local support and passion for and provide some relevant entertainment. • To celebrate the horse and demonstrate the range of activities that bring people to the sport of horse racing. • To showcase the level of care, investment of time and pleasure gained from retraining a racehorse. • The day fell in half term so one of the aims was to engage with local Pony Club and Riding Club children. We are on the boarder of four local Pony Club branches and a thriving hunting community. • We hoped to reach our dedicated racegoers and engage with new customers by giving them an insight into the sport. • For first time racegoers to leave having gained some knowledge and awareness of the sport. 2 Delivery

The primary role of the racecourse on this day was to host a day of quality followed by delivering an informative and engaging day relating to the horse. There were three horse demonstrations throughout the day in the Paddock Arena; 1. Denman ridden by Charlotte Alexander did a warm-up and jumping display after the first race and then led the runners to the start for the second race, the Jim Morgan and Ronnie Stevens Memorial Race. This was a truly unique performance that we hope racegoers were able to enjoy. ‘The Tank’ is a hugely popular star in racing and we were thrilled to be able to have him return to Wincanton where he ran twice in 2005 (and won both races). It was raining on the day which proved a challenge but there was a large crowd watching him warm up and jump. The race was at the 2m 5f start which is one of the furthest away, so Charlotte and Denman needed to get round the track quickly for the race to start on time. This was not a problem for the 2008 winner! There was a warm cheer when he passed the stands. 2. The Wylye Valley Pony Club performed a mini-jumping display between the second and third race, with rosettes presented by Katherine Dalgety from the racecourse and Angela Yeoman, Chairman of the WVPC and who has horses in training with Paul Nicholls. The children were all amazingly tough as the rain continued to pour and it was a cold day. They were really keen to take part in the day, and again there was a great crowd supporting them. 3. Roddy Stanning a local professional polo player brought his ex-racehorse Herecomesthebride or ‘Smidge’ to do a polo demonstration. Smidge was trained by local trainer Philip Hobbs and is now being retrained as a polo pony. Roddy did some ‘stick and balling’ in between races three and four and then answered questions from racegoers about the horse and his plans for the season ahead. By this time the rain had stopped and so he was able to talk to lots of racegoers and interact with them. Great British Racing and the ROR had a stand here where racegoers could find out more about the retraining and care of retired racehorses. The Henstridge branch of the RDA brought ‘Tubby’ their Welsh Mountain pony to meet racegoers and for them to learn about the great work that the Riding for the Disabled carries out. 3 Results

• The main measurement for the day was the customer engagement and feedback on social media (see Supporting Information). Facebook – organic reach of over 129,350 Instagram – gained 315 likes Twitter – 268 likes and 105 shares • The financial outlay was minimal as all the demonstrators offered their time for free and supported the day as they believed it was worthwhile to be involved in. • Increase of ticket sales compared to last year – 911 tickets sold in 2015 for the equivalent day compared to 1184 tickets sold for 2016 which is a 29.97% increase. This is considerable especially taking into account the bad weather this year. • The proof of the day’s success was down to the tough Wincanton crowd that appreciates National Hunt racing and everything that is involved with it – whether it is the Pony Club bringing young jockeys through the ranks or retired racehorses finding a new lease of life in a new discipline.

Charlotte Alexander, rider of Denman “I very much enjoyed going to Wincanton where Denman showed everyone that he is still a superstar by jumping in the paddock and galloping round the course. He had so many supporters, some of whom came just to see him. However the highlight for Denman was seeing his best supporters of all, Paul and Marianne Barber his owners. They not only watched him doing his display, but came and fed him copious amounts of polos in his trailer when he had finished.” Di Arbuthnot, Chief Executive Retraining of Racehorses “We were delighted to be involved in the day which highlighted that there’s life after racing for racehorses.’ Zoe White, The Horse Comes First “We had a stand with the RoR at Wincanton’s inaugural Horses for Courses Raceday. It was a great day, with lots of interactive activities taking place throughout. The day was a great opportunity to tell racegoers more about the work of The Horse Comes First and RoR in raising awareness of the high levels of welfare provided to racehorses during and after their racing careers.” Huw Williams , General Manager of Wincanton Racecourse “We were pleased to host the Horses For Courses Raceday and were thrilled to have Denman return to our track. I would like to thank Charlotte Alexander, Angela Yeoman and Roddy 4 Stanning – all helping to re-enforce how the broader equine community is involved with our racecourse.” Supporting Information

5 Thank you

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