Middleham Open Day 2017
If the weather stays dry and bright for tomorrows open day - historically known as “Good Friday open day” we could be in for a busy day, hopefully the occasion will not suffer for its change of date and, with a bit of luck racings fans will flock to the yards in and around Middleham to admire our gorgeous horses and enjoy seeing behind the scenes. Middleham yards open from 9 till 12.30pm but here at Sun Hill we open from 11am till 3pm. There are free busses between Middleham and Sun Hill on a loop for the duration of the day and plenty of parking (subject to our fields staying reasonably dry!).
We will be starting our day a little earlier than usual so we can get all the horses ridden out before our visitors start arriving so the lads will be in at 5.30am. With many yards having runners tomorrow it will be a juggling act with staff away with the runners and trainers needing to be in two places at once. It is a ‘far for ideal’ situation because we really need as many staff on hand for an open day as possible, not only to ensure the work gets done before the gates open but to be there to keep an eye on the throngs of people arriving and who will be near to the horses in our care, we have a duty of care to those horses, their owners and also to the general public too so it’s imperative we are adequately staffed. Similarly trainers too should be on their yards making sure everything is running smoothly and are available to talk to racing fans, after all among our visitors are likely to be some of tomorrows owners and syndicate members and every racing professional owes it to the sport to be open and transparent. Open days have done, and do, a great deal of good for horseracing and are an integral part of our calendar.
At Sun Hill Racing we might have exercised all the horses on the gallops before we open but we will have horses lined up to go on our water treadmill which is fascinating to watch. We also have two famous retired racehorses joining us for the day (do bring carrots) when former stars and now well-known ROR horses “ Peddlars Cross” and “ Cinders and Ashes “ make the journey for the open day from their base in Cumbria where they live with Jacki and Brian Storey. Unfortunately our new purchases from the breeze up (pictured below) won't be with us tomorrow as they are in isolation at the farm for a couple of weeks prior to joining the rest of the equine team here at Sun Hill but I am sure you will see plenty of them during the season.
DO Come along and enjoy the day….it beats eating too many Easter eggs !