Karen Mathers became the recipient of the Elite Performance Award for taking her ex-racehorse Whataboutya off the track and reschooling it for dressage. This award was handed to her at the British Horse Foundation Breeders dinner and Awards Ceremony in London on Saturday 14 January 2013.
The evening incorporated the charity Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Elite Performance Awards for ex-racehorses. This year these valuable awards have a total prize fund of £17,000 donated by RoR.
The awards provide a focus for ex-racehorses competing in the disciplines of Eventing, Dressage, Show Jumping, Endurance and Showing and have encouraged more riders to recognize the talents and versatility of the thoroughbred and their potential for success in another sphere. The winner of each award was presented with a cheque for £2,500 and the runner up in each section received £500.
The SEIB and RoR Elite Performance Award for Dressage was won by Karen Mathers and her own, Whataboutya. In training with former jockey turned top trainer, Jonjo O’Neil, Whataboutya had a very successful career as a racehorse, winning 5 races over hurdles and jumps and amassing £55,000 in prize money. He last ran in August 2011 and only started competing in affiliated dressage at the beginning of 2012.
Karen who also won this award in 2006 with another ex-racehorse, Offthelatch, is thrilled with the fast turnaround Whataboutya has achieved. She said “I saw one of his last runs at Plumpton and ever since then was keen to have him. He arrived with me last autumn and he has proved how talented he is at dressage over the past year. I am really keen to see just how far he will go”. Whataboutya is currently competing at elementary level and the pair are trained by Pammy Hutton.
Runners up in the SEIB and RoR Elite Performance Award for Dressage were Lauren Crouch and her own Kerayasi. Trained in Sussex by Gary Moore, Kerayasi won twice on the flat and ran over hurdles earning £15,000 in prize money. He was then sent to Ascot sales from where Lauren bought him.
Lauren and Kerayasi started off competing in various events including cross country and showjumping but Lauren has discovered that the dressage arena is where Kerayasi excels. “We started going to dressage shows and won every time at Novice level. In 2011 I affiliated him and he is improving all the time. We have have been competing at Medium level last year and I’m aiming to compete at Advanced Medium with Kerayasi this season”, she said.
Lauren and Kerayasi are trained by Danielle Steed and they took 3rd place in the very competitive RoR dressage championships at Vale View in 2012.
South Essex Insurance Brokers instigated the former Racehorse to Riding Horse Performance Awards in order to support the retraining of the thousands of racehorses who come out of training each year. “The Performance Awards also provide a platform to show how a correctly re-schooled ex-racehorse can be successful in a new career and continue to have a bright future, competing successfully in many different disciplines. This year’s competition has proved yet again the versatility and resilience of the thoroughbred”, says Nicolina Mackenzie, Marketing Manager of SEIB.
RoR is British horseracing’s official charity for the welfare of horses who have retired from racing. It raises funds from within racing to provide facilities for the care, retraining and re-homing of former racehorses, and to promote awareness of the suitability of the retrained racehorse for other equine careers.
Di Arbuthnot, RoR director of operations, said “This series provides a focus for ex-racehorses competing in the disciplines of Eventing, Dressage, Show Jumping, Endurance and Showing, and I hope it will encourage more riders to recognize the talents and versatility of the thoroughbred and their potential for success in another sphere.”
Photo © Trevor Meeks
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