Piggy March and the ex-racehorse Our Old Fella. Photo courtesy of Cornbury Horse Trials.
Just a few days after the announcement of the Howden Way’s new Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme, which will provide support and education to owners and riders of off-the-track Thoroughbreds, Jayne McGivern and Cornbury House Horse Trials today announce an exciting new class for ex-racehorses that will be run at Cornbury House Horse Trials in 2025, worth a phenomenal £50,000.
The introduction of this new ex-racehorse class is the initiative of Jayne McGivern of Dash Grange Stud and owner of top event horses, with the support of David Howden, Group CEO and Founder of Howden and Founder and President of the Cornbury House Horse Trials.
The initiative has been in McGivern’s thoughts for a long time, wanting to make training ex-racehorses financially viable for riders. Her aim is to also raise the profile of the adaptable nature of thoroughbreds, especially in terms of their suitability for eventing.
McGivern is generously donating £50,000 in prize money, making it one of the largest prize funds within the eventing calendar, and the class will be run alongside the other classes at Cornbury House Horse Trials.
The class will showcase thoroughbreds and their abilities, aiming to encourage riders to take on and retrain ex-racehorses and incentivise riders to work towards the 2025 class. It will also provide an additional opportunity for ex-racehorses, building on the existing resource and guidance provided by Retraining of Racehorses (RoR).
Jayne McGivern of Dash Grange Stud said: “I am thrilled to be able to launch a new ex-racehorse class that will run in 2025, and thank David Howden for his support in allowing my idea to come to fruition. Racing and Eventing are both my passions and through this class we will be able to showcase the talent that thoroughbreds have in their second careers.”
The class will begin at CCI2*/Novice level, with further details around the class to be announced in due course.
