National week celebrated as stables opened to the public
A West Sussex racehorse trainer opened up her yard as part of a new national initiative to celebrate the love, care and attention racehorses receive on a daily basis.
Suzy Smith allowed people to go behind the scenes at her yard in conjunction with National Racehorse Week, which ended on Sunday.
Situated in the Angmering Park Estate, Lower Coombe Stables is a relaxed and peaceful setting for up to 22 racehorses, with a further boarding facility for broodmares, foals and youngsters.
A free, ticketed event to visit the facility was booked out fast, showing the appetite for these events with a chance to see what happens behind the scenes.
Guests had an opportunity to get up close to these beautiful animals, a chance to meet the team and find out about the horses’ day-to-day care and all their different personalities and traits.
A guided tour of the stables was then given by Suzy, followed by a chance to view the mares and foals in the paddocks.
It was then off to see the exracehorses, all of which had been previously trained by Suzy and run at the local tracks. These were all rehomed locally and were shown in excellent condition, with the eldest on display being 28 years old.
Chestnut Tree House hospice provided the refreshments throughout the morning and raised more than £500 through proceeds and donations.
Guests were met by cheery volunteers and sampled delicious cakes for an extremely worthy cause, while the volunteers enjoyed meeting the horses and at the same time raised awareness and much-needed funds for the charity.
The morning finished up with physiotherapy and farrier demonstrations, where the guests could see up close the work of both Fiona Bloom and Shane Francis and the importance they play in the performance and welfare of the horses.
It proved to be a very enjoyable and popular event, which has since received a lot of positive feedback, the stables said.
Suzy is passionate about involving the local community and attracting new people into the sport from diverse backgrounds and hopes to be able to accommodate more people in 2022.
For more information, visit https://suzysmithracing.com
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