Freda

Certainly couldn't hurt.

Yeah. Utterly stupid practice.

Go and have a look at some horrific pictures of ' pleasure horses ' standing in paddocks with no tucker, shit up to their fetlocks, starving...others miserably behind white tape, synthetic rugs on in hot summer weather, no attention for weeks at a time...you think those horses are happy to be born? Fact is they dont consider ethical matters, they just are. I have euthanized horses I dont think are suitable for young riders, I place my retirees very carefully but I still can't track them for years to come. I just have to hope that they remain in kind hands. Plenty of humans might face dismal futures too, fact is none of us have a choice in the beginning.

While I'm in the frame....the practice, common in the UK jumps scene, of easing a horse out if it can't figure in the finish, or comes to the end of its stage of fitness, is not so common here. How often do you see a horse drifting out of contention, clearly tired, and under the bat? Terrible look.

Yes, well-meaning no doubt, but misinformed. But what will our industries do to combat this mindset? Putting out fluffy media reports on the NZTR website will do nothing, and, sadly, even though Marty Burns [ NZTR animal welfare officer] is a decent and approachable bloke, he can't single-handedly produce stables and properties across the country to re-school and re-home retired racehorses. Set ups like that require both funding and effort, both of which seem to be lacking. Compare our operations with V'Landy's immediate response to the sensationalist TV doco. about the horse abbatoir. Even the much maligned greyhound code has kennels dedicated to rehoming retired dogs. I have one myself from such a setup, and the girls involved do a great job checking out the dog's potential home, and following up the progress. I don't think harness is organised, but there are well -intentioned people who do try to rehome as well. No such system with T.B's although there are people in the Waikato who handle Hong Kong returnees. [ Gina Schick ?] Despite all the grand talk emanating, I have never been contacted by anyone from NZTR about any horse removed from my stable return list. That needs to be addressed and smartly, if public perception is to be altered in any way. And, although I am a lover of the jumper, the sight of an exhausted horse floundering over the last fence is not one I like. One way, possibly, would be to remove the last fence where that fence is close to the finish. Allow a decent run-in so that horses battle out the finish on the flat. Less chance for injury and much less horrifying for the general public.

I have been scratching my head about that comment....then it occurred to me you mean the raceday float park. Not sure if that, or the associated duckpond, would cope with the volume..but as i said, I'm no expert in that field.

Ha....no, they are awesome people, and are very supportive of me. They have never had any involvement though ( I'm a late-comer to the clan) and dont like the concept, although they all love animals generally. Once I start winding them up about Cinderella horses dont get a mention!

Oh, yeah...! So they can...but an evolving situation makes more sense to me!

Some of my own family thinks racing is both corrupt and cruel.

Can't say I gave cattle much thought...but given the close proximity of both species on many properties it isn't too big a stretch to consider that transmission may occur, even if previously thought impossible. Evolution is ongoing, it hasn't stopped just because we think we're at the top if the heap . Certainly horse ticks have been here for ages.

I'm no expert on construction matters....but I would think resource consents and drainage issues, esp with a new housing development right over the fence, might require more than 6 mill.

Yes...and given that MPI don't seem to be overly pro-active in many cases, this may be quite an on-going saga.

I'm not a vet, or an epidemiologist, so I'm hoping someone can provide advice here. The mare in question, imported from France early last year, had ( as I understand from the release from Cambridge Stud ) provided three negative tests prior to importation. Now, a year later, shows two positive tests. The inference has to be, following on, that she became infected here. Is there any other possible scenario?

Many have expressed the opinion that NZTR are doing a good job given the circumstances. I don't share that. They may not waste as much money, but all failings, big or small, become cumulative. Handicapping, dates, programming, stakes distribution are all NZTR - driven, with some input from RB wrt dates. Much has been said, advised, pleaded, and pro-bono work done on behalf of, for no tangible change. The mass extinction of tracks is another, driven by Rita at present, but on the to-do list for years with no quantitative analysis that I have seen to support that. Inequitable and unsustainable stakes distribution is code business, not RB, same as subsiding some clubs at the expense of others. Expenses for trialling, name changes, complicated and messy paperwork when HRNZ can achieve the same both simply and at less cost. It is a no brainer what code to support for a group of newbie owners with no particular allegiance either way. I recently received four accounts for the same horse - the first , an emailed one, pertaining to trials fees, arrived on May 4th and was dated April 30th. As I am not the manager for this horse I forwarded it to the right person, who paid it, and notified them to please send future accounts to her as indicated on the ownership papers. Soon after I received two hardcopy invoices, in the same envelope and for the same account. A week or so later I got a very terse ' pay-or-else ' missive by email with Saundry's scrawl at the bottom. This arrived on the 18th of May. Efficient.

Great post.

Ok, we'll remove one part of a successful 2 - day meeting, that'll stuff the other day so it will close too and we haven't had to action that. Win - win.

Ok then, 33 mill should sort that.

Actually, Rangiora would be ideal for an allweather. Close to ChCh, a burgeoning population north of the city, light, free-draining land, so much easier drainage etc, and a smaller circuit [ cheaper?] also, very close to the horses, instant spectator appeal. The negative connotations associated with the track as a result of the serious accident, would be eliminated if the grass track with all its 'perceived' problems was removed. I say perceived, because any track can be dangerous if poorly managed, and if bad decisions are made alongside that. Not making light of Judy's plight at all. Should never have happened.

Cashing up was the plan in the early days of 'acquisition' ..but at the moment it is required for trials. Also, as part of the property is flood-plain, some is council-owned, and some is under requirements to Transit NZ for roading, the actual area subdividable is much smaller than previously thought. No pot of gold there.

both.

Hell, no...close enough for trials, but to truck teams of horses out of a morning, no way.

Took ten minutes....

Asked the course manager where the silica sand might come from. He will let me know when he has more information. Horses in training ? a guess - I'd reckon 400-odd. Some of course come from private stables. Trainers? again, off the top of my head...16 based here, and 5 or 6 not based here. But if I bothered to look it all up in the last NZTR monthly mag, I may be a tad more accurate. I have no knowledge of any trainers [ yet ] that may be attracted by a synthetic. Early days of course, not done yet. As for younger trainers generally, if under-50 counts as 'young' we have Nicky Lloyd, Andrew Carston, Champion/Murphy, Matt Pitman, Lee Callaway, Richard Didham, Aaron Taylor...struggle to think of any more. Carston, Callaway and Pitman would be the only ones under 40. Training ? one trainer was told that we would have to gallop on the sand. But I'm informed that the sand is being eliminated for contamination reasons, so....beats me. I've considered the Hughes' , and Champion/Murphy, as one entity each BTW.

I, for one, don't see him having anything to do with this idiocy...but if it came to a verbal stoush, he'd win in a hand canter.

Haha .....good one.