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I fully appreciate that owners are the vital cog in a training operation. I have lived the owner’s experience through that of my Father’s through the years, and have absorbed his remarks, both positive and negative, about the trainers he has had horses with. Owning race horses is an expensive hobby, therefore we aim to make it FUN for the owner. Results obviously make it fun, but also feeling involved with the horses, their plans and the yard makes it much more enjoyable. So we encourage owners to come and visit as much as they can, we always give our owners a very good breakfast, Dobbs loves it when owners are here for breakfast as he does enjoy a full English! But whatever time of day, it is open house here. On top of that we feel it is important to have fun at the races, so as much as possible, Both Dobbs and I are at every race meeting. Win or lose, it is important to enjoy race days, we often get a box or arrange lunch for the owners, and just try to make sure everyone has a good time.
The other important issue for owners is honesty. The horses belong to you, so you have the right to know exactly what is happening with the horse and exactly what we think of the horse. Therefore communication is essential. If there is ever a little niggle I am worried about, or a problem has appeared, I tell the owner straight away, I think it is so important. It is so easy to communicate these days, so whichever way you prefer to be got hold of, I will. I understand that owners are anxious to know how their horse is the day after a race, or which races we are thinking of for the horse. We also always welcome any input about your opinions about race planning for the horses.
Ownership
If you are interested in affordable involvement in owning race horses, then we have a few options:
MS Borders Syndicate
The MS syndicate is £400 per year, is run in aid of MS Borders charity by Rhona Elliot, and is a lot of fun, visit www.msborders.org.uk to find out more. We have a nice horse Scarvagh Rose for them, who has shown a nice bit of promise in 2 hurdles so far. They also have a nice horse with Nicky Richards at Greystoke, Hannah Jaques.
ONTOAWINNER
We have recently been contacted by a new syndicate ontoawinner, they are going to lease and buy shares of horses in our yard and other yards in the north, read below and look at their website for more information:
“Ontoawinner is a new racehorse syndication group, who will provide value for money, entertainment and fun. We WILL get all our syndicate owners in to the winner’s enclosure and help them chase their dreams”.
“Syndicates are a great way of experiencing the thrill of racehorse ownership without the inhibiting costs. We aim to build our portfolio through giving our owners the best service possible, and if we treat our owners right, and they like what we do, maybe one day we can have that once in a lifetime horse, that dream of dreams. We will improve quality year on year, while keeping the costs fair for our syndicate owners”.
Joint ownerships and Syndicates
We have a few horses that are jointly owned by groups of 4 or 5 or 6. This is such a good way to own a race horse, the bills are not at all scary! Also, on the purchase side, you can afford to buy a nicer horse, by spreading the higher cost of the better horse. A horse like Jurisdiction for example, he was bought by 5 partners, and they have had a huge amount of fun, winning 3 on the bounce at Kelso. And hopefully a lot more to come!
Horses for sale or lease
A local group of lads have been leasing Mountskip from us, this means we own the horse, but they are responsible for his training fees and he runs in their colours and they get any prize money. They have had great fun with a winner at Hexham and lots of 2nds, and lots of good days at the races. Leasing is a good way to be involved without having to worry about the cost of buying a horse. We have 2 or 3 horses like Mountskip available for lease.
There are also young horses in the yard for sale, please contact us for details.