Cheltenham 2018 – it’s all about Wexford Sand
As passionate devotees of performance horses, with our own Ballymountain Boy in training with Martin Keighley, we supply surfaces and their components to professionals to make the marginal gains that can mean the difference between winner and also-ran.
Take Cheltenham 2018 for example – the general trend was the greater parts of the win tally were Irish trained horses, right? With only a few top UK trainers taking the spoils in seemingly unrelated circumstances? Wrong. Delve a little deeper and if you took a peek at the surfaces they train on you’ll see some similarities.
Many leading NH Trainers at the very top of the sport use deep sand rings to condition. The sand in them is Wexford Sand, some of this is natural quarried sand, some manufactured through crushing and screening.
We are one firm that supplies 100% genuine natural quarried Wexford Sand to the UK market, in partnership with the producer in Ireland. Natural sub-angular Wexford Sand is the best available, and is harder than it’s manufactured counterpart – it’s this that means the sand surface keeps it’s shape and has very desirable properties to the trainer.
If you are considering a sand loop at your yard, don’t risk it – come straight to us and we will source the sand of champions direct from the producer in County Wexford, Ireland. We will arrange shipping and can also build and install the surface on the gallop or loop in question for total peace of mind and accountability.
Bally bolts up again
It’s 2 out of 2 this season for our own Ballymountain Boy, trained by Martin Keighley (pictured, left). We were delighted when he struck at Kempton on the first day of the 2017 season in the 2m4f hurdle, and we were incredibly pleased to see him land his second race of the season in similar style at Uttoxeter under Andrew Tinkler (Pictured, middle) yesterday much to the delight of The Chameleons, the racing partnership of which we are a proud member. Bally not only wears our colours, but is trained by Martin on our Trojan Track® surface. No wonder Managing Director Ross (Pictured, right) is looking happy!
Its nearly Cheltenham, and….We’re on ITV!
We’re proud to sponsor Cheltenham winning trainer Martin Keighley. And we were delighted when ITV chose Martin, his gallops (supplied by us) and his son Freddie to star in their latest ad for The Festival. Look closely and you’ll see our logo on the exercise rugs as Any Currency, Soltice Star and Cottersrock, along with the rest of the string cruise up our Trojan Track Gallops nestled in the landscape at Condicote Stables, Gloucestershire
Arena builds – Quality without compromise
We’re delighted to showcase our latest build, this one in Stroud, Glos was for a household name singer whose name you’d surely recognise. Sadly client confidentiality prevents us from sharing, but instead we thought we’d get out the drone and let pictures do the talking.
A 20×40 with full fencing, access pad, trackway and a lovely Trojan AllSports Turf surface – this client was smart enough to choose the best, with the peace of mind of a full 10 year guarantee on materials and labour.
20x40promo – Small from Leisure Ride on Vimeo.
What a (Solstice) star! Winners keep coming for Keighley team
When top trainer Martin Keighley took us on to improve the gallops at his yard we were delighted. We knew that Martin and his team at Condicote take every exacting care to get things right. From race strategy to equine care, feeding, fitness and beyond – nothing at Condicote stables is left to chance. Which is why Martin produces winner after winner – including the awesome Solstice Star in the Steel Plate and Sections handicap hurdle at Cheltenham last Saturday 30th Jan.
Earlier that week we were pleased to note that despite a frost of -7 the gallops at Condicote were in full working order – something we’ve developed with our latest FibreTrack system. Though it’s just one part of the whole setup at Condicote we like to think we’re doing our bit to help keep the winners coming.
And if you’ve always wanted to get involved in NH racing, and want a horse or even a share in one – you’d be a prudent owner to put your trust in Martin and the team – it’s the smart bet…
Report here: http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/report/710093/solstice-stars-for-keighley
pic: Hoycubed Photography (@JH_Photographer)
Galloping ahead with Trojan Track Gallops Surface
Leisure Ride Group are pleased to announce the latest in gallops surface technology, Trojan Track all weather gallops surface. It’s a fully synthetic surface and features:
- Exceptional resilience to extremes of weather
- Can be customised depth from 6-9″
- easy to care for – just roll
- cost effective
- Far superior ride quality and safety over woodchip
We have several of these down and in operation – even in -7 according to the team at Martin Keighley’s yard. Every client has rung us and raved about how much this has improved their ability to train. Wind, gales, cold, rain – you name it – you’ll be able to train longer, better and differently to how you thought you ever could – giving you true flexibility and options.
21st Century Racing Gallops
Our association with racing goes back a long way and we’re proud to have worked with some of the biggest names in training. We pride ourselves on delivering the perfect racing gallops, tailored to each clients needs and training requirements – when we see one of ‘our’ trainers and their horses winning we get an enormous sense of pride and satisfaction.
This summer we have renovated or constructed several gallops – using many tried and tested engineering methods, but also combined with new innovation – especially when it comes to the surfaces. We offer a personal, consultative service and are passionate about delivering the perfect solution for your needs.
She’s Dujardone it again!
When you’re on a roll you’re on a roll. And Charlotte Dujardin seems to be able to do no wrong…in partnership with the mighty Valegro of course. An awesome display at Olympia and yet another world record.
There’s an old saying by Patty Berg: “What does it take to be a champion? Desire, dedication, determination, concentration and the will to win.”
And of course a great surface to train on.
Congratulations to Charlotte, Carl and the whole team at Oaklebrook – simply a shining example of how to go about things the right way.
FEI confirms surfaces tailored to discipline are best practice.
There are some things we horsepeople take as gospel right? Such as: it’s important to have a saddle that’s the correct fit. Or that a back-protector and helmet are probably a good idea if we want to stay safe.
They seem so obvious that we would never question it. So it seems strange to us that there are companies out there that will peddle you the same surface, no matter what you use it for and how much traffic it might get – we’ve seen a few and we’re far from impressed by what we find.
However a white paper recently published by the Fédération Equestre Internationale has finally proved beyond all doubt what we at Leisure Ride knew all along – that for optimum performance, soundness and to maximise the reduction of injury risk to your horse then best practice is to have the right arena surface for the right task
Click here to Download and have a read for yourself – the result of in-depth long-term research by Independent Vets, Animal Welfare Experts, 6 Universities and the Centre for Racing Research.
Improve your arena for as little as £500
At Leisure Ride we understand riders and their needs – as well as understanding their constraints. After all, we’re horse people ourselves and operate from a working dressage and livery yard.
We know that horses are an expensive pastime: feed, farrier, vet, livery, transport – the list is endless and we know that sometimes your arena becomes the poor cousin way down the to-do list.
But an arena can be significantly improved – and have it’s life massively extended, at very low cost if you know how:
A single bale of Trojan hair fibre costs less than £500 and will treat a 20 x 40 sand school riding too deep – hair fibre binds the sand to stiffen the surface up. It goes miles. We can install or it can be done by yourself with the right equipment and instructions from us.
Sometimes the surface is fine, but it just needs re-levelling – where we will lift up the existing surface and re-lay it again nice and flat. This costs from £650 and can take less than a day.
If a surface is sand based but lacking structure or bounce then a few bales of Trojan gallop fibre will do the trick. It’s only £180 a bale and 8-10 bales will do a 20 x 40. Our Trojan poly fibre is a more premium product which will do the same.
So if you’ve got an arena thats playing up, or are planning your own budget riding arena call us to check out the options, including how we can give you a properly mixed and tested 20×40 sand and fibre surface with no nasties in it for under £8k – no hard sell, just honest advice from horsey people like yourself.