National Hunt Racing | The Grand National | The Gold Cup: harleyequestrian



The National Hunt season is mainly held over winter. The softer ground in this season is also more appropriate for jumping. The horses are much cheaper, as the majority are geldings and have no breeding value. This makes the sport more popular as the horses are not usually retired at such a young age and thus become familiar faces to the racing public over a number of seasons. Jump racing is only taken seriously in Britain, Ireland and France. In Ireland the sport is far more popular than flat racing, while in England it is more balanced, but the different seasons mean that most fans of the sport can enjoy both forms of racing. The horses come from a variety of sources, with many being former flat horses, while others are bred for jumping. National Hunt horses do not have to be thoroughbreds, but most are, and the ones who are not tend to be French. Many of the future stars of the sport come through Point-to-Pointing. The name reflects its hunting origins, from which the sport developed. The same skills of jumping ability and speed are required to succeed at both. The two main highlights of the National Hunt Calendar are the Cheltenham Festival meeting at Cheltenham Racecourse, held over four days in the second week of March the festival features eleven Grade one races, culminating in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the best and most prestigious Chase race in the world, on the Friday. Also the Grand National meeting, which is held at Aintree over three days every April. Many of the best horses come to these festivals, which are watched by a huge television audience worldwide. Hundreds of millions of pounds are gambled on these festivals. Other important festivals are the Galway Races Festival - the most significant national hunt race in Ireland, Punchestown Festival - the Irish equivalent of the Cheltenham Festival, The Tingle Creek at Sandown Park Racecourse, the Scottish Grand National at Ayr Racecourse, King George VI Chase at Kempton Park Racecourse, and the Welsh National at Chepstow Racecourse. Major National Hunt Meetings/Races Cheltenham The capital of National hunt racing in the UK is Cheltenham Racecourse, in the Cotswolds, which hosts the Cheltenham Festival in the third week of March each year, as well as other important fixtures during the National Hunt calendar. There are numerous well-known trainers operating in the Cotswolds including Jonjo O'Neil, Richard Phillips, Tom Geroge, Nigel Twiston Davies and latterly Kim Bailey. However in recent years the Cheltenham Festival has been utterly dominated by horses bred and trained in Ireland. The highlight of the Cheltenham Festival is the Gold Cup. All races run at Cheltenham finish with a long uphill run-in in front of the stands. The Gold Cup is run over a distance of about 3 miles 2 furlongs and on numerous occasions the hill at the finish has found out the brave. All horses carry the same weight in the Gold Cup. Famous winners of the Gold Cup include Dawn Run (mare, ridden by Jonjo O'Neil), Arkle (arguably the greatest horse of all time), Golden Miller (ditto), Best Mate and Desert Orchid. Aintree The most famous National Hunt race is probably the Grand National , run at Aintree in April each year. The race is a different sort of contest to the Gold Cup in that it is run over 4 and a bit miles, there are 40 runners, the course at Aintree is essentially flat, and the horses are handicapped ie the best horses carry the most weight. Perhaps the most fundamental difference is that the grand national fences at Aintree are far bigger than any fence at Cheltenham, and a number of fences incorporate significant drops. The Canal Turn is a huge fence, with a substantial drop and a 90 degree turn. It is jumped twice and accounts for many fallers each year.
Welcome to Harley Equestrian inc Harley Racing. Visit our online shop and find products for both horse and rider. We cater for all forms of equestrian sports from Hunting, National Hunt Racing, Flat Racing, Dressage, Showing through to Eventing. We specialise in the supply of all equestrian related goods from children starting out at Pony Club right through to the needs of the Professional Rider. Equestrian Products from these Manufacturers Aerborn Airowear Albion Ariat Bates Australia Black Country Caldene Champion Charles Owen Colin Cook Collegiate Colorspin Coolsport Cuddly Pony Dalmar Dever Saddlery Dublin Equilibrium Products Eskadron Gatehouse GFS Good Hands GPA Griffin NuuMed Harley Harry Hall Horseware Hows Racesafe Ideal Jeffries Kincade Korsteel Kyra K Le Chameau MacWet Mark Todd Mears Neue Schule New Equine Wear Ornella Prosperi Pikeur Polly Products Polypads Prestige Italia Pro Equine Prolite Puffa Roma Royal Rider Saxon Shires Sprenger SSG Stubben Take Out Tally Ho Toggi Tredstep Veredus Weatherbeeta Wintec Woof Wear
Our extensive retail premises near Woodford Halse Northamptonshire is open seven days a week and we hold a vast range of equestrian products for the horse and rider. We also have a fully equipped saddlery fitting service on site and offer a mobile service within a 25 mile radius of our premises. Click here to view pictures of our equestrian store. You can also order direct over the phone using contact details above.
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