The Grand National Tomorrow.

Thanks for that, crimson. We always try not to miss Countryfile even if it means dropping heavy hints to visitors that they either watch it or....go home!

I was a bit dismayed to see Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury, both Countryfile presenters, taking the mickey out of the drought situation on the One Show earlier this week. Yes, it's funny that it hasn't stopped raining since the hose-pipe ban was introduced but most intelligent people know that it will take a lot more than a few weeks of rain to get the river/reservoir levels back to where they should be. OK, MB and JB were not on the One Show to discuss environmental issues but joining in with shouting the word DROUGHT at every opportunity just to get a laugh came across as childish.

JP will[or so I've heard] be talking about the loss of Synchronised in Country File tomorrow; hopefully will explain better than I can why so many of us love NH racing so much.

I don't think that true racing fans go to Aintree; more likely to go to Bangor on Dee on a wet Saturday [no stands there to shelter under]. I don't go to my local track, Uttoxeter any more because it's just full of people drinking. Did anyone see the photo in the Sun today [I don't mean did anyone buy the Sun and see the photo, I just mean did anyone see it online] of Paddy Brennan [one of my favourite jockeys] whose own mount had been pulled up. He went over to the injured horse, holding him round the neck and talking to him gently as the vets arrived. I was there when my own pony was put down, but, had I not been it would have been such a comfort to know she had spent her last moments with someone who told her not to worry, that everything would be ok. Paddy's girlfriend is a nurse, and he says that her job puts his life in perspective. Stansgran; don't you remember when it was illegal? Much more fun. Furtive trips to strange houses holding a few coins wrapped in paper with the names of the horses in that days bet; 3x4penny doubles and a sixpenny treble every Saturday afternoon. The joy of backing Team Spirit to win the the 1964 National; 18/1. Kept his photo next to my bed for years.

stansgran
Horse racing is deeply embedded in the English psyche .
As indeed is Cricket.
Will never forget the news reader on Radio 4 who announced the demise of 300 odd people in a plane crash, which had come down minutes earlier, and in the same sentence he carried on to the test Match Score, without drawing breath or change of intonation.
Priceless!!!!!!!
And that is England. Don't loose it!.....

Having lived near Aintree for many years and watched the race in all the spectator places I have observed that some people go to win money,some for the thrill(the chase/the falls/the horse dying)some to be seen but all want to win money.As long as betting is legal then horses will be raced

well argued Crimson - you are evidently very knowledgable in this subject, which clearly I am not. This does however prove that all tragedies provoke dialogue which in turn results in changes for the better.
If only those poor donkeys generated massive tv coverage too.

It would be interesting to know what is the average weight carried regularly by a healthy, happy, long-lived, well-looked-after 'freight' donkey. Anyone?

Thanks, jess. Balance and all that.

ogm, I think donkeys are bloody sight stronger than a person on a bike! They also have broader backs and four legs to distribute the weight, which makes a huge difference. You're surely not suggesting it's cruel to use donkeys as (ahem) freight animals at all?

When I was a child the beach donkeys and ponies used to go past my grandmother's house every day. Big excitement. I don't think they had a particularly tough life. Not hot on many days in S Wales! And it was only busy on a few days.
At some stage the donkey owners bought the house next door. I seem to remember much adult "not for your ears" conversations about them. Mamma was very friendly and chatted often over the garden wall - I think she used to give us sweets. I think her daughter was viewed as a bit of a scarlet woman. In retrospect, they were gypsies!!! No wonder tongues wagged. Very strange to look back to time and see something you didn't see at the time.
Getting back to animal welfare - my GD and I not impressed to see a group of baby animals, rabbits and hens (dyed pink) being used commercially for child entertainment in the mall. Poor animals getting picked up and mauled all day by very young toddlers. I don't think that would be allowed in UK but it is common in Oz.

Bagitha perhaps the rule should be:
'Only carry on your donkey what you would on your bike'.

You can't carry as much on a bicycle as you can on a donkey. Mind you, I overcame that problem to some extent by having a trailer attached to my bike.
Donkeys can cope with paths/roads that bicycles can't. In certain kinds of territory they are probably the best option, just as camels and llamas are still the best option in certain other kinds of territory.

Interesting question about what has improved conditions for beach donkeys — possibly a combination of all three of the things you suggest, ogm? I would hope so as all three are good.

crimson
Thank you for your answer last night.
Very much enjoyed reading it.

The GN this year was sheer carnage in my opinion. The horses do not ask to enter-lets face it-it's all about money.

I seem to recall 'Seaside' donkeys did not have a 'life of Riley'. Trudging down to the beach, walking about all day without food or water, coats dull (and often smelly).
Latterly, at Weymouth the donkeys have a break at midday under shelter where they are fed and watered. Is this the result of public pressure, a greater awareness of their needs or simply more caring owners, I wonder?
Bagitha I think there are charities providing bicycles in areas where they could be used appropriately. But you are quite right in your desire to alleviate poverty, I'm sure we all share that desire. (Taking us further off the subject!!!)

Donkeys being overloaded isn't just about the donkeys either. It happens where donkeys are people's only source of haulage transport because that's all they have and all they can afford. I'm sure many people who depend on the strength of donkeys to move their heavy stuff about do not abuse the animals. There will always be some stupid and selfish people who do. Those very people are probably the ones who would much rather use a truck if they could afford one. So there's another argument for trying to raise people out of poverty.

Crimson so well put. You make many excellent points.
Paul Nicholls, on our local news, says he will work to improve safety contrary to the comment quoted, out of context, in the so believable (humph!) Mail on Sunday.
Daisy I've seen pictures of badly treated donkeys. They are heart-wrenching, as you say. Don't apologise, comparisons often put things into perspective.

May be slightly off topic and if so I apologise, but it's to do with the treatment of equines - donkeys in this case. I saw a photograph of a donkey somewhere abroad, pulling a small cart loaded with what looks like 4 enormous rolls of carpet. You can hardly see the donkey but what made me furious was that two large men were sitting on top of the load. The point was being made that donkeys, and other working animals, are regarded as machines. It isn't right to compare, I know, but at least racehorses are adequately fed and watered and given comfortable tack and have any injuries professionally treated. Oh dear - I can't forget that donkey.

Is this the RSPCA that puts down many healthy animals each year, unlike other animal charities that don't? And, did he say that there is a constant dialogue with the racing authorities to improve safety? There is only one fence that is a drop fence, and that is Bechers Brook. At one time Bechers was more difficult to jump at one end, so horses spread out depending on their ability. Since amendments have been made all the horses bunch to the inside and that is causing problems. At least, at Aintree the course is flat. At Cheltenham there was a fence on a hill that horses approached running downhill at speed; it was, again causing injuries so it has been moved. Bechers will have changed by next year, not because the RSPCA have said to do so but because the Racing Authorities will have decided to do so, and the field size will probably be reduced for the same reason.

Did anyone see the President of the RSPCA on breakfast tv this morning? A good man standing up for his cause. He made the point that so long as there is blind acceptance of deaths in horse racing, effective improvements in safety will never be made. He explained that at the fences, the horses take off from one level expecting to land at the same level but in reality, it is lower and this is why they often fall. He also said that there are too many horses involved in the GN. Small changes could significantly reduce this sad wastage of beautiful animals. But sadly, for many people, greed is fundamentally the prime motivating force in horse racing.

Synchronised was a very good staying chaser; won the Midlands National and another long distance race. Always way out the back but staying on at the end of 4 miles. He was never thought of as a Gold Cup horse, but then he won a big race in Ireland and surprised everyone so took his chance in the Gold Cup. It was a rather substandard race, with Kauto Star pulling up and Denman retired, but he was still a good winner. So few horses have done the Gold Cup/Grand National double, especially in the same year and, with Aintree being a week later than usual he'd had time to freshen up. Next year's Gold Cup will be a much stronger race as some very good novices are coming up through the ranks, so he had little chance of retaining his crown. Even so, many horses have won well at Cheltenham and then gone on to run at Aintree, bucking and kicking at home, only to fall at Aintree [the great Desert Orchid was one of them and he never fell]. They would never have ran Dessie in the National, because they knew an accident to him would have devastating consequences for the race itself [he also ran badly going left handed as it always put his back out]. Having won the Gold Cup, Synch was in a bad position of always now having to carry top weight in handicaps [and he was only a little horse] or running in top class races against much faster horses. As was Pete, he was also a home bred, which makes it even more painful. The trouble is [and this happened with Dessie] you dream of breeding a good racehorse and then one day you find that you have. He goes up and up through the ranks and you find you have a horse that could, potentially win the Grand National. What do you do? Dessies owner used to be a wreck watching his races. I used to watch the racing with my dad, and then went back to it when I fell in love with Desert Orchid, not realising that horses could be injured. By that time I did I was hooked, and spent several years watching him race, ending up as a physical and mental wreck each time he did so. I've tried to walk away from the sport, but I love seeing the horses, the smell of hoof oil in the paddock, the words 'weighed in, weighed in' after a race send shivers down my spine. The camaraderie of racing folk watching our heroes, united in fear and excitement [this is more with NH racing]. The love and respect we have for the horses is beyond words. It encapsulates all that is good and bad in life because joy and despair live side by side. But I can't defend the bad things that happen and I understand why people can be so opposed to it. Synch could have been turned out in a field for the summer only to die of grass sickness or colic. His owner has had prostate cancer, so knows how important it is to grasp the here and now not the 'maybe next year'. He keeps all of his retired horses at a place called Martinstown in Ireland, and they live like kings. I'm sorry to rabbit on, but it's something I love so much and yet, on days like this I just want to curl up in a ball and cry.

What I am saying is why risk a Gold Cup winner in the GN?

crimson
Would you try and explain to me please, an outsider- forgive the pun -why the owners of the horse that won the Cheltenham Gold Cup put said horse in the G.N as well?
That really puzzles me.

The problem in reducing the height of the fences is that it would make the horses go faster which would cause problems too

I was quite upset at Bud running at 14, but Carl said Bud didn't know he was 14, and he proved me wrong by running really well. It was always going to be his last race. I fear that improving the class of the runners and lowering the fences is just making the race faster, and it's the speed that is the danger. Although they say they are making the race safer, if you go back many years there were far fewer fatalities and the fences were much stiffer. I also fear that we do not have the stamp of chaser that we used to have. Horses like The Pilgarlic and Rondetto came back year after year and were tough as old boots. A horse died in one of the hurdle races yesterday, but that hasn't made the headlines and no one has shed tears for him. I sometimes feel that the news media just want bad news to put in their headlines, whereas those of us who follow racing do nothing but pray for the safety of the horses. Also, drainage has been improved at a lot of tracks to improve waterlogging, but it means firmer ground, and watered ground isn't as safe. A lot of people I know didn't want Synchronised to run as they felt his style of jumping wasn't suitable for the course, but they didn't want to be proved right. The drop fence has got to go. Swing Bill is a beauty, isn't he? At least Nipper will, hopefully be parading before the Gold Cup next year with Kauto and Denman. Mr Hales always felt he had the winning of a Gold Cup, but he broke down the year of his best chance; that's when he had the stem cell treatment and came back good as new. He and Noland will have a wonderful retirement with Azertioup [sp]. Safety standards are far greater here than in other countries, and we'll continue to improve them in every way possible. I think people would get a shock if they saw the fences they have to jump in the Pardubicka.

Crimson like you, I enjoy horse racing but I do think 'the National' is a race too far. I do hope they continue to modify the fences by reducing the height and , certainly, by levelling the landing areas. I also agree with you that they should limit the number of horses allowed to run ( I do realise that entries are closely scrutinised to prevent unsuitable, unfit horses and probably riders too).
Never-the-less I feel very emotional when I see an old favourite showing such bravery ( I watch a recording as I cannot bear to see the race'live').
Hello Bud, Swing Bill and a few others should now be honourably retired like Neptune Collonges. They deserve it!