A PARADE of Champions will take place at the Punchestown Festival next week organised by Racehorse to Riding Horse Ireland and sponsored by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM). The special off-track racehorse celebratory parade will take place on Wednesday the 27th of April at 2.15pm at Punchestown Racecourse.

Around 20 horses will take part including Elusive Time who had a successful track career the highlight being victory in the 2017 Irish Cambridgeshire. Stable-named ‘Swagger’, he was one of the first horses to be selected for the Thoroughbred Assisted pilot project held at the award-winning Horses for People in Co. Down with June Burgess. The pilot is the result of a unique collaboration between Down Royal Corporation of Horsebreeders and the international charity Racing To Relate.

The pilot is aimed at providing a second career for racehorses in Equine Assisted Services including working with veterans. The pilot is a cross-industry collaboration linked to an international research study with the University of Bristol Veterinary School and the findings will be presented as part of a ground-breaking PhD study, funded by The John Pearce Foundation. The study aims to develop the evidence base for a global standard in retraining racehorses in the Equine Assisted Services sector. The thoroughbreds on the pilot are retrained over a six-month period for use in ground-based Equine Assisted Services.

The second stage of Thoroughbred Assisted project is launching at the beginning of May and will include a demonstration morning to illustrate the science behind the methodologies used and the benefits derived from Equine Assisted Services for both the thoroughbreds and those attending workshops. This phase of the pilot is now open for owners and trainers to register their thoroughbred to be considered for a funded space on the six-month programme. Any potential thoroughbred for the programme should be currently in training or have exited training within the last six months.

For further information on the pilot or to register the details of a potential thoroughbred for the next phase of the project, please email molly@drcoh.com.