New owner experience
Newmarket stable visit
by Steve and Sue Davis
Sue and Steve Davis with Tenshi
We have always enjoyed going to the major racing events over the years but we’re always very sceptical of shares or part ownership of horses.
Last year some old friends of ours Belinda and Basil Shrourou invited us to a race meeting at Newbury and told us over lunch one day that they had shares in a horse that was running.
Not turning down a free lunch, we happily went along expecting another corporate day out at the races.
The day was totally different to what we were used to and met some amazing, interesting people from all walks of life, who had amazing stories to tell of their experiences with Highclere stables.
The staff of Highclere were so welcoming and treated us as one of their owners and friends.
Newbury
After another great day out we were invited to the yearling parade just to experience the atmosphere with no pressure at all to get involved.
We again met many more friendly amazing people who were as interested in us as we were of them.
After seeing the most beautiful filly ever, (Tenshi) we decided to dip our hoof in the water and buy a share.
Yearling parade
lunch at the yearling parade
Not having a clue about ownership, we were guided by the Highclere staff about her progress and invitations to all events related to Highclere, their horses, the trainers and meeting more friendly interesting people.
This month we had the opportunity to go to Newmarket to visit our horse and the trainer and his yard with an overnight stay and dinner at the Jockey club.
We had never been to Newmarket and what a great place it was to visit.
The jockey club is steeped in history, with pictures of celebrities of the horse loving world and oil paintings by famous equine artists adorning the beautiful rooms and corridors.
The town itself has a very eclectic range of shops, taverns, coffee houses and restaurants but the most amazing thing is the amount of stables, yards and gallops within a 100 metres radius of the town centre itself.
Morning exercise in Newmarket
We only had time to visit two but saw scores of horses being put through their paces on Warren Hill, which was an experience in itself.
We’ve booked again to go in 3 months and can’t wait!
