From racing to moving to music, Jockey Club gives retired racehorses new lease of life
The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Restart programme helps thoroughbreds transition to dressage and other roles in equestrianism
Among the performers during the three-day Longines Hong Kong International Horse Show were eight retired equines who now move to music rather than racing around a track.
Graduates of a Hong Kong Jockey Club programme designed to give these elite animals a new lease of life, the group included multiple race winners such as Prawn BaBa and Bo Duke.
Aimed at retraining them after their racing days are over, Natasha Rose, the club’s executive manager of equestrian affairs projects, said the intelligence and athleticism of the thoroughbreds made them ideal candidates for equestrian disciplines, like dressage.
“It’s actually very good for them to keep learning new things because they can give so much back into their second career to keep active, to keep fit and to keep healthy,” Rose said.
“In equestrian, we actually start training horses a little bit later than in racing. So when they’ve retired from racing, they are the perfect age to go into equestrian,” Rose said.
For New Elegance, who is known as “Tom” in the stables, the club’s Restart programme turned a former racer into an experienced exhibition horse.