Another direction

Aisling Crowe chats with Sarah Sands and Caoimhe Doherty about the establishment of Treo Eile, Ireland’s new racehorse rehoming assistance programme

IRELAND’S REPUTATION as a nation of horse lovers has taken a little bit of a bruising in recent months with a number of high-profile stories provoking some much-needed soul searching and reflection on the welfare of the horses on which we depend for a living and also provide us with unparalleled joy.

The fate of former racehorses is one that the industry in Ireland is beginning to grapple with, and in that sense the timing couldn’t have been better for the launch of an organisation dedicated to enhancing the opportunities for retired racehorses to enjoy fruitful and successful second careers.

Treo Eile is the Irish language phrase for “another direction” and it is the ideal name for the not-forprofit organisation established last year by Caoimhe Doherty and Sarah Sands that offers assistance to owners and trainers who wish to do the right thing by their horse and responsibly rehome them.

Sands explains the catalyst for Treo Eile, which came about in the spring of 2020.

“The sport was under pressure from that aspect, how it looks after its participants, and it’s inevitable that something has to be done to improve that,” she explains. “Ireland needed to go in that direction. The other major racing nations are further down the road than we are so we need to do as much as we can to catch up.”

Treo Eile operates in a number of different ways, to help support racehorses and owners at various stages of the retraining process. On its website it will shortly offer a listings service where racehorse owners and trainers can advertise their retiring horses looking for a new home and a second career.

Education is one of the key aspects of Treo Eile’s mission, as Doherty says: “When we initially started I always felt that we needed to exclude the excuse that people didn’t know what to do with their horses, people couldn’t have an excuse not to do the right thing by them.

“We wanted to give people the information, we wanted to make those connections and have that one-stop shop.”

That is exactly what the Treo Eile website, which went live this spring, offers. There are sections dedicated to rehoming, retraining and education, which offer knowledge and expertise in the various disciplines in which former racehorses excel.

There is also a database of coaches, who are skilled in training thoroughbreds and their riders, along with resources that help in every aspect of owning and retraining a former racehorse. “Treo Eile is where you go to get your information. We are supporting the people who are already in that sphere and promoting the thoroughbred in a second career and connecting people – putting owners in contact with people who want to take on their horses or people who have horses to sell. There’s an information gap and we are trying to fill it,” says Doherty.

Their vision of Treo Eile as a library of resources and a network of connections for those looking to find a new home for their racehorses once their racing careers are over, and those who would love to take a former racehorse in a new direction, has developed quicker than initially envisioned.

With the assistance of Godolphin, both financially and practically through the expertise of Joe Osbourne and Diana Cooper (Godolphin’s strategic advisor for charities), Treo Eile’s slick, modern and comprehensive website was born.

Many of the main players within the global industry have already recognised the importance of aftercare for the horses they breed and race, and are involved with initiatives around the world. As well as Godolphin’s contribution, Treo Eile also has had the support of Juddmonte, while many others

Treo Eile is where you go to get your information, we are supporting the people who are already in that sphere and promoting the thoroughbred in a second career

within the industry in Ireland have given their time and expertise in help to set up Treo Eile and design the website.

Promoting the attributes of the thoroughbred as a sport horse is another key element of Treo Eile’s work.

One of the ways in which the organisation supports the retraining of racehorses for new disciplines is by sponsoring prizes at shows and competitions across the country for the highestplaced thoroughbreds in various disciplines from dressage to working hunter trials.

“What I would love to achieve would be able to get those highest-placed thoroughbred classes across the sphere through Showjumping Ireland and Eventing Ireland and Sarah has made good steps with that,” Doherty says.

Sands agrees: “I think that will underpin the whole thing. We have a show this weekend with prizes down to sixth and there aren’t many shows where you get prize money that far down. I think if we can replicate that, depending on funding, it will boost the demand for classes and, in turn, increase the demand for thoroughbreds to retrain.”

“You have to see it to be it and you can’t ask people to retrain thoroughbreds and have nothing for them to do,” is Doherty’s pragmatic assessment. “At this moment in time we wouldn’t be able to hold a big thoroughbred festival, but we can sponsor a lot of thoroughbred prizes in lots of different areas.”

Later this summer Treo Eile will sponsor prizes for retrained racehorses at the Dressage Ireland championships and for those competing in working hunter trials at a Horse of the Year Show qualifier in Wexford.

There are other classes in the pipeline and there are moves afoot for a racehorse to riding horse show later in the season.

Social media plays an important role in another key element of their work, that of promoting former racehorses as ideal for second careers.

Ireland’s long lockdown necessitated ingenuity and creativity in working around the restrictions and the online dressage league, which showcased a number of former racehorses, including Galileo Dance who combines his new competitive career with covering mares.

It has proved enormously popular with the videos shot by competitors giving insight into what is possible when retraining racehorses.

THE COMPETITIVE SECOND career for former racehorses, whether in the show ring or the polo field, is the one that most people would immediately think of when considering retraining a retired racehorse but horses, thoroughbreds in particular, have a deep connection with humans and offer much more than the obvious.

Winston Churchill’s statement that there is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man (or anybody for that matter) is being proven by the success of horses as therapy animals.

The development of Equine Assisted Learning and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy right around the world has helped countless people develop life skills and cope with mental health problems.

Not every horse, regardless of breed, is suited to the therapeutic environment, but there are opportunities for thoroughbreds, those with the right personality and aptitude for the work, to be retrained in this sphere, and it is something that Treo Eile is keen to support.

To that end there has been some initial involvement with a pilot project that is currently well underway in Northern Ireland.

“Racing To Relate is being funded by the Racing Foundation in Northern Ireland and we are trying to partner with them for a North-South project,” explains Sands.

“June Burgess [of Horses for People] is running a pilot scheme taking six thoroughbreds and seeing if they can thrive in the Equine Assisted Learning environment that she already has as a business.

“That is happening with the University of Bristol and UCD on the academic side, and with the support of the Down Royal racecourse owners.

“They have already selected the horses they want and we are hopefully going to look at rehoming horses that come through this scheme in the South. June feels really positively about using thoroughbreds in the project.”

There have already been successful projects in other countries that use retrained thoroughbreds in therapy settings such as Horseback UK, which works with veterans,as well as through a number of schemes in prisons in Kentucky and New York.

From dressage to rehabilitating prisoners, the potential for former racehorses to develop fulfilling and rewarding careers once their days on the track are done, is unlimited.

With the help and support of Treo Eile, the future for Ireland’s retiring racehorses is looking brighter than it has done at any point in its history.

This is Clebourne, a six-year-old gelding by Camacho who won at Dundalk (right) in February 2018 for trainer Darren Bunyan and jockey Declan McDonagh. Photo by Pat Healy

After he finished his racing career in August 2018, he was given to his work rider Liam Hayes, who is also a keen showjumper. Hayes spent a year retraining the chestnut and says: “He was always a great mover and had a lovely temperament”. Hayes recently sold him to a teenage event rider looking to move up to horses. After he finished his racing career in August 2018, he was given to his work rider Liam Hayes, who is also a keen showjumper. Hayes spent a year retraining the chestnut and says: “He was always a great mover and had a lovely temperament”. Hayes recently sold him to a teenage event rider looking to move up to horses.