(A new owners thoughts on starting their journey with us at Wilsford) :-

Novice horses are enough trouble for trainers I am sure – but novice owners probably take up even more time. We sat down with Seamus and James and started to feel our way into the process. Already an ROA member and with registered silks, Kate had made a start but there was much more to do. BHA, Weatherbys, VAT, Sponsorship, training fees, Tattersalls, Goffs and so much more. Paperwork, applications, more paperwork, proof of identity etc – a daunting list. Fortunately James came along with solutions to some of the questions we did not even know to ask! It does take a little time but getting it right sets you up for the long term. One thing we were also impressed with was the clear and transparent monthly training invoices, which had not necessarily been the case in the past. So now to the horses. We had done our sums and decided that we could keep two horses in training. That could have been two in full ownership or one in full ownership and two at 50% or several other combinations if it felt right. Seamus was given a budget for purchase and set about finding us a horse! We were keen to see the horse develop and experience the ups (and downs) of the progression through bumpers to hurdles and hopefully on to chasing. The budget was sensible and our hope was to find a good in-named store horse which would go on to be a solid handicapper. Whilst we all have the right to dream of a Group 1 or the Gold Cup, the fairy tails are few and far between. A decent performer running in the South West and perhaps occasionally getting the better of the handicapper would give us many happy days……