Thorough Care SA has amped up its partnership with the Royal Adelaide Show. Along with having a presence on site, Thorough Care SA – the welfare arm of Racing SA - is sponsoring the four Racehorse to Show Horse classes. There’s also a bonus $2500 up for grabs if the Best in Show winner is an ex-racehorse.
All up there will be close to 40 retired racehorses competing.
“We enjoy watching these retired racehorses compete at events like the Royal Adelaide Show which is probably what you would say is equivalent to Group 1 racing in equestrian sports,” said Racing SA’s Industry Operations Manager John Cornell.
“A couple of well-known names are also taking part. Everyone in racing knows Group 1 winner Hartnell who had some wonderful clashes with Winx back in the day. Godolphin still look after him and are coming across to support him as he competes at the show.
“Precedence will be there as well, which was a horse close to the heart of the late, great Bart Cummings. He’s done really well in his showing career and was Bart’s last Melbourne Cup runner so a fair bit of history there,” said Cornell.
Over the nine days of the show, Racing SA will have an activation stall near the horse stables to help spread the word about the important work that Thorough Care does in caring for racehorses before, during, and after their racing career.
“We want to reach horse people from a different field other than racing, so that they’re aware of what we’re doing in the equine welfare space,” said Cornell.
“There’s a lot of people out there that don’t follow racing, but do follow horse sports, and they wouldn’t be aware of the work that Thorough Care is doing in the equine welfare space.
“Our stall is a place where people can come and get advice and information regarding retired racehorses and the industry. Our partners including Hygain, PETstock, Apex Therapy, Horsemed, Roseworthy and Horse Records, will all have a presence in this activation area so there’s a lot of different things you can learn about.
“We’ll also have a focus on careers, so anyone who comes across us at the show and wants to get into the industry, well we can help point them in the right direction,” he said.
The Royal Adelaide Show runs from Saturday, September 2 to Sunday, September 10.
