First Racing Seawalker' are (left to right) trainer Jeremy Gask; Eamonn Wilmott, the firm's founder and managing director; and Katharine Mortimer of Withy King Solicitors. The state-of-the-art seawalker took more than two years to develop and is only one of the impressive facilities at the stables in Sutton Veny

A MAJOR Wiltshire-based racehorse training operation has announced a huge new investment - but is sticking to its principles of putting the welfare of the horses first.

Horses First Racing, which is based at The Beeches in Sutton Veny, near Warminster, has been developed since 2004, on what was previously a dairy farm.

It recently announced a new £10 million boost to its finances, which is reckoned to make it the premier resource of its kind in the UK.

But the first thing that visitors to its website (www.horsesfirstracing.com) are greeted with is a reaffirmation of the organisation's principles, insisting: "We aim to win races with healthy, happy horses that are kept, trained and cared for with their best interests as our main priority."

While it's horses first at Horses First, it's the environment next.

Fully organic-certified through Demeter (the certifying body of biodynamic farming in the UK), the management have planted more than 1,800 new trees and are currently adding extensive new hedgerows as well as maintaining the existing ones according to strict guidelines which protect the nesting and feeding sites of birds.

The company follows, as much as possible, a policy of reduce, re-use and recycle' - both in the yard and in the office.

This includes the composting of all bedding and muck from the yard on site and use of the composted material on the land.

All electricity comes from Good Energy which supplies 100 per cent energy from renewable sources such as wind and wave power.

Most of the staff live on site, so do not have to drive to work. Those who do drive live locally, with staff sharing travel where possible.

Following major conversion and development work, the complex incorporates 175 acres of top-quality training facilities including hill gallops, flat gallops, an 18-acre schooling field, Softwalker', Vitafloor and a state-of-the-art Seawalker'.

The Seawalker took more than two years of research and investigation to develop, and recent investment has seen it upgraded through the installation of a new filtering system that will keep the water in the walker extremely clean.

They currently train more than 40 horses for both Flat and National Hunt racing, but this is expected to grow to more than 70 by the end of the year.

Training is overseen by Jeremy Gask who has trained more than 300 winners in Australia.

Eamonn Wilmott, founder and managing director of the stables, said: "This new investment is fantastic news for the business.

"We are hugely excited about the future as it will enable us to consolidate our position as a leading horse training outfit and develop the facilities further that will help attract some of the best horses in the country."

The investment deal was brokered by Andrew Chalk, who is a partner at the firm of Marlborough-based Withy King Solicitors, who acted on Horses First Racing's behalf.

He said: "The new investment will take it up another level, adding to its excellent reputation and raising the bar to all other training facilities.

"Horses First Racing also operates an enviable environmental policy - one which other businesses should take note of."

2:39pm Thursday 17th April 2008

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