THE GRAND National it may not have been, but Sunday’s ‘chubby sheep steeplechase’ at Roves Farm was just as hotly contested.

The three race programme saw goats and sheep take on a course that was approximately 100m in length - complete with a sharp bend and numerous challenging jumps.

The event marked the start of the ‘animal racing’ season at the farm, which will run on school holidays and special occasions from now until the end of the summer.

Although the four-hoofed contestants gave a good account of themselves, it is fair to say their early season form showed in their first races.

Roves Farm event manager, Katie Allen, said: “They probably haven’t done as much training as they should have done, the goats will be fine because they raced last year but the sheep may be a bit of an unknown quantity.

“They should know what to do in theory but they do sometimes just stand there and look a bit confused.”

The wise goats lived up to their name and decided not to waste their energy going over the jumps in the normal manner, instead they ran around the side.

The sheep made a noble effort to leap over in style but the sight of their little legs working in overdrive was met with plenty of laughter from the watching crowd.

John and Eloise Bailey, from Highworth, had come for a day out with five-year-old Lewis and Amy, three.

John said: “This place is great for the kids, we’ve been here a few times now.

“They like seeing the animals and we like the café inside so it’s a win-win really.”

This weekend’s event was timed to coincide with Mother’s Day with any mums accompanied by a paying child getting free entry.

No racing day would be complete without a bookies table and at Roves Farm it was no different. The animals were given a colour and a donation based system was in place for visitors to back their favourite.

All the proceeds will go to Alzheimer’s Research UK which is the staff’s chosen charity for this year.

As well as the races, the normal selection of activities were on offer for the visiting children – including the ever-popular tractor rides around the farm.

Laura Unwin, from Stratton, brought her own little girl and her three nephews with her for an afternoon at the farm.

She said: “They’ve been running around ever since we got here, I think they’re more excited about the tractor ride than anything else.

“It’s our first time here but we’ll definitely be back, it’s going on the school holiday list for sure.”

It is hoped that in a few weeks, the pigs will be able to take their place alongside the sheep and goats for their chance to compete for the 2016 racing crown.