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Jumps trainers face new hurdle

Posted on October 2, 2008, 4:04pm

A Mount Gambier-based jumps horse trainer has called for the sport to continue, following the Victorian industry temporarily banning hurdle racing because of fears the modular hurdles were unsafe.

The ban is a major blow for South East jumps horse trainers, who regularly travel to Victoria for jumping events.

It is also feared the South Australian Government might follow Victoria’s lead, following pressure rising from the animal liberation movement to ban the controversial sport.

Sunday’s Coleraine Cup was the last race meeting in Victoria this year to feature a hurdle race.

While the ban was only until a review of the safety of hurdles was complete, Mingbool jumps horse trainer John O’Connor —  whose family has been racing jumps horses for more than 100 years in the South East  — was worried it could lead to a permanent ban.

Speaking passionately about the sport which he described as being “in his blood”, Mr O’Connor said the mishaps of some horses while racing had to be put into perspective.

While conceding horses did get hurt during races, he said he had only ever had to “leave one horse behind” following a fall during his long career.

He claimed more horses were getting hurt in large metropolitan meets because those horses were running faster and getting too low to clear the hurdle.

“We try and make our horses as safe as possible, but nothing is foolproof,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Our family have been training jumps horses for four generations; it is vital to the entertainment of people.

“It will be very disappointing if we see it go.”

Mr O’Connor said Warrnambool May races, along with Oatbank and the Adelaide Cup which all featured jumps races, attracted the most racegoers compared with any other meetings outside the Melbourne Cup.

The racing veteran said the steeplechase had also been a popular event at Mount Gambier’s Gold Cup Carnival for many years.

Mr O’Connor said many of the horses used for jumps racing were retired flat racers, which without a racing career, would end up at the abattoir for pet food.

“The animal liberation movement are very concerned about the things they can see, but don’t seem to worry about the things they can’t see,” he said.

Meanwhile, Limestone Coast Thoroughbred Racing chair Martin Miles told The Border Watch yesterday there was increasing pressure from the animal rights movement because of horses getting hurt.

He also feared the ban could flow into South Australia if Victoria decided to permanently suspend the sport because both South Australian and Victorian industry worked closely together.

While claiming a ban would not devastate the region’s racing sector, he said it would affect a number of trainers across the region who had a jumps horse racing licence.

The Australian Jumps Association is calling on the industry to enforce the use of higher hurdles to slow horses down and reduce the number of falls.

But Thoroughbred Racing SA chair Philip Bentley said yesterday the whole thing was a “beat up”.

He said the industry had cancelled hurdle racing only until a review was complete over the safety of hurdles.

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