New Beginnings: Meet the Yorkshire couple who retrain retired racehorses for a new life

“My love of Thoroughbreds started with an ex-racer from Selby,” says Kevin, whose background is countryside related, his father farmed at Fulford in York and Kevin also worked for the NFU in Hedon and Pocklington.

“The mare had been bought by a couple for their daughter, but she couldn’t do anything with it. I already had a couple of horses and took her in to work with retraining her in order to then make sure she was right.

Kevin says that New Beginnings became better known because of Pam’s horse called Harry.

“He was an ex-steeplechaser whose race name was Golden Hello. He had ten wins in his career. He’s the main reason for where we are today.

“Harry became our first ambassador horse in 2010, which is all about a retired horse going to a racecourse or other places so that people can stroke it, talk to it and generally feel good.

“Doing so also means we get across what we do and gives the opportunity to raise our profile.

Pam’s love of horses started when she was ten years old, both she and Kevin have always ridden.

“I’m not from the countryside. I grew up in Huntington with non-horsey parents and non-horsey siblings, but my granddad was in the cavalry. I inherited his horsey genes.

“Harry was a big chaser, a big wuss really, and my first Thoroughbred. I truly loved him. He was calm and an absolute superstar. He had a pony companion called Meg and they were ambassador horses for quite a few years.

“We retrain and then rehome former racehorses, but we don’t fill all the boxes, so that we can take horses that really need us urgently.

Pam says it is their expertise with the trickier to retrain that has become their trademark.

“Because people now know what we do and how we are successful at retraining we tend to attract the tricky, quirkier horses. There are a lot of horses that come out of racing and adapt quite seamlessly but also a lot that don’t.

“We used to do it all ourselves, but we now have a young lady, Leanne, who is our head of retraining. We can’t afford to get injured because it is up to us to keep this charity business afloat. We have to fundraise, do the administration, organise the paperwork, as well as run the yard. We are still very hands-on with the horses, but schooling and riding is down to our team.

“What Kevin and I are good at is the psychology of the horses. We train our people to look after what are called vulnerable horses. We treat every horse as an individual.

“Some horses need that comfort of being near another horse, some don’t want to be sociable. We have to quickly assess each as it comes in to know where best to put it. We read horses, their needs, an Integral part of when a horse comes is getting it in a good place physically and mentally.

Kevin says the way in which New Beginnings pays its way is through donations and other fund raising.

“When a horse comes we ask for a donation from the owner. When we rehome a completely retrained horse the prospective new owner takes it initially on loan. If anything goes wrong it comes back to us, we guarantee security of the horse’s future.

“I always say we don’t do this for money, but we need money for doing what we do. We also have regular supporters and try to grow our funding through social media and racecourse appearances.

Remy is Kevin and Pam’s current ambassador horse and York Races’ first official Equine Ambassador, better known as Goldream, a very successful 5-furlong sprinter who won Group 1 races and had wins at Longchamp, Ascot and Newmarket.

“Remy has the patience of a saint,” says Pam. “He’s recently been up for two top awards. We are waiting on news of whether he has made the shortlist for British Horseracing’s Retraining of Racehorses Community Award.

“We retrained him after he had initially taken on his first role after racing, working at Newmarket with upcoming jockeys, but it was like giving kids a Ferrari to drive. He went everywhere at full speed.

“Remy’s is a magnificent story. After being such a successful racehorse, he’s now so laid back. He’s in a really good place. He’s been nominated not just for his work at York Races but for what he’s done with St Gemma’s Hospice and St Leonards’ Hospice, primary schools and within a medium secure hospital. What he does is surreal. He’s very intuitive, sensitive.

“At St Leonard’s Hospice they usually bring patients to the front door and he meets them outside, but he has calmly walked through the entrance through the glass sliding doors into the courtyard at back. He has put his head down into a lady’s lap and has gently touched the face of another person.

“When you can take Remy into a hospice where people are unfortunately at the latter end of their lives and he can give that person and their family such comfort, it’s absolutely priceless. We totally believe people can heal horses, but horses also heal people.

“The reason we do this is our passion for Thoroughbreds, to look after and secure a future for as many as we can. We educate people that these horses are truly versatile animals. Whatever is going on in your life, go and stroke a horse, they do make you feel better.