Ann Duffield
Website: www.annduffield.co.uk
Check out some of Ann's photos here:
Duffield's Diaries
Ann Duffield
Racehorse trainer Ann Duffield is married to former top Flat jockey George Duffield MBE, and they have spent the last 10 years creating one of the most impressive private racehorse training establishments in the country at Sun Hill Farm near Leyburn, in North Yorkshire. And it’s right in the heart of the Bedale hunt country with which they both hunt with a passion.
The new yard has been a huge financial investment: a newly re-surfaced all-weather six furlong gallop with a gradient climbing 250ft; 70 horse boxes in American style barns, all with rubber mat flooring; three horse walkers; practice starting stalls; an isolation unit; daily turn-out paddocks, with a further 50 acres of post and rail summer grazing: and it’s all dedicated to one objective - the training of racehorses to be ‘first past the post’.
While Ann began as a national hunt trainer, the emphasis is now firmly on Flat horses. Her annual buying focus produces some useful racehorses in the making, and there is an impressive welcome extended to new and existing owners alike at Sun Hill Stables.
Ann and George are both self-confessed hunting junkies, particularly George who would hunt eight days a week if he could, and says: “I just love my hunting - I don’t want to come home when I’m out, and only darkness ends the hunting day.”
Ann has kindly agreed to write a monthly diary for TMV where we will be privy to some of back-room highs and lows as the months roll by - of a successful racehorse training yard: “Where Horses Come first”.
The old saying goes: to become a jockey you have to be slightly unhinged, so does it follow that to be a racehorse trainer you have to be a total nutter? As a woman married to one of the former - and being one of the latter, I should know.
Writing about it though, is another matter, and when asked recently to write a regular column for the new online hunting magazine themastersvoice.co.uk I admitted to being a bit perturbed. But not one to shy away from a challenge, I promised to give it my best shot.
It was via a mutual love of hunting that bought my beloved and I together, although we were actually first introduced in the weighing room at Ripon races by fellow jockey and scouser John Lowe. I hunted with the Zetland at the time, while George had previously hunted with the Puckeridge & Thurlow on Mondays, Thursdays & Saturdays; while Tuesdays were spent with the Cottesmore, and Sundays drag hunting with the Cambridge University.
Having previously spent winters riding abroad George had decided to stick around the UK for the sake of his children’s education. In those days, racing was run by people to whom the concept of Sunday racing was as foreign and ridiculous as the idea that hunting could be hijacked one day and actually made illegal.
With every Sunday off, and no all-weather race meetings, winter in England for George was a time for fun on the hunting field, and for riding without his knees under his chin. Hunting for me was the twice weekly affair it is for most of us, and the Zetland always seemed to give its followers great entertainment.
When I first hunted with them in 1987 Ernie Fenwick was field master; a great man to follow, and a good horse was imperative as the country was challenging. Willie Lax’s hedges were probably the most popular place to be in the vast Zetland country which stretches from The River Wear to the River Swale, and is bordered by the Bedale, West of Yore, Hurworth, South Durham & Braes of Derwent.
Ann in action in the hunting field
When I moved to Yorkshire in 1988, I was still spending three or four days a week in Liverpool where I had business interests. But when actually in Yorkshire hunting was my hobby, and although dealing in horses was a bit of light entertainment back then, it was to become a second business which would ultimately lead me to training racehorses.
Since my first foray’s with the Zetland, I have managed to move house, and relocating my horses, staff and owners twice. Firstly to the Historic Hurgill Lodge, where I took over the stables from ex-trainer Bill Watts. We carried on hunting from there with the Zetland, while trying to build up the numbers in the huge stable yard, but in the end I gave in and stopped hunting for a while.
It was to be another couple of years before we both hunted again, and ironically it was the ban on hunting which brought us back to the hunting field, along with many thousands of others who have now taken up the reins and willingly paid their subs to their local hunt, in protest against the ban - if nothing else.
Training is my passion 365 days a year. But it’s a business, and a pretty stressful one at that. So hunting, for me, is the best therapy for transgressing the problems that come with the job. Moving to Sun Hill in January 2000 with just 18 horses, having had a full house at Hurgill of 72 the previous summer might seem a bit extreme, but frankly we were ready for a change.
The upshot was I brought only 18 horses to Sunhill, all owned by nice people who were in the game for all the right reasons, but their horses were not very good and for several seasons we bumped along in the 0-55 handicap bracket. No very exciting, but that was how it was.
We managed 10 winners in the first year before a long losing-run resulted in us retiring a few and, after losing a couple in claimers etc, we got down to only eight. I seriously thought of packing it all in, but I can’t do that, it’s just not in my nature. Our neighbours Jack and Jo Berry, who had trained recently retired from running a very successful 100-racehorses yard, were a source of strength and kept my spirits up as they too had been down to only eight at one stage, before they became one of the most powerful Flat yards in Britain.
It was a time to change direction. The type of horses I had done so well with previously were not available to me any more, so a move towards buying yearlings seemed more appropriate. The work would be much harder, and more experienced staff required. But with the cost of older horses, even un-raced horses - and particularly those with proven form, had become so prohibitive to us, frankly there was no other choice.
It would take time to re-establish the yard but so what? Since those rather defining moments things have steadily built up, and we have maintained a good strike rate with winners climbing year on year, from 10 to18 to 25 winners, then in 2007 with 30 winners. Success has made it possible to keep improving the facilities at Sun Hill: now we can now boast one of the best yards in the North, with a marvellous team of people. Finally!
2008 was supposed to cement the yard’s climb up the ladder, but that year it seemed like wading in treacle. The horses were below par and although running well, could not get their heads in front. For the first half of the season they had ‘seconditis’, better than being beaten miles of course, but in a sport where only winners count - it was not good enough. The weather was disastrous, and the all-important availability of top quality hay and haylage was impossible to find. Eventually, after closing the doors for 10 weeks and deciding on a new source of hay shipped over from Canada - the winners began returning. But, it was too-little too-late to match the targets we had set, but at least we were back in the winner’s enclosures.
So far this year the horses have wintered very well, with numbers down a bit due to the economic crisis. We have less 2yros than previous years, 20 in all, but hopefully a few more may follow. The Breeze Up sales, which I love and have done very well out of in the past (George D. is a great help in spotting potential) are coming up in March, April & May, and could provide the opportunity for us to purchase a couple more. Interested in part or full racehorse ownership? contact us at: www.annduffield.co.uk
January 2009
The horses are all back in work following their winter break. They’re all on roadwork - not an exciting month, but an important one. There is still some staff back in their home countries of Trinidad & Pakistan. The weather is freezing, great for killing off the bugs, and the horses look well. We manage a holiday in January; it’s the only time we can go away. And it was bliss.
February 2009
Started cantering the majority of the horses, with a few backward ones still on the roads. We still have one 2yo not broken-in yet. She came in very late; in fact she had lived out all year until the last week of January. She’s been named Brave Companion, as that is what she has been - a companion for an expensive and very beautiful Indian Ridge Filly. Yet she looks amazing, and the box walking she apparently did before coming here has disappeared.
Our main barn, in which the potential earlier runners live, has had its major steam clean and been disinfected; shavings have replaced the straw they were bedded on during winter. The other big barn will follow soon, after which we will maintain our usual monthly steam clean. The horses have been vaccinated and wormed this month; the horse dentist is due for his week-long stay any time now. Glad I don’t have his job.
Most disappointingly, a couple of owners have called to say they are struggling financially and can’t send the horses back into training just yet. One very nice filly of theirs we won a nice race with last year, can’t come back at all as she has been leased to someone who has their horses trained in the south (shame on them) - she was an absolute cow to handle in the stalls and never went in without me. I wonder if she will miss me?
The fresh horses have had an enjoyable time trying to get rid of riders, with some notable success. Firebet threw Jimmy Bleasdale out of the side door as he came out of the yard into the snow. Ian our South African lad went to his rescue and ended up skiing down the yard behind Firebet who thought it was marvellous. Spying, a rather nice 2yro colt, has developed immaculate timing and whipped round under George - who had just made the comment that his saddle was starting to slip a bit. You can guess the rest!
The snow has been horrendous; we had almost a foot of it for nearly three weeks. Luckily we’ve been able to get the horses out every day: we would be lost without our three horse walkers, lunge ring and the gravel path to our all-weather gallop which keeps us off the lane when it’s really icy. Everywhere looks lovely when it is white, but looks such a mess when the snow goes. Roll on the summer!
In the office, Leanne has had a make over from diminutive (she is 4ft 8") secretary - to hulking yard man, as she helps with the mucking out before riding four lots; then goes back in the office to do paper work. And our website is also having a bit of a make over too with some new pictures; have a look if at it and let me know what you think: www.annduffield.co.uk
Our holiday cottage is having a paint job, and the builder is finishing the open fireplace on the second cottage which should be up and running by 1st April. (See them on our website above).
I haven’t been able to hunt much, apart from joining in second horse on the last day of our season. I usually get a quite a few half days, joining in after the racehorses have been out in the mornings, but this year we have missed so much due to the weather anyway. NB: I think MFH Andrew Osbourne must be a nightmare to live when he can’t hunt his hounds: George is like a bear with a sore head when he can’t get his hunting ‘fix’.
Bedale Foxhounds at the Duffield’s Open Day
Our Open day on Friday April 10th - Good Friday - is looming, so during March there is plenty of extra work to do on that, and we have the Bedale Hounds here again this year as well as the Countryside Alliance; a hot shoeing demonstration by our farriers; Hog Roast; lost of prizes to be won including a share in Brave Companion!
Have a great month!
Ann Duffield