Video Yard Tour
Here at Martins Hill we are constantly expanding and improving to ensure we are equipped with the best possible facilities. We believe the investment into our facilities not only improves results on the track, but helps to keep all of our horses happy and healthy.
Please take a video tour of the yard, of course you can also book a morning on the gallops to see the yard anytime!
Yards
The yard has 80 boxes split into 4 separate yards – the Main Yard, the Another Raleagh Yard, the Front Yard and the Top Yard. All stables are stone-built to a height of 8’ with Yorkshire boarding above to allow a free flow of ventilation through the stables, and each yard is built around an open central passage, again to allow ventilation through the yard. All stables have rubber floors.
The yards surround two covered horse walkers and an outdoor school which are invaluable for warning up and down, and to aid in recovery from injury.
GALLOPS
We have 2 gallops of our own at Martins Hill, both resurfaced by Andrews Bowen in 2019. The Hill is a straight gallop which stretches for 5 furlongs and rises almost 200’ before levelling off. The Round is a 500m flat circle. Each gallop can be harrowed to a different depth to suit the conditions prevailing at any particular time of year and the needs of the horses.
We also have use of various grass gallops, which we use to teach youngsters about the surface on which they will be racing as well as to put the finishing touches to preparations for older horses.
SCHOOLING
The majority of our schooling takes place in the 40 acre schooling field adjacent to the Hill, where the gently-sloping turf encourages horses to use themselves properly at their obstacles. The field contains…
- Logs and tyres introduce youngsters to jumping.
- Traditional hurdles, rubber hurdles and Easifix brush hurdles to enable horses to school over all types of hurdles now found on British racecourses.
- A line of ¾ size Easifix chase fences to school horses making the transition from hurdling to chasing.
- A line of full size Easifix chase fences, including an open ditch, to replicate the obstacles to be found on the racecourse.
We also have a 3f all weather schooling lane situated alongside the Round, with interchangeable Easifix brush hurdles and fences.
The School and The Ring
Every horse warms up before exercise in the 60m x 25m outdoor school, with an all weather Martin Collins surface. The school is used to break and educate youngsters, to teach the basics of jumping and for flat work with the older horses. In addition, to help horses learn balance and to educate them in their jumping we have a high-sided ring in which they can be lunged and losse school.
Paddocks
Part of the philosophy of the training regime at KandM Racing is to give every horse the opportunity to be turned out regularly and to relax. Adjacent to the yards are day paddocks into which horses are turned out individually each day after exercise. In addition, there are over 120 acres of larger paddocks at Martins Hill which horses can enjoy on longer breaks.
