Big-hearted Jilly backs charity

The novelist and horse lover, below, will be involved in judging the awards and will also present a trophy to the overall winner. Jilly Cooper, who is already a supporter of this charity for the welfare of horses that have retired from racing, said: “The awards are a great opportunity to hear some real life, heart-warming stories and to reward the obvious passion and commitment that owners have for their ex-racehorses. I am delighted to be involved.”

The charity reports a very good response from riders who have retrained ex-racehorses either just to hack out or compete in different disciplines, with a particularly high entry being received from owners in North Yorkshire. Horses must be registered with the RoR and to have raced in the UK to qualify.