On Saturday 1^st of March 2014, Greatwood are hosting a charity raceday at Newbury Racecourse. Gates open at 11:30am for an exciting day specifically designed to promote racing to a younger audience with pony club activities and equestrian fun for the whole family.  There will be an equine village of educational activities for all ages and a multi-discipline display from the pony club demonstrating the wide variety of choice available within the organisation. These will be run by the Royal Agricultural University students’ event management team. This comprises of 16 students who all elected the events management module and have worked alongside Newbury to form and organise ideas for this must see event. A student from the team, Rosie Wiggin, commented that “This module has been very exciting for our team and has given us a fantastic insight into the equestrian events management industry. It has allowed us to expand our knowledge outside of our degree and apply it to organising this event. This has been a brilliant opportunity for all of us, and is a treasured addition to our experience for our future careers within this industry.”

That is not all; there will also be displays of retrained racehorses throughout the morning before the first race.  In attendance will be, Barber Shop, owned by The Queen, and Knights Prayer both ridden by Katie Jerram, Blue Java, ridden by Sonya Fitch-Peyton and Inishmor ridden by Paul Tapner.  These are all successfully re-trained ex-racehorses, highlighting the diversity of these horses outside the racing industry and promoting Greatwoods mission and everything that they work towards to remove perceptions of ex-racehorses not having a career after their racing days are over. Greatwood is the only organisation that uses ex-racehorses to educate disadvantaged children and young adults with special educational needs. They deliver pioneering educational programmes teaching emotional literacy and life skills via interaction with rescued and rehabilitated ex-racehorses. Come and show your support for Greatwood and enjoy a day packed full of entertainment, quality jump racing and star appearances.