Witheford Equine Ltd
Westcourt Stables
Westcourt · Burbage
Marlborough · Wiltshire
SN8 3BW
Office 01672 811423
Fax 01672 811416
info@garywitheford.co.uk
He combined these ideas with his own unique skills under the title 'Natural Horsemanship'. A term used to best describe his training methods that are based on observation of horses in the wild, in particular how one lead mare actively manages the behaviour of other horses in the herd without the need for aggression.
Background
The setting up of Witheford Equine Limited is the culmination of a lifetime's interest in horses, and in particular thoroughbred racehorses. Gary started early! At the age of twelve he was working weekends and as many evenings as possible at Beckhampton Racing Stables under the stewardship of the late Jeremy Tree. Working alongside the lads in the yard in exercising and caring for the racehorses confirmed his belief that working in the racing industry was the only path for him.
At the age of 14 his dream was realised when he was taken on as a full time apprentice by Stan Mellor who was in the process of setting up a National Hunt yard in Lambourn. While at Stan Mellor's, Gary completed his five year apprenticeship, becoming one of the first people to pass through the Stoneleigh School of Excellence under the tutorship of ex-jump jockey Johnny Gilbert.
Eric Wheeler, the Head Lad at Stan Mellor's, had identified at an early stage Gary's excellent riding skills and his ability to get the best from the most difficult, and sometimes dangerous of horses. When it became obvious that it was always going to be a constant struggle for Gary to maintain the necessary weight for a National Hunt jockey, Eric suggested that he concentrate on bringing on these difficult youngsters. Gary soon built up a reputation as the lad in Stan's yard who would tackle any horse. Ignoring its past history, he would start from scratch, building up its confidence until it was considered safe and ready for racing.
Although he excelled at this job, unfortunately it failed to pay the wages that a successful jockey might expect, and with a young family to support, Gary had to leave full time work in the racing industry. However, even with a job outside of racing, Gary was still called in when a particularly difficult youngster was brought in and he often found himself riding out before and after work.
He established Bold Start Stables at Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, where he became more widely known when news of his success in breaking in and putting a rider on a young zebra stallion hit the local and national headlines. Within two years the growth of the business had outgrown the facilities at Bold Start Stables and the move was made to Westcourt Stables in Burbage. This site offered considerable scope for the expansion needed to cope with increased number of horses being sent for starting (or breaking in) or remedial work.
At Westcourt, Gary and his staff still work with horses from a wide range of differing backgrounds but he now has established a successful working relationship with many major trainers starting their youngsters in preparation for their training as racehorses.
Witheford Equine is a company registered in England and Wales with Company No 3574879
Registered Office Westcourt Stables, Westcourt, Burbage, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 3BW
VAT Registration No 717 9615 07
Whilst written for Internet Explorer, this site is best viewed on Mozilla Firefox - which can be downloaded by visiting http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/