Dec_148_British NH Breeding_Owner Breeder 18/11/2016 17:37 Page 67
B R I T I S H N AT I O N A L H U N T B R E E D I N G
BREEDER VIEW
EMMA BERRY
Doug and Lucy Procter, The Glanvilles Stud
Doug and Lucy Procter with Aunt Julia and Sinndiya, whose Nathaniel yearling recently sold to JP McManus
The Glanvilles Stud, in the heart of south-west jumping country not far from Wincanton racecourse, is home to 15 broodmares, nine of which are National Hunt mares. The farm, which encompasses 180 acres on two sites within the village of Glanvilles Wootton, is run by former point-to-point rider Doug Procter and his wife Lucy. Having traditionally had a fairly even split of mares across both disciplines, the couple have decided to shift the emphasis towards predominantly National Hunt stock in the future. “We’re looking to not replace Flat mares as they move on, or to replace them with jumping mares, and that’s a commercial decision,” states Doug Procter. “We’re making money on the jumping stock we sell well and when we do lose money we lose far less money. “Overall, the jumping side of the operation is adding up far better than the Flat. The first mare we bred from was a point-to-pointer I used to ride, which we did for sentimental reasons. We started boarding mares for other people and then it grew from there – it’s a hobby that turned into a business, but my background is very much National Hunt. You can throw a stone from our farm and it would usually land on a top jumps trainer’s gallop.” The Glanvilles Stud team is not breeding on a purely commercial basis and has raced a number of fillies, both on the Flat and over jumps, with trainers Harry Dunlop and Nick Mitchell.
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has ‘Enthusiastic’ stamped on his passport where his middle name should be, but he has put that positive mind to good use in recent years, not simply in creating, with his wife Teresa, the most up-and-coming National Hunt stallion stud in the country but also in playing his part in galvanising his fellow members on the TBA’s National Hunt Committee to an admirably pro-active stance. There have been plenty of initiatives launched to help jumps breeders in recent years, but the one which has been easiest to assess as successful is the TBA ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ National Hunt Foal Show, which has been held for the least four years in July and has attracted an increasing number of exhibitors and spectators. “We’re always looking forward – the National THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER
“The incentives introduced by the TBA and the fillies’ races are very important but in my view it should be addressed from the bottom up,” offers Procter. “When you have the number of fillies and mares to fill the races you should increase the championship races, but, equally, I can see that, with very few exceptions, people in jump racing want a horse to go to Cheltenham. And the important thing is that all those big owners want as many Cheltenham winners as they can have. Two races at the Festival are now for fillies so those owners have to race fillies or they reduce their chances of winners.” Despite the prestige of having a runner at Cheltenham being the equivalent of Royal Ascot to Flat owners, the appeal to Procter for focusing more on jumping is not just his own love of National Hunt racing but one of simple economics. “The cost to a breeder of playing in the top 25% of the jumping market, if you have that budget, wouldn’t even get you halfway up the Flat market,” he says. “We’re heading into over-production again, with 15% more yearlings being offered, but I have never spoken to a trainer who has told me he has 15% more owners. So what looked like a comfortable middle market has become very hit and miss on the Flat, and your losses can be massive.” He continues: “People think a £10,000 stallion is a budget stallion on the Flat but Kayf Tara, the best jumps stallion in Britain, was £5,000 this year and probably the most expensive in Europe was Saint Des Saints at €12,000. Even if you go to the top stallions you’re not having to stretch too far.” With two mares eligible for the Elite Mares Scheme at The Glanvilles Stud, Procter is not encouraged enough by the subsidies on offer for his mares always to remain in Britain and regularly walks mares in to French stallions with a short ferry hop across the Channel from his Dorset vantage point not far from Poole. He says: “The Elite Mares Scheme is a very good idea but from a commercial breeding point of view I make my decisions based on what I think will breed me a good horse within the budget I have. I wouldn’t go to a stallion just because I could have a grant to go to him.” He adds: “It’s difficult starting out with jumpers as it takes so long to get the results but, from very small crops, we are starting to breed winners and we’ve sold some horses well. “I take some pride in the fact that some noted Irish pinhookers will now come to look at stock on our farm. That’s taken eight years to get there, but it has been worth it.”
Hunt breeding industry is so exciting but there’s more we can do to promote ourselves,” says Futter. “You may as a breeder have to be patient and have to put some of the horses in training, but there’s an increasing number of people interested in buying proven horses these days, so once they show some form the phone will soon be ringing and the rewards are there. “But also I know breeders around the country who have sold foals straight from the field. The Irish are starting to come over more to look at stock on farms and they have greater contact with British breeders through the foal show. The show is improving and I’m hoping there will be a few French trainers there next year. “We need to increase the numbers but it’s doing what it set out to do and it has also
created a sense of community spirit through a social occasion at a time of the year when we wouldn’t all necessarily be getting together.” Around 380 mares visited the Yorton stallions this year. The 2016 roster of Sulamani – sire of Grand National winner Rule The World – Norse Dancer, Blue Bresil, Gentlewave, Universal and Pether’s Moon has been enhanced further for next year with the addition of Clovis Du Berlais, a well-related son of King’s Theatre with proven National Hunt form. Futter continues: “The market contracted in 2008 but since then we have levelled and in many ways it has done us a favour as it’s upgraded the mares here in this country – you only have to go to the foal show to see the quality available. We need to keep improving
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