Sarah Sands has a background in marketing and works as a business consultant within racing and bloodstock as well as being co-founder of Treo Eile.
Retraining thoroughbreds for a second career is a respectful way the modern industry can support its off-track athletes.
Established in 2020, Treo Eile is a not-for-profit organisation assisting racehorse trainers and owners to rehome and retrain these often young thoroughbreds once their racetrack careers are complete.
The hugely successful Treo Eile Pro/Celeb Show Jumping Classic was held at Jag Equestrian in December. Celebrity riders and jockeys teamed up with young riders for the challenge and put on a thrilling competition won by an all-female team; the Seabiscuits headed up by racing legend Katie Walsh.
Idea behind Treo Eile
The idea to establish Treo Eile followed a seminar on aftercare run by the Women’s Irish Network for Racing (WINR). According to Sarah, it was clear there was a passion for the topic and that many people were already doing something in the space.
“We planned to try to bring everyone together via an organisation; to help connect, educate and hopefully match horses with the right people. Godolphin was first to support us as it’s an especially important topic for them. Diana Cooper [strategic advisor charities, Godolphin] was a great source of inspiration and encouragement. She has a couple of retrained horses, so was always very positive.”
Given the last year or so, Sarah and colleagues were limited in fundraising opportunities due to COVID-19.
“We figured an arena-based celebration of the thoroughbred might work close to Christmas, especially as many events had been cancelled. It had been heartening to watch such great results for thoroughbreds in eventing all year, so we knew there was already a batch of horses that were able to jump 90cm-plus.
Treo Eile Pro/Celeb Classic winning team the Seabiscuits L-R: Cliodhna Brennan on Road to Emmaus, Lucy McCarthy on Little Field Clover, Katie Walsh on General Principle and Sarah Wardell on Whydah. \ Louise O'Brien
“We arrived at the team format to marry the equestrian worlds and then it was one of the kids involved in the Classic pony competition who had the brainwave to include a young rider on the team to add some spice. We thought the children would show the adults how to do a jump-off (speed round) properly, which would be fun and increase the atmosphere and supporters.”
Great support
The thoroughbred industry hugely supported the event and some incredible horses and jockeys participated.
“We started with the event riders as they were the source of the thoroughbreds and it was quite simply an incredible reaction once they knew the format. Almost everyone we asked said yes (including Olympians Cathal Daniels and Sam Watson) and were excited to show what they had achieved with their ex-racehorses.”
All the eventers already had a horse to ride, the biggest challenge was to find 10 spare thoroughbreds for the jockeys.
“Not everyone wants to give up their mounts,” explains Sarah, “but there were some competitors – like Michael McNally who retrains lots of ex-racehorses – who supplied us a few reliable mounts, along with some others who generously brought along theirs especially for the evening. Jockeys’ agent Kevin O’Ryan and his wife, Angela, came on board and helped us source half of them, while Treo Eile board member Patrick Mullins found the rest.
“Again, the reaction was all positive, and I think they recognised this was a much-needed showcase for the sport.
“The jockeys were brilliant and all gave their time in the spirit of the event. We thought they’d want to try the horses we’d sourced for them, but many had show jumped in their younger days (Paul Carberry is now a Grand Prix show jumper and Joseph O’Brien a European bronze medallist), so were happy to turn up and ride them on the night. They displayed brilliant horsemanship and challenged the eventers in the speed round.”
Following such success, Treo Eile is hoping to make the event an annual one.
“People are saying it could be Ireland’s mini Olympia which is a very exciting prospect,” says Sarah. “Others want to show off the other disciplines that thoroughbreds compete in, such as dressage or showing. We want to build on what we’ve achieved so far in celebrating the versatility of the thoroughbred, with the overarching aim to encourage more ex-racehorses to be retrained.”
According to Sarah, the racing and breeding industry were also very supportive of the initiative, and by sponsoring and partnering with Treo Eile they managed to both raise awareness and add funds to help keep the show on the road.
Having just appointed its first employee, Treo Eile plans to start thoroughbred leagues in dressage, show jumping and eventing, rewarding the highest achievers with cash prizes, making it all the more attractive to retrain a racehorse.
Horses are an expensive hobby/business, and the research Treo Eile have done suggests a few decent prizes would go a long way.
List of horses for retraining
The Treo Eile website will soon include a unique mechanism for racehorse trainers and owners to list their horses available for retraining. It makes sense for interested retrainers to look through a list of horses and filter it down depending on their requirements and expectations.
“We want to encourage new people to take on an ex-racehorse and plan to roll out advisory events and clinics on aspects of retraining/choosing a suitable horse. Retraining takes a degree of knowledge and patience, so investing in this will bring better long-term outcomes in the matchmaking process for both owner and retrainers.”
There is tremendous momentum for retraining in Ireland at the moment. With industry backing from leading farms and bodies, Sarah and Treo Eile can make significant inroads into this critical area.
For more information, visit www.treoeile.com or contact Sarah on 087 273-9800.
Sarah Sands has a background in marketing and works as a business consultant within racing and bloodstock as well as being co-founder of Treo Eile.
Retraining thoroughbreds for a second career is a respectful way the modern industry can support its off-track athletes.
Established in 2020, Treo Eile is a not-for-profit organisation assisting racehorse trainers and owners to rehome and retrain these often young thoroughbreds once their racetrack careers are complete.
The hugely successful Treo Eile Pro/Celeb Show Jumping Classic was held at Jag Equestrian in December. Celebrity riders and jockeys teamed up with young riders for the challenge and put on a thrilling competition won by an all-female team; the Seabiscuits headed up by racing legend Katie Walsh.
Idea behind Treo Eile
The idea to establish Treo Eile followed a seminar on aftercare run by the Women’s Irish Network for Racing (WINR). According to Sarah, it was clear there was a passion for the topic and that many people were already doing something in the space.
“We planned to try to bring everyone together via an organisation; to help connect, educate and hopefully match horses with the right people. Godolphin was first to support us as it’s an especially important topic for them. Diana Cooper [strategic advisor charities, Godolphin] was a great source of inspiration and encouragement. She has a couple of retrained horses, so was always very positive.”
Given the last year or so, Sarah and colleagues were limited in fundraising opportunities due to COVID-19.
“We figured an arena-based celebration of the thoroughbred might work close to Christmas, especially as many events had been cancelled. It had been heartening to watch such great results for thoroughbreds in eventing all year, so we knew there was already a batch of horses that were able to jump 90cm-plus.
Treo Eile Pro/Celeb Classic winning team the Seabiscuits L-R: Cliodhna Brennan on Road to Emmaus, Lucy McCarthy on Little Field Clover, Katie Walsh on General Principle and Sarah Wardell on Whydah. \ Louise O'Brien
“We arrived at the team format to marry the equestrian worlds and then it was one of the kids involved in the Classic pony competition who had the brainwave to include a young rider on the team to add some spice. We thought the children would show the adults how to do a jump-off (speed round) properly, which would be fun and increase the atmosphere and supporters.”
Great support
The thoroughbred industry hugely supported the event and some incredible horses and jockeys participated.
“We started with the event riders as they were the source of the thoroughbreds and it was quite simply an incredible reaction once they knew the format. Almost everyone we asked said yes (including Olympians Cathal Daniels and Sam Watson) and were excited to show what they had achieved with their ex-racehorses.”
All the eventers already had a horse to ride, the biggest challenge was to find 10 spare thoroughbreds for the jockeys.
“Not everyone wants to give up their mounts,” explains Sarah, “but there were some competitors – like Michael McNally who retrains lots of ex-racehorses – who supplied us a few reliable mounts, along with some others who generously brought along theirs especially for the evening. Jockeys’ agent Kevin O’Ryan and his wife, Angela, came on board and helped us source half of them, while Treo Eile board member Patrick Mullins found the rest.
“Again, the reaction was all positive, and I think they recognised this was a much-needed showcase for the sport.
“The jockeys were brilliant and all gave their time in the spirit of the event. We thought they’d want to try the horses we’d sourced for them, but many had show jumped in their younger days (Paul Carberry is now a Grand Prix show jumper and Joseph O’Brien a European bronze medallist), so were happy to turn up and ride them on the night. They displayed brilliant horsemanship and challenged the eventers in the speed round.”
Following such success, Treo Eile is hoping to make the event an annual one.
“People are saying it could be Ireland’s mini Olympia which is a very exciting prospect,” says Sarah. “Others want to show off the other disciplines that thoroughbreds compete in, such as dressage or showing. We want to build on what we’ve achieved so far in celebrating the versatility of the thoroughbred, with the overarching aim to encourage more ex-racehorses to be retrained.”
According to Sarah, the racing and breeding industry were also very supportive of the initiative, and by sponsoring and partnering with Treo Eile they managed to both raise awareness and add funds to help keep the show on the road.
Having just appointed its first employee, Treo Eile plans to start thoroughbred leagues in dressage, show jumping and eventing, rewarding the highest achievers with cash prizes, making it all the more attractive to retrain a racehorse.
Horses are an expensive hobby/business, and the research Treo Eile have done suggests a few decent prizes would go a long way.
List of horses for retraining
The Treo Eile website will soon include a unique mechanism for racehorse trainers and owners to list their horses available for retraining. It makes sense for interested retrainers to look through a list of horses and filter it down depending on their requirements and expectations.
“We want to encourage new people to take on an ex-racehorse and plan to roll out advisory events and clinics on aspects of retraining/choosing a suitable horse. Retraining takes a degree of knowledge and patience, so investing in this will bring better long-term outcomes in the matchmaking process for both owner and retrainers.”
There is tremendous momentum for retraining in Ireland at the moment. With industry backing from leading farms and bodies, Sarah and Treo Eile can make significant inroads into this critical area.
For more information, visit www.treoeile.com or contact Sarah on 087 273-9800.
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