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HURDLE DESIGN
Some information about Hurdles and our work to further improve the design of hurdles on British racecourses
Why do we have hurdles as well as fences?
Hurdling and Steeplechasing are very different disciplines for Jump racehorses. Whilst both are obviously obstacles that need to be jumped by a horse during the running of a race, the focus is on efficiency and speed over a hurdle, whereas with the larger fence the emphasis is on jumping.
What are traditional hurdles made from?
A traditional hurdle will be made from an ash (oak is also permitted if ash is not available) frame with five parallel horizontal bars. In total, it will be three feet six inches high but, when in position in the ground, its top bar will stand 37 inches above the surface. Stuffed with birch, it has a take off board (fixed across the bottom two rails), a top rail and legs, which are all padded and coloured orange to give horse and rider a clear site line as they approach the obstacle. A single hurdle unit costs around £200 to buy, and racecourses will typically have a stock of 80 to 100 units, with around ten to twenty requiring replacement or repair following the average day’s racing.
Why are we looking to improve them?
Whilst the improvements in padding on the top rail and legs mean that traditional hurdles are much, much safer than they were a few decades ago, the BHA is always looking at new methods for the construction of obstacles that can be shown to demonstrate improvement for the welfare of the horse.
How is BHA going about doing this?
The Authority is currently looking at an innovative new design for hurdles where the frame, rather than being stuffed with birch, is covered with a single piece of highly durable industrial foam that will fit into the framework of the obstacle. Whilst we believe this might reduce the incidence of injury to horses that strike into a hurdle, the foam will also distribute the force of any impact over the entire structure of the hurdle, thereby limiting the opportunity for damage to the obstacle itself.
How is this new style of hurdle being tested?
The foam pad hurdle has been in development for about two years, and is now being trialled at several trainers’ yards and other facilities around the country. Like any new innovation that comes into a sport or industry, it will take time for people to get used to and embrace it, but so far the feedback from trainers and jockeys has been very positive. It’s also very important that the groundstaff responsible for moving and erecting hurdles at racecourses are happy with them and, as they are lighter and quicker to move around, it is hoped that this will make life more efficient for Clerks of the Course and their teams, too.
When can we expect to see them out on the racecourses?
Although we don’t expect to see every racecourse adopting the foam pad hurdle straight away, it is hoped – subject to the remaining trials being successful – that they will begin to come into use at certain racecourses over the next couple of years. For safety reasons, horses wouldn’t be able to run competitively over them unless they had schooled over a similar obstacle first. We hope this might be the beginning of a key innovation for Jump racing, both in terms of welfare for the participant and flexibility for the teams responsible for preparing a racecourse for each fixture.
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