SOME of the UK’s top horseracing yards threw open their stable doors to the public today.

The historic racing centre in Middleham, near Leyburn, is home to more than 500 horses and contains the yards of 12 trainers.

Every year the Yorkshire Dales town allows the public to see behind the scenes and meet with some of the country’s most well-known horses and stable yards.

This year’s event featured some special equine guests who have retired after top racing careers.

Visitors to Ann Duffield’s Sun Hill Farm were able to meet two previous Cheltenham Festival winners, Peddlers Cross and Cinders and Ashes, both trained by Donald McCain.

At Barry Keniry’s Warwick Lodge pre-training stables visitors met two top-class dual purposes horses in Junior and Mad Moose. Junior holds the rare accolade of being a winner at both Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival. Mad Moose, perhaps more famous for his refusal to race than his success on the track, is now a winner in the dressage arena. Despite his enigmatic nature, he was a highly talented performer under both codes including finishing second in the Clarence House at Ascot.

There was also an equine-spa demonstration at Mark Johnston’s Park Farm which houses not only an indoor equine swimming pool, but also a water-walker and a treadmill. Ann Duffield’s Sun Hill Farm also showed a demonstration of its Water Treadmill in use.

After yards close their doors for the morning, the fun moved across to Low Moor in the afternoon with a schooling demonstration with local National Hunt horses being followed by an inter-yard stable staff competition. It included show jumping, gymkhana games, a gallop run (on two legs) and a tug-of-war.

This year is the first year the annual event has been organised by Racing Welfare and proceeds from the event will go towards the charity which helps those working behind the scenes in horseracing.

A proportion of the funds raised will also go to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance charity. Money was also raised during the event for the Jessica Bethell Charitable Foundation to help develop a facility for young racing staff starting their careers in Middleham.