Stable Lass by Gemma Hogg

Author:Gemma Hogg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK

10

Middleham and Me

I loved working at Tupgill Park, so when I found out that the owner, a man called Colin Armstrong, had given Micky notice on the yard, I was heartbroken. Colin wanted to diversify into things like restaurants and tourism and with our yard being the first place you came to when entering Tupgill Park, it was the obvious place to develop. There were still three other trainers in situ, so for the time being its racing heritage would remain intact.

‘We could never replace Tupgill,’ I declared dramatically when Crooky broke the news. ‘It’s the most gorgeous place on earth.’

‘What a load of bollocks,’ said Crooky. ‘We’re completely surrounded by places like this, and if we move to the yard I think we’re moving to, you’ll be able to walk to work in about thirty seconds.’

Almost instantly my affection for Tupgill Park evaporated, and with the prospect of my commute being cut from ten minutes to less than a minute, all thoughts turned to the nearby sprawling metropolis of Middleham.

‘Which yard?’ I asked hopefully.

‘Oakwood, I think. Walter Bentley’s old yard. The one on the East Witton Road.’

Oakwood Stables, which is where we are based today, is on the road leading towards Masham and is about two hundred yards off the square. It’s a bit smaller than the yard at Tupgill and, instead of having two long rows of stables, it has three shorter ones that run parallel and another row running across one end. At the other end of the stables sits Micky’s house, and immediately in front of that, built into the middle row of stables, is the office, which is upstairs, and the tack room, which is below it.

Crooky’s estimation as to how long it would take me to walk there from Castle House was wildly optimistic. It would take me at least two minutes.

A few days later the move to Oakwood Stables was confirmed, and because the vast majority of us lived in Middleham, everyone was thrilled. Since arriving I’d spent the majority of my waking hours at Tupgill, so as well as cutting my commute down, it meant I would finally have an opportunity to settle into the town properly and make it my home.

For someone who loves horses, Middleham is a Mecca. Racehorses have been trained in the area for just over two hundred and fifty years, and there are daily reminders of the town’s history. The first man to train in the area was a former jockey called Isaac Cape, who is credited as being the first professional trainer in the history of horse racing. He has a lot to answer for. Isaac first set up shop in 1765, and, like Micky, he started off at Tupgill. The yard Isaac Cape trained out of is where James Bethell is now based so, despite the yard’s age, it’s as busy and successful as it ever was.

One of the most successful trainers during that early period was a man called John ‘Crying Jackie’ Mangle. He’d been Isaac Cape’s apprentice jockey, and used to cry whenever he lost.

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