Behind The Stable Door: Vicki Gibbins visits Dan Horsford

Horse Racing

Sun October 11, 2026 · 14h ago

Vicki Gibbins spends time in the company of Dan Horsford to find out what makes his training operation tick.

“We do have mugs, you know,” laughs trainer Dan Horsford. “I think there are some in the dishwasher."

“I’d forgotten about the dishwasher,” smiles commentator Richard Hoiles, as he decants my tea from a paper cup to a large mug.

It’s a hive of activity at Dan Horsford’s Wiltshire base, with both meticulous BHA inspector and prying journalist welcomed with open arms on the same morning, sharing stories with visiting jockeys and friendly staff in the new owners’ facility and office.

Pictures of Robber's Bridge, Dan’s first career winner at Market Rasen, and Newbury hero Eddie My Eagle take pride of place on one wall, with Cruden’s landmark York victory finding space at the other side - at his current rate of success, Dan will have to put up more shelves.

The location is Sharpridge Farm, set within the picturesque Barbury Castle estate. The estate accounts for 2000 acres of classic English countryside, home to Alan King, the Barbury International Horse Trials and an Iron Age hillfort – depending on what takes your fancy.

A neat collection of rectangular barns make up the main yard, nestled at the base of the valley and the team have access to a variety of different gallops across the estate, including a sharp all-weather incline of four-and-a-half furlongs, innocuously named the Sharpridge Hill.

Sharpridge Farm is a place Dan knows like the back of his hand: he ran the yard for 12 years when assistant trainer to Alan King, with the satellite stable home to household names like Trueshan and Yanworth.

“Has it changed a lot since you were here with Alan?” asks Richard, as Dan gives the tour.

“It was never kitted out to be a standalone yard,” he replies. “So we’ve added the office, a racing tack room and owners’ facilities, but the footprint is still the same. I’ve always liked the big, airy barns – horses tend to keep their form here. It’s a big advantage to know the yard and has stood me in good stead for running the business.”

Dan began to investigate the possibility of a training license under his own name in 2022, leading to a chance meeting, and subsequent long-standing friendship, with Richard.

“I was told by a colleague at ITV that Dan was thinking of starting out on his own and was asked if I could look at some numbers,” explains Richard.

“I don’t know how people do it alone. It made for miserable reading," laughs Dan.

“At the time, I felt like I was raining on your parade, but it would have been a struggle,” agrees Richard.

"I entered negotiations for Sharpridge with the estate, but I was always clear that it would need leniency for the first few years and only rent part of the barn initially, with the option of adding more boxes as I went along,” continues Dan. “They said they were impressed with the business plan, but financially, they’d had a better offer.”

Sunrise first lot at Barbary pic.twitter.com/Xf9ahTVHxd
— Dan Horsford (@DHorsfordRacing) October 10, 2026

The ‘better offer’ was from Rupert Martin, founder of electrical company Dextra Lighting, and prolific National Hunt owner, best known for his association with successful hurdler Dextra Dove.

“Six months later, I was still working for Alan and saddling a horse at Ludlow. I received a phone call from a number I didn’t recognise. They called me again when I was in the paddock and again on the way home, when I finally answered.

“It was the letting agent for Sharpridge. He said ‘we were impressed with your business plan, but your issue was financial; Rupert Martin doesn’t have a financial issue but he needs a trainer - can we make the connection?’ It was a no-brainer, I spoke to Rupert the same evening and it was a done deal from that moment on."

Dan may hold the role as salaried trainer for Rupert and his wife Jenny, both enthusiastic supporters and partners in the business, but the doors of Sharpridge Farm remain wide open to outside owners.

“We’re very lucky to be backed by Rupert and Jenny,” says Dan. “Rupert is interested without being interfering and they celebrate every success, not just their winners at the big tracks. They’re equally happy with a winner at Sedgefield as York."

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As I’m taken around the main barn, meeting and greeting each horse, the strong relationship between Dan and Richard is increasingly obvious, the horseman and the accountant turned commentator, a perfect, but somewhat unlikely pairing at first glance.

“So you just kept turning up?” I ask Richard, smiling.

“Yes, that’s about right,” he laughs. “Dan has the skill set; I’m just a sounding board. I love the numbers."

It’s not how Jade, Dan’s hard-working wife, describes it as she jumps off her third ride of the morning.

“They’re like best mates,” she smiles, with clear affection for the pair. “Dan speaks to Richard more than me. I’ll ring him when he’s on the way home from the races and he’ll always say he’s on the phone to Richard."

With around 25 boxes filled and horses continuing to arrive at Sharpridge Farm, Dan’s key to success is clear. It’s the individual touch and the trust placed in his smiling staff, a small team working together in the same direction and showcasing their own skills. Personalities, both human and horse, are indulged, celebrated and nurtured.

“He goes everywhere and does everything on his own,” Dan introduces Robber's Bridge as the first horse on our tour, who barely glances away from the window where he’s surveying the yard. “Jade rides him every day – he does the same work as everyone else but somewhere else on the estate.”

“When everyone comes to see him, it’s his worst day ever,” laughs Richard.

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Onto the next box, a prospective novice hurdler. “I’ve tweaked her work a bit, I was working her too hard and she was giving me the two fingers,” Dan says of the filly, with obvious affection. “She’s much happier now.”

A cuddly gelding, keen for affection as he puts his chestnut head over the neighbouring door. “We’ve worked out that he needs a fast pace, the numbers suggest he has one bout of speed that lasts a furlong and that’s it,” explains Richard.

“He loves his job and squeals when he’s jumping,” Dan describes the next horse on the row, The Lightmaker. “It was his best day ever when he made his debut at Chepstow, he walked in and reacted to the crowd like they’d all come for him.”

And that’s the Sharpridge method. Placing equal value in the personalities and the percentages, understanding the stories and the statistics and analysing the routine and the results.

“Did you always want to be dual-purpose?” I ask, curious about the direction intended for Sharpridge Farm.

“I feel you have to be dual-purpose as a smaller yard,” says Dan. “We rent the farm and if we were jumps only, how do you pay the bills during the off-season? I love both codes and it means the horses have more opportunities.”

“And the big aim?”

“It would be great to have Grade 1 winners, or more big Saturday winners and that is obviously the aim. But you see so many people struggling in the current financial climate and I know it sounds depressing, but I want to still be in business in three years.”

Given the current evidence, I’m very confident.

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