Grand National trainer blames ‘ignorant’ protesters for horse’s death

Animal Rising, who were behind Saturday’s protest, said their actions were ‘aimed to prevent exactly that from happening’ following the death of Hill Sixteen

The trainer of the horse who died during Saturday’s Grand National race says “ignorant” protesters are to blame for its death.

Hill Sixteen fell at the first fence after the race was delayed by more than 15 minutes due to animal rights protesters attempting to enter the course.

The animal’s trainer, Sandy Thomson, said it was “hyper” due to the protests and explained it was the first time it had fallen in its career.

Three horses died during this year’s Grand National meet - with activist group Animal Rising telling Sky News that the protest was "aimed to prevent exactly that from happening".

Hill Sixteen was put down after breaking its neck in the fall and Thompson said efforts to calm the horse down following the delay did not work.

"He just hasn’t taken off at the first fence - he’s got so bloody hyper because of the carry on," Thomson told the Racing Post.

"Unfortunately, it’s a statistic we’re all trying to avoid. He’s jumped round here twice and never had a bother. I don’t know when he last fell.

"I know how ignorant these people are and they haven’t a bloody clue. They just cause more problems than they ever solve."

Over 100 protesters were arrested on Saturday while Dark Raven and Envoye Special also died during the three-day meet. The British Horseracing Authority said it would “analyse” the races to understand what happened.

Animal Rising said: "Firstly, we want to offer our deepest condolences to anyone connected to Hill Sixteen or who has been impacted by their death. Animal Rising’s actions at the Grand National aimed to prevent exactly that from happening.

"Horse deaths and injuries are an unavoidable consequence of the way we use animals for sport, not dissimilar to the way we cause billions of animal deaths in our food system.

"The only way to prevent more harm from coming to these beautiful creatures is by completely re-evaluating our connection to them and finding a way of loving them that doesn’t put them in harm’s way.

"We’d welcome dialogue with Sandy Thomson or Jimmy Fyffe about how to move forwards together and really transform our relationship to horses and, indeed, to all animals and nature."