World Horse Welfare Statement in response to the Grand National 2024
"It’s certainly good news that all horses made it home safely in the Grand National."
Posted on 13/04/2024

It’s certainly good news that all horses made it home safely in the Grand National. Today was a true spectacle for all the right reasons, and showed that responsible riding and the changes Aintree made to improve safety did not detract from the race. While it will obviously take a few years to be able to truly assess the impact of the latest changes, today was an encouraging start.
As independent welfare advisors to the British Horseracing Authority, we support Aintree in making evidence-based changes, but the tragic deaths of Giovinco and Pikar on Friday are a clear reminder of the importance of the Jump Race Risk Model to lead further changes to make this and other jump races safer.
No fatality can ever be accepted as a consequence of racing and it is in racing’s power to continually and vigorously pursue improvements, and we look forward to supporting them in this where we can.
Roly Owers, Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare
Topics
Related News

World Horse Welfare welcomes FEI decision on NSAIDs
Leading equine charity welcomes FEI decision on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

World Horse Welfare Statement in response to the Grand National 2023
“Yesterday was a very sad day,” said Roly Owers, Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare, responding to the events at the 3-day Grand National meet.
Recommended Blog Posts

A (nearly) century long commitment
Ending the long-distance transport of horses for slaughter.

We catch up with gentle giant Seamus in his new home
Rehomer Nikky tells us what life is like with Clydesdale Seamus and how he is settling in with his new companion Puddin.

Our London Marathon runners 2025
We catch up with the six runners taking on this epic event for our charity to find out how their training is going.
Enjoy reading stories like this?
Join over 65,000 other horse lovers and sign up for our email newsletter

Join over 65,000 other horse lovers and sign up for our email newsletter
Sign me up now