New Shropshire equine pool proves just champion as veteran jockey visits

The former jump jockey famously won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti whilst recovering from cancer, which mirrors the journey of Lostford Equine Rehabilitation owner Clare Ellam, who also has a positive diagnosis now after being told she had breast cancer around a year ago.

After she heard the news, she not only carried on working at the centre which she bought six years ago, but also ploughed on with plans for the £250,000, 40 metre equine pool which invited guests got to see for the first time at the opening ceremony on Sunday.

Clare has 26 years experience in equine care and said when she was diagnosed with cancer she was determined to keep on working as she believed it was the best therapy.

She said: "I just tried to keep busy, I had a great team looking after me at the hospital, wonderful support from friends and family and I kept the yard going with Amy who works for me - she has been a pillar of strength.

"My priority was and is the horses, if they are happy and well then it helps me recover from my illness because I don't have to worry about them and this project is all about them.

"It is a major investment for me but when I brought the centre I knew it would need a lot of money spending on it and now we have got it to the standard that we want.

"I have swam horses since I was 17 years old so this isn't a new idea, although up until now we have had to go out of the area to access similar facilities so it is a major boost for us and everybody is welcome to bring their horses here, use the pool and view the rest of the facilities."

Around 100 people turned out to see a demonstration of the pool by one of Clare's horses and amongst the guests were many who work in the racing industry, including Shropshire-based trainer Steven Brookshaw. He trained Grand National winner Lord Gyllene in 1997 - the year the race had to be postponed until the Monday due to an IRA bomb scare.

But it was Champion who took centre stage, the affable 74-year-old signing goody bags, posing for pictures and joking about how he hated swimming and wouldn't be taking a dip in the pool himself.

The story of him coming through cancer and winning one of the world's most famous races was made into a 1984 film called Champions, starring John Hurt. The victory was also chosen by Channel Four viewers in 2002 as one of the 100 greatest sporting moments of all time.

Amongst his other achievements were winning the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup and being made an MBE in 1982.

He didn't want to talk about himself, preferring to say how impressed he was by the new state-of-the-art facility, which features jets of water that can be used to make the horse work harder.

He said: "To be honest I wasn't expecting anything so spectacular, I thought it may have been set up in one of the fields but it is a purpose built pool in a separate area where the horse has plenty of space to move and get used to the water. They have done an amazing job and in a short space of time I believe.

"Swimming has always been good for race horses to deal with little jars, tendon strains, that sort of thing it keeps them on the move. I remember one horse I trained in a swimming pool that won 13 races so the benefits of the pool are clear.

"Everyone says how good swimming is for humans and that is the same for horses but with the jets as well it can be tailored to how hard they have to work to get down the pool depending where they are with their injury or in their rehab."

Bob doesn't train racehorses anymore but lives in Newmarket and says he sees thousands of horses every morning in the area so still feels a part of the industry.

He said: "I've ridden or trained horses most of my adult life - methods of dealing with injuries to them have moved on but some things don't change and it is great to see this centre expanding and providing such a great facility for owners, trainers or anyone who deals with horses in a county which is know for its racing heritage."