Winter is on the way and as the temperatures drop, the horse racing fans out there are looking forward to the jump racing season – now is the time to start studying form, get a new Irish flat cap like this shamrockgift.com/mens-clothing/irish-flat-caps and head off out to watch the spectacular sport of jump racing around the UK…
Although racing does take place during the summer months, this tends to be flat racing as the ground is not as soft in the summer for the landing, making injury more likely. The National Hunt fixtures tend to be throughout the winter months – famous jump racing takes place at Prestbury Park in Cheltenham with the Gold Cup festival attracting thousands of visitors, and of course the Grand National at Aintree which is held towards the end of the jump racing season.
The horses that race in jump racing also differ from those that run in the flat races. Horses that take part in jump racing need to be bigger, with more strength and stamina than their flat racing cousins who are built primarily for speed. With fences to jump as well as ditches to navigate their way around, including the famous ‘chair’ which is at Aintree and is 5 foot 3 inches high, it is easy to see why the types of horses will be different.
Jump racing horses tend to also have longer careers – this makes them easier to assess as they become more well known over the years, and as they go through longer careers, a horse can change dramatically.