Leading West Country point-to-point trainer Dean Summersby and his family yesterday opened the doors to their Little Acres yard in Devon at an owners’ open day.
Darren Edwards, the yard’s first-choice rider, was also in attendance and he and Summersby’s daughter Charlotte popped eight of the yard’s string over schooling fences. Also out for a quick leg stretch was Chosen Lucky, one of the yard’s standard bearers in recent seasons, although he is rising 12 and his future is undecided.
Summersby (pictured above in centre), who has about 17 horses to run, said: “Chosen Lucky has won 14 races and owes us nothing. He might run once or twice, but it’s time for others to stand up and be counted.”
Summersby chats horses with owners at his open day
This week Summersby is in Newmarket undergoing a trainer’s module before gaining a licence to run horses under Rules. He said of that decision: “I won’t be applying for a licence until April or May next year, and we’ll just start off quietly with a few summer jumpers. We’ll divide the yard up and Emma [his wife] will carry on with pointers.”
Summersby started training pointers in 2006 with the simple aim of riding his own horses in races, but he gradually built up the training side while farming duck and quail. The poultry side of his business has been impacted by avian flu and increased costs for feeding and heating the birds, and firmed up his decision to aim for a licence. “You only live once,” he said.
His team of pointers for the coming season include nine-year-old Dorrells Pierji, who has raced for Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton. Summersby said: “He’s an ex-139-rated hurdler who has freshened up since he arrived. He’s doing something different every day and loving it.”
Dorrells Pierji, who has won six races and joined the yard for this season
Six-year-old Liberty Rock won maiden and restricted races last season and “can hopefully go on up through the gears,” while five-year-old Catch The Monarch “has a really high knee action” who despite that won a maiden on good to firm ground last season, but should be seen to better effect on a softer surface.
Catch The Monarch makes a good shape over a baby fence
The yard is also home to the unfortunately-named six-year-old Russian Invasion – who was named long before Ukraine came under attack earlier this year. Summersby has been so concerned the name could offend people he attempted to change it, but was told that was not possible. Russian Invasion did not run last season, and the trainer said: “He’s accident prone, but if everything comes together he could be very good,” pointing out that the six-year-old finished second to Twig when last seen out in May 2021. Twig has since won two hunters’ chases and a handicap chase, and on Saturday he was second in a novices’ hurdle at Cheltenham.
Russian Invasion, who, despite the name, could turn out to be a good guy
Trainers have two Cornish meetings to aim at before Christmas and Summersby will be saddling horses at Great Trethew on the opening weekend of the season – November 5 & 6 – and then at Wadebridge on December 11. Among horses he expects to run are consistent eight-year-old Party Tunes and five-year-old Roc The Motion, a maiden who should be winning soon. He suffered in a freak incident at Vauterhill in May when a rival clipped a marker post which shot up and pierced Roc The Motion in the chest, narrowly missing his wind pipe. A spectator handed Edwards a scarf to staunch the injury, and five months later there is not a mark on the horse.
Melvyn, a six-year-old who showed promise in two runs for Tom Malone, and is still a maiden
Russian Invasion is washed off by the trainer after schooling under Darren Edwards