Jockeys dive in as Easterby counts the cost of flood
Graham Green, the Racing Post
06 July 2007
ALL-WEATHER gallops and equine swimming pools are often part and parcel of modern-day training facilities, but never before have they come as one, writes Graham Green.
Mick Easterby has the claim to fame he could do without after the recent storms transformed his gallops into a playground for aquatic pursuits for the workforce at his North Yorkshire stable.
Making the most of their opportunity on Wednesday were amateur riders Oliver Greenall and Lee Wheatley, together with apprentice Shaun Bushby, who, with encouragement from Easterby, dived in after stripping down to their boxer shorts.
However, while happy to keep his staff entertained, Easterby estimates the cost of the flooding that has washed away his seven-furlong all-weather gallop and left 300 acres of wheat under two feet of water, could be as much as £300,000.
Easterby said: "It has been horrific. The water came over the becks and caused untold damage.
"We have had nine inches of rain in the past fortnight and it has been unbelievable, you couldn't image the storm and hailstones we had on Sunday. It's like a sea out there. We are on low land, in a valley, and it used to flood in the old days and I thought I had remedied it, but obviously I hadn't."
Easterby added: "We haven't been able to get the horses out so I told the lads they might as well have a swim."
Greenall said: "It was a bit of a laugh, but quite cold and we were only in there for five minutes. Mick was there, encouraging us to get in. We tried to get him to join us, but he wouldn't. He said he might go in tomorrow!"
