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Right: Over the hurdles at Warrnambool racecourse, Victoria, Australia.


Arguments supporting horse jump racing

1. There is no cruelty involved in horse jumps racing
It has been claimed that jumps racing is not cruel. Many supporters of jumps racing claim that jumping is something which horses do naturally and that many enjoy doing.
Jumps jockey, Steven Pateman, has stated, 'These horses love to jump. You couldn't make them do it if they didn't want to. We just have to get the message out there.'
It has also been claimed that far from being cruel, jumps racing increases the useful lives of many horses that have previously run on the flat and may have otherwise been put down when their initial racing career was at an end.
This point has been made by jumps trainer Eric Musgrove who has defended the sport, explaining that hurdle and steeplechase racing extends the careers of many thoroughbreds.
A case in point was Karasi, a former flat performer good enough to win a Geelong Cup.
When switched to jumps, he won three Japanese Grand Jumps. Eris Musgrove is also preparing Conzeal, another horse which is enjoying a career resurgence over the jumps. Conzeal, a former moderate New South Wales stayer, may have had a very short life once his days of flat racing were over.
The horse's former trained, Paul Perry, has stated, 'He was finished as a racehorse, he had a very limited future. If he didn't go on to the jumps, he could have ended up anywhere - but we sent him to Eric[Musgrove] and he's really taken to the jumps.'
Musgrove has said that any move to ban jumps racing would impact on horses such as Karasi and Conzeal, plus the many people directly employed in the sport.
Trainer Robbie Laing has made the same point. Mr Laing has stated, 'It provides a second lease of life for animals that would otherwise be pensioned off ... Without jumps racing many of them would be sent to the knackers' yard as people in the countryside are struggling to look after the horses that they've got already because of the drought ... There are around 400 jumps horses in training in Victoria and their future would be very uncertain ... trying to find homes for all them would be impossible.'

2. The current spate of deaths is an anomaly
It has been claimed that the recent increase in horse deaths and injuries associated with jumps racing is an anomaly, not typical of recent trens nor of the sport as a whole. The latest figures from RVL show a drop in falls and fatalities in jumps races over the past three years up to 2008.
The chairman of the Australian Jumps Racing Association, Rodney Rae, has claimed yesterday that Victoria is a 'world leader' in safety for horses and riders in jumps races. Mr Rae has claimed that the incidence of falls has decreased by 34% in the past four years and fatalities by 21%. Mr Rae has stated, 'People can have their opinions on jumps but I think we have to take a deep breath and focus on the facts.'
Mr Rae also added, 'What we're saying is that periods shouldn't be looked at in isolation.'
There are those who claim that this situation has even been endorsed by the Victorian president of the RSPCA, Dr Hugh Wirth. Dr Wirth has stated, 'With the old-style jumps, the injury and mortality rate was increasing but with the new modular jumps, it appears to be exactly the opposite.' (It should be noted that Dr Wirth is currently opposed to jumps racing.)
Robert Smerdon, the trainer of reigning champion jumper Some Are Bent has said of the calls to ban jumps racing, 'I think it is a bit of a knee-jerk reaction because since they have modified the jumps, they are more modest and a lot safer. The incidence of falls is down this year, however the incidence of fatalities unfortunately is up.
But overall the modular jumps have been a success and our safety record is the best in the world.'

3. Safety measures have been put in place and more are planned
A whole range of safety measures have been put in place to ensure that jumps racing is as safe as possible.
Robert Smerdon, the trainer of reigning champion jumper Some Are Bent, has explained that the hurdles and steeples in use today are much safer because they are made primarily of nylon brush and enable a racehorse to jump through rather than over the obstacle.
The industry acknowledges the current increase in deaths and injuries and is addressing the problem.
The chairman of the Australian Jumps Racing Association, Rodney Rae, has said he did not necessarily subscribe to the theory that the smaller modular hurdle and steeplechase fences introduced a few years ago had made jumps races more dangerous because horses were going faster and did not have to jump as cleanly as they did with the old-style obstacles.
Mr Rae added that while speed may not be the main factor, the statistics relating to steeplechases, with the bigger fences, were better than hurdle races.
Mr Rae explained, 'The truth is that since 2005, there has been significant improvement with falls and fatalities but in the last couple of months, the statistics have been disappointing.
Now, whether there are specific reasons for this, such as firm tracks or jockeys riding too tightly, is something we have to sit down and work out.'
An additional set of safety measures is being proposed which it is hoped will further increase the safety of the sport. On July 1, 2008, The Australian Jumps Racing Association (AJRA) has presented a nine-point plan to Racing Victoria Ltd officials suggesting means of further improving safety.
The AJRA's recommendations are that the white sighter line on all jumps to be repainted and made wider; that RVL amend its track preparation policy to make all tracks used for jumps racing no firmer than a dead four; that stewards consider a wider range of issues when assessing jumps racing incidents and racing matters; that riders' skill courses be expanded and more coaching of riders be undertaken and that workshops be conducted for trainers.
Tha AJRA also recommended that additional jumps be added in an attempt to slow the pace of races; that jumps be located next to the inside fence, rather than the outside; that the wings marking the approach to jumps be set at the same angle on all courses and that jockeys be given more encouragement to retire horses from races when they are out of contention.
Referring to the plan to repaint the sighter lines and make them wider jumps trainer, Robbie Laing has stated, 'The sighter lines are very important; they've doubled the size of them and repainted them and they've all jumped faultless today. Horses don't have the best eyesight and some of the jockeys said the white lines had all but gone...'

4. Horse jumps racing is an important industry
It has also been claimed that jumps racing is economically important to many people who work within it.
The chairman of the Australian Jumps Racing Association, Rodney Rae, has argued that the economic argument for continuing the sport is strong. Mr Rae has indicated that hundreds of stable staff would lose their jobs if the sport was wound up.
It has also been claimed that a ban would hurt the economy of rural towns such as Warrnambool, which has a large training centre and a popular jumps meeting that brings in around $15 million in tourism revenue per annum.
A spokesperson for Flemington Racecourse told the ABC's 7.30 Report, 'Jumps racing first started at Warrnambool in about 1846. We've been operating at our course for over 150 years now. The [Grand National] carnival delivers about $13 million of economic impact over that week.'
Rodney Rae has further stated of jumps racing, 'It's part of our history, it's parts of our social fabric and it provides a very significant economic contribution to both South Australia and Victoria.'