redrum

Red Rum and the dream of a teenage girl

It started in 1975 when I was fourteen: another Birkdale Summer Holiday, this time helping out my cousin Kate all day at McCain´s Stables, the stable where at that time the great Red Rum was trained. His greatest fame was yet to come, he "only" won the National twice when I came there first, and we had to wait until 1977 to see him break every record, being the first horse ever to win the Grand National THREE times... Even after all these years, I still cherish these special weeks, realising that this was something that would happen to no other Dutch girl, with no racehorse experience at all, and that I was very priviliged. Counting back I must have been there for about four summers in a row, also seeing Red Rum´s bad luck getting to him when in 1978 he was injured and retired from racing. Back home in Holland I kept an enormous scrap book with all the newspaper cuttings about Red Rum and his performances sent to me by friends and relatives, and every article I could collect.

McCain´s horses coming back from the beach (1982)	A winter visit to Birkdale in 1982 meeting my old friend Red Rum	McCain´s Stable Yard
I wrote down the training scheme of the racehorses during the summer of 1976 and drew a map of the stable yard with all the horses. NORMAL WORKING WEEK 07.30 h Mucking out, brushing, tacking up 08.00 h First lot riding until 9.30, tacking down, brushing, feeding 10.00 h Breakfast for the stable lads and girls 10.45 h Mucking out, brushing, tacking up 11.00 h Taking out second lot till 12.30, tacking down, brushing, feeding Depending on the amount of horses, a third lot may go out. Three to five horses in every lot. 16.00 h Mucking out, brushing, feeding till 18.00 h. MONDAYS - beach - canter TUESDAYS - sandhills or sea WEDNESDAYS - beach - gallop THURSDAYS - the roads: walk and trot FRIDAYS - beach - canter SATURDAYS - beach - gallop SUNDAYS - resting day After the morning ride the horses get a well-filled haynet or a slice of hey of appr. 10 cm. Also a bucket of water. The same after brushing down and mucking out in the evening. Once a day, usually round 13.00 h a feed of ¾ bucket of oats-bran-Spillers' cubes mixed with hot water. Red Rum is usually on the last morning ride.

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