Lockdown Memories

Five years have passed since the world cowered from a global pandemic. Life stood still as we were locked down at Jonjo O’Neill Racing and our little corner of the Cotswolds was doused in sunshine. Surrounded by horses and a few colleagues that weren’t furloughed, I was one of the lucky ones that kept working.

In December 2020, Britain rolled out its biggest vaccination program and, over time, racecourses opened up to owners and then the general public. Yet, during the interim period there was a lot of uncertainty. Here is a look back on the bizarre early days of those unprecedented times…

I led up in the Cheltenham Foxhunters’ and the lady jockeys’ hurdle on Midland Grand National day… and two days later, on March 16^th, the Aintree Grand National meeting was cancelled. We were astounded how the Festival had been allowed to happen merely days before.

March 17^th: All UK racing, point-to-pointing and sales were called off until the beginning of May, resulting in the early end to the National Hunt season.

Thirty horses started to be roughed off. The yard implemented coronavirus procedures: no riding upsides, a two-metre social distancing rule, only one person in the tack room and office, and the hostel-dwellers were asked to stay in their own hostels and not mingle.

Tommy was sent home after continuing to cough. A case of coronavirus at Hereford Racecourse meant conditional jockey Ed, who’d ridden there, stayed away for a fortnight.

There were already hand sanitiser points dotted around the yard and rubbing our hands in the gin-smelling gel became a habit. 

Brushes drying in the sun, in my mask at Fontwell and Tattersalls Sales

19^th March: First lot was shunted back to 09:00 to enable staff to go food shopping. There were empty shelves and no loo roll, but plenty of other provisions.

By now, terms like coronavirus, COVID-19, social distancing, self-isolating, furlough and lockdown were familiar. Rachel was overheard saying, ‘I've got wine, frozen pizza and IJF Monopoly so I'm all sorted.’

24^th March: All pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants closed. Becky, the landlady of the Plough, put leftover food on the wall at the bottom of the short gallop so it wasn’t thrown away. Crates of mushrooms and tomatoes, little bags of peanuts, tubs of banoffee pie, lemons, grapefruit juice, treacle tart, apple crumble, cottage pie, fish pie, wheels of camembert, baked beans.

The Olympics were postponed for a year and the Irish called off racing until at least April.

25^th March: Movement of horses still occurred but less frequently, and we socially distanced from the drivers who arrived to do pick-ups. A mare I looked after, Notawordofalie, a Kelso bumper winner, left for Coolmore Stud in Ireland.

For the first time ever, the Racing Post stopped printing paper issues and became available only on the app and online version.

Farriers had a special pass to continue shoeing and for veterinary emergencies, we used a local practise. When the initial big lockdown ended, more routine veterinary procedures were able to occur again.

Amazon and other deliveries were left up by the main gates. During work hours, we gathered up boxes and parcels when driving past.

31^st March was many of my colleagues’ final day before they started furlough. Lots of horses went out on holidays in warm turnout rugs. Dirty stable rugs and sheets were piled high. Lead ropes, bandages, fibregee pads, webbing headcollars also awaited washing, as well as Poly Pads and number cloths from the tack room. Brushes were washed and left out in the sun to dry.

The total number of horses left in the yard was seventeen, fifteen of which were being ridden, one was on the walker and one on box rest.

1^st April: The Punchestown Festival was cancelled.

2^nd April: The British Horseracing Authority cancelled all racing for the foreseeable future. The next day, over fifty more horses were turned out in rugs without being roughed off because it was so sunny. Two Flat horses remained in training.

With my three lots now out, I started to wash the stable rugs. The majority of the yard staff were Romanian so, unable to fly home, they were drafted into the maintenance team. The head lads fed the fields twice daily – a big task with ninety-three out. The Boss’ sons Jonj and AJ rode out one lot each and then worked around the estate. Jonj proved very able at tractor driving, chain harrowing and mowing. He was crowned Champion Conditional in a virtual award ceremony.

The washing machines sloshed and hummed continuously. When the rugs dried, I spent hours folding and storing them. In the afternoons, I did up the three horses in the barn.

The roads were the eerily quiet. No rumbling quarry lorries. No twice daily rush hour. In contrast, footpaths, green lanes and bridle ways were busy with extra footfall as people walked locally on the permitted hour outside.

11^th April: Having used up forty litres of non-bio detergent, I pulled the last stable rugs out of the washing machine. Every rug had drip-dried on the fence up at the helipad or on the ‘winner’s circle’ hedge in the first yard and then completely dried in the two drying rooms.

We spent all morning out in the fields, stripping off the horses so I now had a big pile of dirty outdoor rugs to wash. I wasn’t without a job for long.

My favourite task was taking photos of the holidaying horses, which were then forwarded to their owners. With a list of horses and the fields they were in, I was accompanied by my little terrier Daisy. It was the perfect way to kill a couple of hours. The early summer undergrowth tumbled with greenness, matted with wildflowers and the buzz of bees. Beneath skies of faultless blue, the horses grew barrel-bellied, soporific and lazy. Their small herds often lay down, as cute as oversized teddy bears’ picnics, some even snacking on grass as they sunbathed.

22^nd April: I power-hosed the final turn-out rugs, feeling a mixture of pity and relief to have finished. Eleven rugs were by the helipad and twelve on the hedge. Thankfully, the drying process was again assisted by the endless sunshine.

Social distancing continued, demonstrated when John was handed the prize for April’s Employee of the Month at arm’s length for all his recent hard work.

Social media was wealth of entertainment. Racing Welfare’s singing contest, the Furlong Factor was a cheerful initiative between trainers, grooms and jockeys. The heats were amusing, particularly the recording of Luke Harvey in a very bubbly bath. Lambourn trainer Jamie Osborne and his team needed to be saluted for the wonderful music videos that included a trumpet, familiar National Hunt faces, a guitar, dancing, great tunes and fantastic choreography. Newmarket-based Rebel Racing and their trainer Richard Spencer also put up amazing reels and photos of their daily life under COVID-19 rules and restrictions.

At the beginning of May, AJ created a drone video to commemorate the key workers of the NHS. He lowered the blades of the mower to buzz-cut the anagram into the grass. The exceptional footage zoomed out, spanning around the Jackdaws Castle estate, which resembled a crazy quilt of yellowy greens and earthy browns.

8^th May: For the 75^th VE Day celebrations, Jonjo and Jacqui held a socially distanced barbecue at the helipad with food, drink and music.

19^th May: I completed my COVID-19 Racing Industry Participant Information via the BHA. Racing wasn’t scheduled to start again but it was important to be prepared.

1^st June: Racing in the UK resumed with a behind-closed-doors Flat meeting at Newcastle.

6^th and 7^th June: The 2000 Guineas and 1000 Guineas, the Flat season’s first two classics were run behind-closed-doors at Newmarket.   

Masked at Goodwood and the first day back jumping at Southwell and a new colour bag procedure at Ascot

15^th June: Royal Ascot was staged behind closed doors. Instead of the usual hundreds of thousands of attendees, it was merely hundreds, owners weren’t allowed and the Queen didn’t attend for the first ever time during her reign. On entering the course, everyone had a temperature check, restaurants were made into jockeys’ changing rooms and all races were limited to twenty-four runners.

1st July: I'd never been that enthusiastic to go to Southwell but today, I couldn't wait. The last time I’d been racing was in March, which seemed a lifetime ago. Before the lorry park, there was a pit stop where we had health questions, temperature checks and our stable passes scanned. A jade wristband signified we’d been given the all-clear: green for go.

We had to wear masks when unloading the horses and leading up, but could go unmasked inside the stables (this later changed to wearing a mask at all times). I’d bought a flowery mask instead of the BHA-issued black one. There were a few jokes about gimp masks, words were muffled and it was easy to feel smothered in the heat but it was OK to wear them, especially if it meant we were racing again!

Instead of signing for each runner in the weighing room, declaring was now performed remotely by the office, which was one change that stayed in post-COVID. Tables were set up outside so colour bags didn’t have to be taken into the weighing room. Blinkers and visors were kept with the bridles instead of going in the colour bag for the jockeys to weigh out with (another change that remained).

The stable yard resembled Tesco's with a one-way system and many hand sanitizer dispensers. The free packed lunch and a nine-race card were very exciting! There were obviously no crowds, so apart from the horses, stable staff, trainers and jockeys, it was eerily quiet.

I led up Tidal Watch in the second race and Lauren led up Extreme Force in the eighth. In the paddock, spray-painted onto the mowed grass were large Ts and Js so trainers and jockeys socially distanced. We didn’t have a winner but it was lovely to be back around my racing friends – we obviously couldn't hug in greeting but chatted and laughed together.

4^th July: Originally scheduled for June 6^th, the Epsom Derby was run a month late and won by Serpentine.

The Plough reopened, indicated by the sandwich boards being back out on the roadside. By early evening, a few staff were ordering socially distanced pints. Greedy’s, the local fish ‘n’ chip shop in Stow-on-the-Wold, started deliveries, passing clammy, vinegary paper parcels across the fence of the Plough’s car park.

6^th July: At Uttoxeter, Perfect City was our first winner of the season. There was no trophy presentation, just a glass vase in bubble wrap handed to me on behalf of the owners. It was odd to have a winner with jubilant smiles hidden behind masks, quietness instead of clapping and no ceremony or celebration, but a win was a win.

24^th July: Face coverings became mandatory in shops and supermarkets, and was the new normal.

Checking the fields, PPE when riding out and masked at Haydock