Facilities

Established in 1965, Coombelands has evolved into one of the finest private racehorse training establishments and equestrian centres in the world. With over 150 acres of maintained land surrounding the stables which can be irrigated, four all-weather gallops, five turf gallops, an equine swimming pool, an indoor canterway, outdoor show jumping, dressage arenas as well as a BHS novice standard cross country course we can guarantee outstanding private training and equestrian facilities.

Our all-weather gallops range from six to eight furlongs in distance and the varying contours of land at Coombelands provide a challenge for every racehorse that we train. Each gallop has a woodchip surface, which is rolled regularly during the day and is re-laid every three years. The gallops are also wide enough to allow three horses to work abreast.

Our base at Coombelands Racing Stables also boasts an on-site veterinary laboratory to ensure that all of our race horses stay happy and healthy.

Click on a number below to find out more information about each facility.

1 American Barns

The horses are stabled in loose boxes housed in American Barns. An experienced member of staff manages each barn, they oversee and are in charge of the general wellbeing of each horse in their barn and manage the allocated staff who work with them.

The barns have insulated and ventilated roofs and cavity wall insulation to ensure that the horses are protected from sudden changes in temperature and to allow a free flow of fresh air. Additionally, we have the use of an isolation barn of 16 boxes on Coombelands Farm.

2 Equine Swimming Pool

An equine swimming pool is an essential facility for training racehorses. Our indoor pool, built in 1991, has proved to be an invaluable training aid for horses whose injuries would otherwise have stopped them from being exercised and can be an integral part of training regimes for specific horses.

Our pool has been most important for maintaining a basic level of fitness for horses that are recovering from injury. Ligament injuries, tendon injuries, muscle problems and stress fractures are given ‘weightless’ exercise in the pool, rather than standing in their boxes. It can also be used to help horses before or after a busy campaign or those that need to loosen up before exercise.

The complex is complete with two solarium booths for drying the horses and keeping their muscles warm and two enclosed sand pits for them to roll in.

3 Indoor Canterway and Outside Sand School

Our indoor canterway is oval shaped and is one furlong in circumference, the sand surface is irrigated to ensure it can be used daily. It is used to warm the horses up at walk, trot and canter if necessary. Here Amanda can assess each of the horses’ and in the winter months the covered ride is invaluable for exercising in all weather conditions.

The centre of the ride is grass, housing the weighing station where the horses are weighed once a week, they are also weighed before and after racing. Each horse is given a best racing weight and a weekly weight report is produced.

This area is also used as a safe, enclosed space in which to introduce the two-year-olds to the practice starting stalls.

We are also fortunate enough to have the use of a 60x20 meter enclosed outdoor fibre-sand school that is used to lunge and ‘back’ the yearlings when they arrive from the sales. This facility is also used for lunging and long reining the older horses as part of their physiotherapy routine.

4 Round All-Weather Gallop

The Round Track is seven furlongs in circumference and is used in the winter months for trot work and in the season is used primarily as a first canter before going on to use the other gallops. Horses canter both ways on this gallop. When going anticlockwise the downhill gradient is a good trail for Tattenham Corner at Epsom or the descent at Brighton.

We welcome people to use our all-weather gallops. They are open all year round, between 12pm and 3pm Monday - Saturday and on Sundays between 9.30am and 3pm. £20 per horse, book online via the following link. All-Weather Gallops Hire

5 Six Furlong All-Weather Gallop

This gallop is six furlongs (three quarters of a mile) and rises steeply from the start, providing excellent fitness work for the horses. It is a gallop we use extensively during the winter months for conditioning work with each horse doing two to three canters a day to build muscle and increase stamina ready for faster work in February and March before the start of the season.

6 The Valley All-Weather Gallop

The famous Cooombelands gallops which have helped condition Champion racehorses such as Dancing Brave and Warning and more recently Champion filly Wonderful Tonight and Group 2 and 3 winner Lavender's Blue. Our main work gallop is eight furlongs (one mile) in length and rises 150 feet in the first five furlongs. Due to gradient, the horses can work on the bridle and enjoy their work. Horses can work sharply for four furlongs until the bottom of the hill or work all the way to the end of the testing eight furlong gallop. The track is 15 foot wide allowing three horses to work upsides.

To the left of The Valley gallop is a spring grass gallop and to the right a sown and watered turf gallop used at different times of the year.

We welcome people to use our all-weather gallops, they provide a safe and enjoyable ride around Coombelands; warm up on the across the top track and walk down for your fast work on the Valley track. They are open all year round, between 12pm and 7pm Monday - Saturday and on Sundays between 9.30am and 7pm. £20 per horse, book online via the following link. All-Weather Gallops Hire

7 American Cambered Bend

The American Bend was created in 1988, the idea taken from the American Style Bend at Manton. Horses can gallop either way around the bend and the gradient teaches them to turn at speed and change onto the correct leg.

Mark rode dual European Mile Champion, Warning, on this bend before he ran in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. In recent years, it has been instrumental in providing Amanda with her Chester Cup win with Bangalore and training Indian Lodge for when he ran in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs.

8 Across The Top All-Weather and Grass Gallop

A six furlong (three quarters of a mile) undulating all-weather gallop that runs parallel to the turf gallop. This gallop provides an easier option for cantering either way but has the advantage of helping horses to get use to undulations while galloping.

9 Turf Gallop

This is a straight four furlong gallop on turf taken from the Old Lewis Racecourse. This turf gallop is used mainly for the two-year-olds who work up here in groups over four furlongs before using the Across The Top gallop as a pull up area.

Coombelands is unique in the fact that we can water each one of our gallops, either with the purpose built pop up irrigation system or drag pipe facility. This is all computerised and managed from the office. We have two spring fed ponds which provide the water that is required all year round, with a licence for 41,000ml of water per year.

10 Walkway Home and Picking Ground

The horses never have to go out on the public roads as we have the facility to walk home from the main gallops within the safety of our own grounds on a private road within the gallop area. The horses stop for a pick of grass on their way back to the stables to add interest to the diet and in order to help their digestive system.

During the summer months, Lucerne and Comfrey is cut from a specially designed area on the farm to help improve the general well being of each horse.

11 Cross Country Course

Coombelands Equestrian is a cross-country schooling course and opens from midday onwards Monday to Saturday and from 9am on Sundays. There are over one-hundred fences and the course caters for all abilities. The fences range from 70cm - 1m10cm. Due to the wet weather through February and March it is unlikely this will be open before April this year

There are a number of One Day Events, Hunter Trials and clinics held throughout the year as well as being able to hire the course out individually.

Please ‘click here’ to visit the Coombelands Equestrian website for more information.

12 Show Jumping Arenas

Coombelands Equestrian has three all-weather show jumping areas. The 80 x 50m Thakeham Gaye Harwood Arena is equipped with a competition set of show jumps year round. A Charles Britton sand and white fibre surface has a state of the art watering system both underneath the surface and over head to provide super ground all year round. This arena is suitable for anyone looking to jump a round of show jumping, the fences must not be moved and no poles are to be left on the ground. Please email to make a booking

The Coombelands Arena measuring 90m x 40m has a numbered course of show jumps and is a Martin Collins fibre track surface. This arena can also be watered via our overhead sprinkler system and is ideal for those wishing to practice over a course, fences can be moved but please return to their original position at the end of your session, no poles are to be left on the ground. Price for the Equitogs Coombelands arena is £42 plus VAT per hour for up to two horses, additional horses using the arena within the booked hour is an additional £7.50 plus VAT.

Our new warm up arena is 60x30m and is an eco track surface, ideal for warming up on show days, mini jumping and dressage. The warm up arena is available for £20 per hour plus VAT.

The all-weather arenas are open seven days a week all year round from 8.00am to 19.00pm and are available for booking in one hour slots. Our expert team of ground staff prepare and maintain the surfaces ready for you to use.