IF YOU'RE GOING TO DREAM, DREAM BIG
OUR INTERVIEW WITH RACEHORSE TRAINER BEN PAULING FOR THE JOCKEY CLUB'S KALENDAR MAGAZINE
In 2013, a 29-year-old Ben Pauling left his Assistant Trainer role alongside Nicky Henderson with little more than determination, self-confidence and a big dream. In the same year, with just eight horses, owned mainly by family and friends, he moved to Bourton Hill Farm.
“It was a really exciting time,” Ben explains. “The first horse I bought was Raven’s Tower for £2,000. He gave me my first winner and gave us some awesome days out. He’s a very special horse and still lives with us today.”
Ben enjoyed a lot of notable success at Bourton Hill, including three Cheltenham Festival winners: Willoughby Court (2017), Le Breuil (2019) and last season’s Grand Annual winner, Global Citizen. However, he’d always harboured ambitions of one day owning a yard of his own.
After years of searching for the ‘perfect’ training establishment, nearby Naunton Downs Golf Club came up for sale, and Ben and his wife Sophie had a vision to create a sporting and lifestyle destination on the 200 acres of Cotswolds countryside.
In typical undaunted fashion, plans were soon being put in place to create a brand-new yard, complete with 94 boxes, a six-furlong gallop straight through the middle of the golf course, an all-weather schooling lane, round gallop and loose schooling lane inspired by Henrietta Knight, as well as offices and an owners’ suite, designed by Sophie, that overlooks the stables. “They do say, if you’re going to dream, dream big,” jokes Ben. “But never once did I think we were going to own a golf club.”
Diggers arrived at the site on 4 January 2021, but it wasn’t until the middle of April 2022 that they started moving in. “We hacked all the horses over as we worked out that it was quicker than loading them into horse boxes.”
The Naunton Downs Estate is about five miles from their old base as the crow flies. “It was exhausting but great fun, and there was a real sense of team spirit, too,” Ben continues. “We’re a very close-knit group and some of the team have been here since the early days, so the move was as big for them as it was for us. We go through the highs and lows together, and even on the long tiring days, we will make sure we try to have a laugh at the end of it.”
The new yard is truly spectacular and already offers some of the finest training facilities in the UK. “Everything we have tried to create here is for the horses’ health and well-being,” says Ben Every stable in two of the barns has an ‘ensuite pen’, where the horses can enjoy the fresh air all day. Each individual stable on the yard has fitted memory foam rubber matting, which encourages the horses to lay down and supports their joints when they are standing up. “My assistant, Tom David, discovered this while spending time at Henry De Bromhead’s yard in Ireland, where he first saw it being used. It was originally used in cattle barns,” Ben explains. “It is also more economical long term, as it uses less shavings.”
“It was a really exciting time,” Ben explains. “The first horse I bought was Raven’s Tower for £2,000. He gave me my first winner and gave us some awesome days out. He’s a very special horse and still lives with us today.”
Ben enjoyed a lot of notable success at Bourton Hill, including three Cheltenham Festival winners: Willoughby Court (2017), Le Breuil (2019) and last season’s Grand Annual winner, Global Citizen. However, he’d always harboured ambitions of one day owning a yard of his own.
After years of searching for the ‘perfect’ training establishment, nearby Naunton Downs Golf Club came up for sale, and Ben and his wife Sophie had a vision to create a sporting and lifestyle destination on the 200 acres of Cotswolds countryside.
In typical undaunted fashion, plans were soon being put in place to create a brand-new yard, complete with 94 boxes, a six-furlong gallop straight through the middle of the golf course, an all-weather schooling lane, round gallop and loose schooling lane inspired by Henrietta Knight, as well as offices and an owners’ suite, designed by Sophie, that overlooks the stables. “They do say, if you’re going to dream, dream big,” jokes Ben. “But never once did I think we were going to own a golf club.”
Diggers arrived at the site on 4 January 2021, but it wasn’t until the middle of April 2022 that they started moving in. “We hacked all the horses over as we worked out that it was quicker than loading them into horse boxes.”
The Naunton Downs Estate is about five miles from their old base as the crow flies. “It was exhausting but great fun, and there was a real sense of team spirit, too,” Ben continues. “We’re a very close-knit group and some of the team have been here since the early days, so the move was as big for them as it was for us. We go through the highs and lows together, and even on the long tiring days, we will make sure we try to have a laugh at the end of it.”
The new yard is truly spectacular and already offers some of the finest training facilities in the UK. “Everything we have tried to create here is for the horses’ health and well-being,” says Ben Every stable in two of the barns has an ‘ensuite pen’, where the horses can enjoy the fresh air all day. Each individual stable on the yard has fitted memory foam rubber matting, which encourages the horses to lay down and supports their joints when they are standing up. “My assistant, Tom David, discovered this while spending time at Henry De Bromhead’s yard in Ireland, where he first saw it being used. It was originally used in cattle barns,” Ben explains. “It is also more economical long term, as it uses less shavings.”
Owner experience is also a high priority. The golf course clubhouse is a stone’s throw from the stables and a short canter from the Home of Jump Racing – Cheltenham. Inside, yard sponsor Fitzdares has created The Fitzdares Cotswolds Club – its first rural outpost – where owners, locals and golfers alike can enjoy wall-to-wall live sport and outstanding food in splendid surroundings. There is also Willoughby’s restaurant, which is a more relaxed space that’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, or where you can just enjoy a coffee and a catch up with friends. “We wanted to create somewhere that we would love. A place where you meet friends, have a few drinks and eat good food, play golf and your children can run wild,” says Ben.
It’s no coincidence that you will find a free five-hour crèche for children aged three-plus on a Sunday. “Sundays are already legendary and there’s a great atmosphere,” says Ben “We received this text message from a friend a few Mondays ago: ‘Thank you so much for yesterday. Epic! I’ve just been back to the club to scoop up various bits of lost property, which included two pairs of socks, a pair of trainers, a pair of child’s jodhpur boots, a handkerchief, a trailer and a pony!’ “That is everything we want Naunton Downs to be.”
Celebrations went on into the early hours following Global Citizen’s victory at last season’s Cheltenham Festival and Pauling is hoping for more success this term. “I have been to sales all over the UK and Ireland this summer and we have a really exciting bunch of stores for the next couple of years. I am lucky to have some great owners who continue to support me,” says Ben.
With a strong start to the current campaign, life at Naunton Downs could not have started any better for the Pauling team. “It’s always a really exciting time. We have had a strong summer with some lovely winners. The team and I can’t wait for the new season to properly begin.