New Beginnings is a Registered Charity (Charity number 1165357)

We are now in our tenth year and have grown in both expertise and experience to offer each and every horse that comes to us the security that they need and deserve. Our journey started with just a few acres and a few horses but our passion for thoroughbreds, determination and tenacity has helped us grow into an established retraining and rehoming centre, the only one of its kind in the North East, with 30 horses in our care at any one time and a reputation that we are proud of.

Since our inception the priority for New Beginnings has been, and always will be, the welfare of our horses and those horses that are looking for a safe and secure home.

We are delighted to be one of only ten rehoming centres officially accredited by RoR (Retraing of Racehorses) http://www.ror.org.uk. We were assessed in a range of areas to ensure that we met the criteria of an Accredited Rehoming Centre. As well as checking that our on-site facilities were of a high standard, such as stabling, exercise, schooling and turn-out areas, we were also assessed on our staffing, veterinary care provisions, re- homing programme and governance, as well as the overall sustainability of New Beginnings.

We are very proud to be a Full Equine Welfare Member of NEWC (National Equine Welfare Council) http://www.newc.co.uk. Membership provides an assurance to both the public and the industry that horse welfare is our priority.

The ‘passion’ behind New Beginnings is to provide a safe supportive environment for former racehorses to adapt and learn new skills after they have finished their first career in racing. They are offered a “Life Past the Post’’.The aim of New Beginnings is not to be a sanctuary, we look to re-train and re-home as many suitable former racehorses as possible. Horses are ‘loaned’ to long term forever homes but will always return to New Beginnings if circumstances change, guaranteeing a secure future for these horses as they will never be sold.

All horses that come to New Beginnings are assessed and a training program is planned, which includes rehabilitation if required. Initially, horses are generally turned away and introduced to groups to allow them to relax, settle and enjoy equine company and often learn social skills through becoming part of a small herd. This helps them to adjust to their lifestyle change and, once the horse is relaxed and happy, then their re-training program will commence.

New Beginnings Team

Pam and Kevin Atkinson

Pam and Kevin do not come from a racing background but they both share a united passion for thoroughbred horses and understand their needs and impressive scope and ability to adapt to a wide spectrun of equestrian disciplines

Pam and Kevin share the responsibility for running the charity in the same way that they share the running of the yard. They started New Beginnings in 2010, from a small yard near Pocklington, which they soon outgrew and moved up the hill to Low House Stud at Hanging Grimston, a much larger yard rented to them from Halifax Estates. This allowed them to grow, take on more horses to re-train and re-school them in a safer environment. In 2016 they made the decision to change the structure of the business from a CIC (Community Interest Company) to a registered Charity. In 2017 with the help of Lord and Lady Halifax they moved to The Grange at Bishop Wilton, where with the help of many beneficiaries they have developed the yard into a purpose-built equestrian centre to provide a safe environment with the facilities they need, to re-train and re-home former racehorses.

Mark Holmes

Mark joined New Beginnings in 2015 on a part time basis. He loves riding and schooling horses so was the ideal person to join the team. Mark appreciates the true versatility of these fantastic horses and joined full time in 2016.

Holly Harrison

Holly joined New Beginnings in February 2020 and truly understands the needs of former racehorses. Holly has worked in racing and for Team Thoroughbred New South Wales in Australia retraining and rehoming former racehorses.

Mission and objectives...

The mission of New Beginnings is to provide a safe and secure environment where former racehorses can adjust and be re-trained for their second career following racing.

Our mission is supported by our objectives:

To support racehorses leaving the racing industry, or those that have already left but need support, providing a safe and secure environment in which they can adjust to become ideal riding partners and enjoy a new beginning
To promote humane behaviour towards racehorses by providing appropriate care, protection, treatment and security for racehorses that are in need of care and attention by reason of sickness or poor circumstances and to educate the public in matters pertaining to animal welfare in general and the prevention of cruelty and suffering among animals
To promote the versatility of the Thoroughbred and be an established provider in support of the racing industry as part of a network of centres of excellence that deliver the best possible chance of success for former racehorses in multiple equestrian disciplines

Please contact us by email on 01759 369810 for more information.

Pam and Kevin Atkinson with Oli Bell (One of the New Beginnings Patrons)

The Grange on the Halifax Estate

offers us superb facilities

Facilities

New Beginnings out and about

New Beginnings attend approximately 20 race meetings per year where we take our exhibition trailer and 2 former racehorses to stand in a secure pen. This allows the public to come up, meet and touch a former racehorse and allows us to talk to them about the work we do and the high standards of welfare both within and after racing for these magnificent horses.

We also do 3 ridden parades at Yorkshire racecourses, where we take horses that we have re-trained to show the racing public "Life Past The Post" and the true versatility of these fantastic horses. Some of the horses that we parade are our ambassador horses, some are horses that we have re-trained but not yet found a loan home for, some are horses that we have out on loan, these are ridden by their loaners. We also attend local shows, Malton and Middleham Open Stables and RoR events at Aintree with our exhibition trailer to talk about the work we do and promote the racing industry, without whom we would not have these versatile animals.

These events provide the perfect opportunity for New Beginnings to showcase their work whilst positively promoting "Life Past The Post".

In particular our thanks go to the following Racecourses who invite us to attend their race meetings during their racing seasons:

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