White Turf: Horse racing with a touch of frost

(CNN)Far out of your usual race meeting, the upmarket ski inn of St. Moritz is home to one of the maximum amazing occasions on the pony racing calendar. White Turf, held annually over 3 Sundays in February, is a racing competition on a frozen lake at the foothills of the Engadine mountains in Switzerland. It’s been held at the lavish ski resort since 1907, and lots of visitors turn up each year to sample the glitz, glamor, and unique snow-clad surroundings. The event combines traditional flat racing with trotting races and skijöring — an unusual pursuit unique to White Turf. Skijöring features skiers pulled at the back of unsaddled horses across the icy song in what locals keep in mind the primary occasion.

Two-time winner Valeria Holinger knows exactly what it takes to compete in such a unique subject. “You ought to sense how the pony is going for walks, decide the processes and do what is great on your horse,” she instructed Winning Post’s Aly Vance in St. Moritz… “There is likewise quite a little adrenaline, which I simply love.” The transient area takes three weeks to construct and is complete with all the trappings of a conventional racecourse. But such unique surroundings require special measures. Safety is of paramount significance, and organizers meticulously display the tune to make certain the ice is at least 30 centimeters thick. Dashing through the snow, horses additionally put on specialized shoes to stop them from slipping, at the same time as jockeys use masks to guard themselves against the snow kicked up with the aid of the hooves.

Coping with the acute conditions is often more difficult for those horses delivered in from nations without a great deal of blizzard. English instructor John Best has been taking horses to White Turf for years but says there is no obvious way to prepare the horses. Some do not thoughts the snow being kicked up in their faces; others cannot deal with it, he says. “You simply have to depend upon your judgment as to whether or not the pony goes to be one this is suitable,” Best told Winning Post from his yard in Kent, UK. Watching racehorses gallop via the snow at 1800 meters above sea level amid magnificent mountains whilst taking part in lavish hospitality makes White Turf a need-to-visit spectacle. “It’s a unique and very interesting revel in,” adds Best. “I think for everyone inquisitive about racing, it should be on their bucket listing.”