THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

WILLIAM GOATER TAKES OVER

Text copyright Valerie Martin 1999

I do not think Old John Day survived for very long as Henry Padwick's trainer at Downs House in Findon, and William Goater arrived to be retained as the trainer. He originated from Stockbridge in Hampshire and was a quiet man of few words. By 1858 he was installed in the house that John Day had vacated, and lived there with his wife, Mary, two daughters Sarah and Elizabeth, and son, James. The property was a large one and his father, Robert Goater, resided with them. This was a busy household and employed many local villagers including a housemaid, cook and kitchen maid in the house. The stable employees included a head groom, as well as twenty grooms (stable lads). The Downs Stables were described at this time as "a considerable establishment" and were patronised by many prominent owners of the day.

The racehorses of the Victorian era were more often than not subjected to a diet of hay and horse bread. The latter was a culinary delight combining pulverised beans with wheat, rye and bran, bound together with water. Before a race, the more performance horses could be treated to oysters and eggs. Some could look forward to their morning snack being soaked in oatmeal on the day before a race. On some occasions it was also considered beneficial if their nostrils were cleansed by squirting vinegar up the airways on race days.

During the middle decade of the nineteenth century, the flat horses were sweated and purged. After being allowed to become sluggish and overweight during the winter months of non-working, they were suddenly introduced to the regime of training with sweating — when they literally experienced a modern day sauna. The animals were covered in rugs and tied near a hot stove in the stable. To purge them, the horses were given long hard gallops carrying heavy coats.

Grooms, as they were then called, or stable lads, did not fair much better. They were underpaid, under fed, overworked and badly accommodated. Only ambition and spirit kept them going. To work in a racing yard needed guts more than physical toughness. There was no tact or diplomacy in the racing yard.

It was to the Findon stables that a horse called Hermit, owned by Henry Chaplin, was to be trained and William Goater was to pass down in Findon history as the trainer who just missed a Derby winner in Hermit.  For the next stage in the story, read Henry Chaplin's Love Affair.