Eccleswall Court, was farmed by its previous owners until it was bought by the Scudamore family in 2002. A substantial Georgian farmhouse, it is situated in Bromsash, an essentially rural area, 3 miles from Ross-on-Wye, South Herefordshire and is steeped in history. The present house dates back to 1827, although there has been a dwelling on this site for centuries.
The dovecote tower is what remains of the Chapel of St Thomas. This Chapel was last mentioned in a deed dated 1725. In addition the remains of a Saxon Mote and Bailey Castle, a mound circa 700- 800AD, are evident in the garden, and some of the walling around the upper lake is believed to be part of the old fort.
All our facilities at Eccleswall Court, are on and around the yard, surrounding fields and farmland. They are all within easy walking distance and are for private use. We are centrally based and near to such racecourses as; Hereford, Worcester, Stratford, Warwick, Chepstow and Cheltenham. We have 100 acres, providing plenty of space for turn-out paddocks, in which the horses are turned out daily. In 2016, all fencing was replaced with electric fences and we now have CCTV in the yard. The boxes are laid out in three separate yards; Oxo Yard (33 boxes), named after Grandad Scu’s Grand National winner, Linwell Yard (9 boxes), named after Grandad Scu’s Gold Cup winner and the Monbeg Dude Yard (8 boxes).
Stabling for 50 horses
The majority of the stables are of the loose box type with rubber matting, bedded with Newflake – a dust-free woodchip shavings – The layout of all stables ensures excellent ventilation.
Gallops & Horse Walker
The All Weather woodchip gallop was constructed in 2004. It is 6.5 furlongs, consisting of an initial flat/gradual inclining 2.5f followed by a sweeping left handed bend leading to the 4f straight uphill gallop (extended in summer of 2012).
In the summer of 2019 we installed a 2 furlong deep sand, round gallop, which has been a fantastic addition to our facilities and we now have everything we need here to get the very best out of all our horses.
The grass gallop is 4.5f long and is used when the weather permits.
The dirt gallop lies parallel to the grass gallop and again, is used when the weather permits. It is of a similar length but has a slightly steeper gradient than the grass gallop.
We are also lucky enough to be surrounded by acres of beautifully picturesque farmland, which we are able to use to canter around. This includes a very long steep bank which we call “Pughs Bank”. This is approximately 4.5f long, starting with a gradual incline before quickly, but evenly increasing, to the last half furlong which then becomes very steep. The horses love the hack over to Pughs, which takes you through streams and woodland. It is situated in an area of preserved natural wildlife habitat and we use this bank to ‘freshen horses up’, as well as it being a very good tool for increasing fitness and stamina.
We have two Claydon six horsewalkers, both with rooves and wind breakers to keep the horses dry on the wetter days!
Schooling Fences
Our schooling ground consists of a range of hurdles, brush hurdles and portable birch fences.
Carpet Ring
It features an oval shaped ring, with fencing on the inner and outer perimeters. The design enables use of the middle area with two horse walkers. The ring is used daily to both warm up and cool the horses down. We also have portable hurdles, barrels, poles etc that we can school over. We have found it a great help when schooling youngsters and invaluable to be able to loose school horses in a safe and purpose built environment.
Equine Spa
This spa facility was built on the lake side in 2005 and lies parallel to the ring. There are 2 bays, each lined with rubber matting, with fresh lake water pumped into and out of each bay. The spa is used frequently and is beneficial to horses with leg problems e.g. tendons, ligaments, sore shins.
Equissage
This massaging roller sits just behind the horses withers and is a useful aid for sore, stiff, or tight backs.
Vibrating Platform
The vibrating floor system is used for training, rehabilitation, maintenance and injury prevention. The system enhances recovery time for various soft tissue, bone and hoof problems and also, helps prevent colic.
Horseboxes
The yard has two horseboxes and in addition, we use a local Racehorse Transport Company if there are runners at several meetings.