Yesterday's Grand National was yet another great race in the history of this Great Race. Nowhere else in the world is there a steeplechase to match this extraordinary test of stamina and jumping, a race first run in 1839 and won by a horse very appropriately named 'Lottery'.
This year's race was one that confirmed the credentials of the McCain family, the winner being trained by the son of the great Donald "Ginger" McCain, the man who brought 'Red Rum' to Aintree for 5 unforgettable years of drama and success - no other horse in the history of the race has ever achieved 3 wins and 2 seconds, or become quite such a 'people's favourite'. McCain gained another triumph with 'Amberleigh House' in 2004 and now his son, another Donald, has also won this most famous of national hunt horse races with 'Ballabriggs'.
Inevitably there are people who want to see the race banned due to the danger it holds for the horses. It has to be acknowledged that the race is hazardous to both horses and jockeys, but it's interesting to note that no one has recently made any serious representation on behalf of the jockeys. Every year, an assortment of animal rights organisations use any opportunity to argue for the races' abandonment and, this year, sadly, 2 horses did suffer fatal injuries. The question that arises is "Should the race continue ?"
Race horses are, essentially, wild animals that have been tamed and trained by humans; as wild animals, they are natural runners and jumpers. In race situations, it can be seen that even after parting with their jockey, a horse will usually continue running and jumping alongside their companions in a race, and this includes the Grand National. Red Rum was never seen to complain or to baulk at the challenge of Aintree's mamoth fences, and actually seemed to relish them; in 5 visits, he completed the course every time, fighting to the finish on each occasion.
It's also the case that there are thousands of national hunt races very year and comparatively few fatalities, although animal rights organisations will use every available mechanism to make the numbers seem as bad and frightening as possible. At the same time, the horse racing authorities and enthusiasts will use every possible arguement to make the losses appear as insignificant as possible.
What can we make of all of this ? Actually, very little. The majority of people in the western world think very little of the origin of their dinners - beef, lamb, pork, chicken etc. don't grow on trees - and yet many of them consider the eating of other animals, horses or dogs, to be disgusting. Some find the hunting of vermin such as foxes to be cruel and inhumane, others think it's perfectly reasonable sport. Some believe that keeping their homes full of dogs and cats is quite normal, others find it pretty filthy.
In reality, it all seems to be a matter of cultural beliefs and a degree of somewhat irrational attachment to animals that have very little in the way of anything that can be called true consciousness. Why we should be so concerned about horses when we happily kill and eat cows, sheep, pigs and chickens, as well as geese, ducks, rabbits and loads of other creatures, is a bit of a mystery; at least the horses go out as free animals, doing something that they are naturally inclined to do.
On balance, I think that those who are calling for the banning of the Grand National should be ignored. They may be well-meaning, but they're misguided. If we take their views to the extreme we won't just be having a referendum on 'AV' in a few weeks time, we'll be having another on whether rodents should have the vote in a a few decades. People are people and animals are animals; humans have been using animals in a variety of ways for thousands of years and some animals have certainly profited from eating the occasional human, but with no overall ill-effect to either group. I don't believe that horse racing is cruel and I don't believe that the Grand National should be banned; I believe that the killjoys who have so little to do that their main "raison d'etre" is worrying about animals, should open their eyes and start thinking about their fellow human beings a bit more.
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