Peter Hedger ( – 4 December 2022) was a British

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

who trained horses which competed in both

Flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

and

National Hunt racing In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

. Hedger began a career as an apprentice jockey but was forced to give up riding after a serious fall in 1965. He subsequently worked as a

horsebox A horse trailer or horse van (also called a horse float in Australia and New Zealand or horsebox in the British Isles) is used to transport horses. There are many different designs, ranging in size from small units capable of holding two or thr ...

driver before taking out a permit to train his own horses at his stable near

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

in 1981. In 1989 he took out a full training licence, which allowed him to train horses for other people, and continued training until moving to France in 2006. He returned to Britain in 2009 and resumed training from a stable in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

before his final retirement in 2020. His biggest training victory came in 1991 when Al Asoof won the

National Spirit Hurdle The National Spirit Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fontwell Park over a distance of about 2 miles and 3 ...

and other major successes came in the

John Smith's Silver Cup Stakes The John Smith's Silver Cup Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 5 furlongs and 188 yards (2,787 ...

and Great Jubilee Handicap. Hedger died in December 2022, at the age of 82. Former jockey

Leighton Aspell Leighton Aspell (born 12 June 1976) is a retired Irish jockey, whose wins include the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle riding United (horse), United, two runnings of the Welsh National, the 2014 Grand National riding Pineau de Re and the 2015 Grand ...

paid tribute to him, saying "I have very fond memories of Peter, he was a really good guy. He brought a fun element to it but he knew exactly what he had in his hands."

References

1940s births 2022 deaths British racehorse trainers {{UK-horseracing-bio-stub