RoR South West yard visit to Emma Lavelle's Bonita Racing Stables, near Marlborough, Wiltshire.

Historic Bonita Racing Stables is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty – the North Wessex Downs, and its stables and racehorse training facilities are some of the best in the country.

The stables were built in the late 1890’s and names such as former record breaking jockey Sir Gordon Richards, champion jump trainer Bob Turnell and more recently Peter Makin have trained from the yard.  Furthermore, the great Lester Piggott declared the gallops were the best he had ever ridden on – no pressure then! We are only the third owners of this historic yard and feel very privileged and excited to be in this position.

Since moving in summer 2016, we have made some big changes to the yard whilst maintaining and preserving its heritage.  This includes a complete refurbishment of the original stables, as well as building an additional stable block and American barn.  Our aim is to create the best possible environment to train racehorses, as well as providing easier working conditions for our dedicated team.

Ditcheat is home to the stables of Paul Nicholls Horse Racing the Uk's Champion Trainer, and also to the world renowned farmers and cheesemakers Barbers Dairy.