The Grand National

Posted by Paola

The Grand National is coming up soon! It is held on a Saturday every April, and it is a famous race which is held in Aintree England. In the race the horses run  a distance of about 4 miles and 856 yards. There are also 30 fences to be jumped in the race. The most famous horse ever to race in the Grand  National is Red Rum. He won The Grand National 3 times and lost it twice. The years he won the race were 1973, 1974, and 1977, unfortunately he lost the race in the years 1975 and 1976. This year the race is going to be held April 8th through April 10th.

There are big hedges in the Grand National race. If someone fell off his horse while it was jumping, he would have to lay at the bottom of the jump until all the other horses have jumped over it. This way, he would not get ran over by a horse.

The Grand National is a long and tiring race. Most people fall off their horses before the end of the race. If it happens the rider will have to catch his own horse!

Becher's Brook, an eight foot fence is the hardest jump on the course. Many racers fall off their horses on that jump. It is a tall hedge with a pond on the landing end. Becher was a famous jockey that raced in the Grand National. He was most famous for falling off his horse on a jump with a brook on the other side. He managed to remount his horse and on the next lap, he fell off on the same jump with the brook! That jump was soon known as Becher's Brook.

Here is a map of the Grand National course. Riders have to take two laps around the course.

Bye! I hope you enjoyed the post.
Check out my posts about Red Rum if you want to learn more about the most famous Grand National Winner.
Red Rum part 1
Red Rum part 2
Red Rum part 3