Denton Hall News

On your marks, get vet, go!

GALLOPING vet Phil Cramp is in training to run 70 miles in a day to raise funds for three charities.

Phil, a Director of Hambleton Equine Clinic, is taking part in the ultra-marathon, known as The Wall, which follows Hadrian’s Wall, from Carlisle to Gateshead, with a time limit of 26 hours.

And he’s been putting the finishing touches to his tough training schedule by hoofing it up the gallops of one of his clients, racehorse trainer, Michael Dods.

The uphill gallops, at Denton, near Darlington, are equipped with a speedometer and Phil was clocked at a top speed of 14 miles per hour.

“It might be a mid-life crisis but it’s a challenge I want to tackle and it’s raising money for some great causes,” said the 45-year-old father-of-three, who is part of the team caring for the horses at Michael Dods Racing.

“I’m not a natural runner but I’ve been building up my training since October, and I’ve been doing between 40 and 50 miles a week in preparation.

“I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s been hard juggling the training while dealing with the demands of the business and being a dad all at the same time.”

Phil is raising money for the Injured Jockeys Fund, the British Eventing Support Trust (BEST), and Nature’s Safe, a charity safeguarding the future of the natural world by preserving live cells of animals at risk of extinction.

His friend Nick Walters talked him into the challenge over a pint in the pub. Nick, husband of Phil’s business partner, Alison Walters, is running in aid of Blood Cancer UK after his sister died of the illness.

Phil had been thinking about embarking on a charity challenge in support of his friend and client, 2021 European evening champion, Nicola Wilson, who had a career-ending fall at Badminton in 2022 and is a patron of BEST.

He was also moved by the case of Grand National-winning jockey Graham Lee, who was paralysed after a fall at Newcastle last year.

Phil graduated from Edinburgh University in 2005 before completing an internship at the Equine Medical Centre of Ocala, in Florida, followed by a three-year surgical residency at Michigan State University.

Hambleton Equine Clinic was established in 2012, with his wife, Caroline Blakiston, a fellow Director, and Alison Walters.

After seeing Phil in action on the Denton Hall gallops, trainer

Michael Dods said: “He looks more like a dour stayer with slightly dodgy legs than a speed merchant. He’s getting a bit long in the tooth, so we just hope he doesn’t get Cramp! That said, it’s for three great causes, so we hope he gets plenty of support.”

• To support Phil, go to JustGiving and search for Phil Cramp.

PICTURES COURTESY TRACY KIDD