Ben Haslam
Ben has been at Castle Hill Stables since 2010, when he took over the reins from his father Patrick Haslam, at the young age of 25. Since then, Ben has sent out countless winners from the yard, both Flat and National Hunt.
Middleham has long been in Ben’s blood, having lived and worked in the village for over 18 years. He moved to Middleham at the age of 6, watching his father gain huge success during this time. In between his education Ben would ride out, and during a brief spell in the saddle as an amateur, he rode 5 winners from 25 rides (before height and weight put a stop to that!).
After leaving school, Ben branched out in order to gain further experience, travelling to South Africa during his gap year to work with top trainer Joey Ramsden before achieving a place on Sheikh Mohammed’s highly acclaimed Darley Flying Start scholarship. This took him around the world, including the Curragh in Ireland, Kentucky in America, Sydney in Australia and Godolphin in Dubai, where Ben was taught by the very best in all fields of the thoroughbred industry. Back in England, Ben spent time with Sir Michael Stoute in Newmarket before finishing his course in 2006, where he returned to Middleham and worked as Assistant Trainer to his father Patrick, for 3 years.
Castle Hill Stables are situated literally alongside the castle in the historic racing town of Middleham, in the beautiful Wensleydale area of North Yorkshire. The yard was renovated in 2009, and now consists of 35 boxes and two large, loose barns and a horse walker. Ben is also very fortunate to have plenty of paddock space for the horses, allowing many of them to be turned out in the summer during the day. Also, being close to Middlehams wonderful gallop facilities is such a benefit, with a multitude of all-weather and grass canters to choose from, as well as schooling fences and starting stalls which are available for use throughout the year.
Having had our first ever horse, the legendary 26 time winner China Castle trained by Ben's father Patrick, we are delighted to continue the partnership with Ben.