How a former racehorse changed the life of a young woman facing homelessness

The way horses helped a young woman endure homelessness and go on to help others facing adversity was among the stories celebrated at the 2025 Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) awards.

Samantha Ivy Barton and Up For An Oscar were finalists in the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust RoR Community Impact Award, which was won by Grace Muir of HEROS Charity.

Samantha and “Ozzy”, an 18-year-old narcoleptic former chaser, play a major role in helping people build confidence with horses at Redberth Croft CIC. The Pembrokeshire community impact farm supports adults with additional learning needs, veterans, people experiencing mental health challenges, and those at risk of social exclusion.

Samantha’s first involvement with horses came when she was a teenager, and that love has been a constant ever since.

“About five years ago, I was taken out of school from around year nine, and I kind of just lost all will to do anything with my life,” she said.

“A post came up about this little Shetland pony, who needed playing with, some attention and just a bit of love. I’ve never been a horse person, my family aren’t really that horsey – they said, ‘well, you can try it’. So I did. I fell in love and slowly became more confident with horses.”

Watch Samantha’s story in the video below

In early 2024, Samantha became homeless – but found renewed purpose in her work with Ozzy and the work they do at Redberth Croft.

“He is just the most amazing animal in the world. We basically proved to everyone else that no matter where you are, who you are, you could do anything,” she said.

“Ozzy has done a lot for me, more than I think I’d like to admit sometimes, but this horse has done everything. I never thought I had confidence, but he’s given me confidence that’s proven to me, and him, that I can do what I put my mind to.

“At the start of last year, my whole life turned upside down. I was lost. I had nothing. I lost my house, my car, my job. I thought, ‘what have I got left?’ And I realised I have this ex-racer with narcolepsy and a very special brain, and then I realised that I have to keep going – that I’ve got to do something with my life.”

Samantha has a new job in the agricultural industry, a home, and embarked on a “rollercoaster of adventures” with Ozzy last year, which “went amazingly”.

“You’ll have downfalls, but everyone has to at some point in their life – and that’s what the start of the year has really shown me: you can be chucked in the deep end, but by the end of the year, sitting here as a finalist with your horse,” she said.

Louise Robson, of Thoroughbred Dressage, and Forth Bridge, who is owned by The King and bred by The late Queen, were also finalists for their community outreach work.

Louise supports equestrians on their journey with former racehorses, and works with non-horsey groups – such as visiting schools.

Her aim is to better help people understand thoroughbreds “so we can create the best life possible for them”.

“National racehorse week is one of my favorite weeks of the entire year. This year we had an open day at our base, and 60 people came along,” she said.

“We have people from all walks of life – some local, some who have never met a horse before, and some that do have former racehorses. They got to see the life of these horses post-racing, which I think is so lovely for the public to be able to see what happens to these horses.”

Watch Louise Robson’s story in the video below

Louise was asked to be part of Godolphin Lifetime Care’s open day with several horses, and Forth Bridge also went to his former trainer, Charlie Longsdon, for his yard’s open day.

“It was really nice to be able to see and speak to syndicate owners and again, highlight what happens to these horses post-racing,” she said.

“One of my favorite parts of the week was when we took ’William’ to Denby High School in Milton Keynes.

“It was so interesting to watch William interact with the children, but also how the children themselves interacted.”

She added that some children came running up to him, while others were more nervous – as time went on, the kids worked together as a team to all come closer to the horse. She said that William too, would adjust himself to respond to those children who were less sure of the situation.

“It was so fantastic that the power of a horse – a former racehorse – could do that for these kids,” she said.

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