Because they're worth it
Pioneering jockey Rachael Blackmore faces a spell on the sidelines after injuring her neck in a fall.
Blackmore, the first female rider to win the Grand National, was injured at Downpatrick on Friday.
“Rachael Blackmore has sustained a neck injury and will not ride in the coming weeks, while she undergoes rehabilitation for her injury,” said Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board spokesman Niall Cronin.
An exact diagnosis or timeframe for her return has not been given.
The 35-year-old was injured when parting company with her mount Hand Over Fist, trained by Denis Howard, in a handicap chase.
Blackmore was voted BBC Sports Personality’s World Sport Star of the Year for 2021 after winning the National at Aintree on Minella Times.
She was also the first woman to be leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival, where she won the Gold Cup the following year on A Plus Tard.
Blackmore had been tied at the top of of the Irish jump jockeys’ championship before her injury, with 23 winners alongside Keith Donoghue and Sam Ewing.
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Rachael Blackmore at the Cheltenham Festival!
Champion Chase
Champion Hurdle
Cheltenham Gold Cup
It makes excellent compost and works wonders for roses, but engineers are the latest group to discover the power of horse poo — or more specifically, a well-ordered muck heap.
A study published in peer-reviewed journal Plos One has mooted manure as an alternative to hard-to-source top soil for land surrounding new roads and railways.
Titled “Is manure an alternative to topsoil in road embankment restoration?”, researchers concluded that your four-legged friend’s droppings are a viable option.
An estimated 1.5% of land in the European Union is covered by motorways and 5% by railways, which is expected to increase in coming years as population rises.
The land and embankments next to these, which are disturbed or created while the infrastructure is built, are often made up of nutrient-poor soil and lack vegetation.
While it is very important that plants grow on these to stop the banks — and ultimately the roads or railway — simply eroding away, top soil is scarce and expensive.
Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/manure-engineering-embankment-topsoil-617238#8froE1WFlUm7DvA8.99
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