OWNERS of ex-racehorses aiming for the show ring will have the chance of taking home a prize of £2,500 this year, thanks to the Jockey Club Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) novice thoroughbred ridden show series 2015.

The champion in the series classes, run for the second year in 2015, will be eligible to compete for the RoR supreme champion elite prize at Aintree in August.

This show series is judged under Riding Horse class rules where the horse is ridden by the judge and given marks for the ride and then the conformation of the horse is judged.

The series is open to thoroughbreds four years old and above that have raced in Britain, but horses must have never won an open show class to be eligible to enter and riders must be 15 or over.

There are 20 qualifiers throughout various locations in the UK, beginning on March 21 and running until August 21. The first three highest placed horses from each class will go forward to the championship final at Aintree’s RoR National Championships on August 29-30.

The final will be split into two; one class will be for horses whose last race was on the flat and the other class for those whose last race was under national hunt rules (this includes national hunt bumper races and point to point races).

The top six from each section will be taken into the International Arena for the final judging.

“At the Jockey Club, the welfare of thoroughbred racehorses after they retire is a consideration we take seriously, in line with our mission to act for the good of the sport,” said Simon Bazalgette, group chief executive at the Jockey Club.

“As the success of last year’s series proved, many retired racehorses go on to have fulfilling second careers and I hope we will see further examples that racehorses can have successful careers once they retire from the spotlight during this year’s show.”

The 2014 novice champion was Hero Worship ridden by Abi Drury.

“It was a great confidence building experience for both of us,” she said.

Ms Drury has since gone on to qualify for the RoR/Tattersalls show series championship at Hickstead in June.

At the qualifiers the Jockey Club is providing rosettes and £150 of prize vouchers per show in addition to the standard prize money on offer.

Di Arbuthnot, RoR chief executive said: “RoR is grateful to have the continued support of the Jockey Club or this popular amateur show series and the championship final taking place at the their prestigious racecourse at Aintree.”

There is now also a new national championship class which has been introduced for registered retrained racehorses competing at British Showjumping’s (BS) club level. This will take place at the BS National Showjumping Championships at Stoneleigh Park in August.

The championship class starts at 85cm rising to 90cm in the jump-off.

The new national club league culminates on June 30 and runs alongside existing 2014/2015 club leagues.

It is supported by regional RoR training sessions run by BS development officers in each of the eight regions.

This training will be tailored specifically for owners and riders of former racehorses with a view to assisting them ease their horse as effortlessly as possible into their new competitive career.

BS club membership costs £30 and allows riders to qualify for one of four club championship titles at 70cm, 80cm, 90cm and 1m heights and monitor their progress on league tables. Riders need to register with RoR once they have joined at ror.org.uk

The owners of the horse with the highest number of the points in the British Showjumping Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) National Recognition Awards will receive a £2,500 cash award.

There are a further five cash awards of £500 each for the second to sixth placings. The awards are given to those horses with the most points over a year ending September 30.