Powys company's horse Our Power heads to Grand National

One of the entrants in the 2023 edition of the prestigious horse race on April 15 will be Our Power, a horse backed by Powys-based company Potter Group in partnership with Walters Plant Hire.

As part what’s been described as “a lifelong dream”, group directors James and Debbie Potter are managing the horse as part of their long interest in the equestrian field.

The company owns and manages a team of National Hunt racehorses, with former Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning Jockey, Sam Thomas, serving as the group’s principal trainer.

Potter Group Communications Executive Brett Williams said: “Any owner, trainer, breeder, or anyone involved with horseracing will know the excitement surrounding this kind of opportunity. This is the kind of race everyone aspires to be a part of.

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“It’s such a prestigious event that getting there at all is already a win in itself and everyone at the Potter Group knows how much it means, so to be associated with it in any way is brilliant.”

James Potter has been associated with horses that entered the race in years prior, such as 1993 with a runner called General Peshing and in 2017 with a horse named Good to Know, with the latter finishing thirteenth in the field.

The group is optimistic about their 2023 entry, Mr Williams added: “He’s a relatively young horse, so will hopefully have many more competitive years in him.

“Our Power was purchased when he was still a yearling, and while the company owns a dynamic equestrian team, with many coming through in the competitive field, Our Power is the flagship of the racers.”

One of the notable features of Potter Group’s horse training methods is the use of recycled carpets for high-performance equestrian surfaces, which the group says provides a weather-resistant. horse friendly surface for training.

“You could say we are all hopeful rather than confident. Everything we have seen shows he is improving with each race and ticking plenty of the right boxes, but of course the Grand National field is so competitive that we will have to wait and see how race day goes.

“We are also hoping that Our Power becomes of many to compete at this kind of prestigious event. When you invest a lot of time and resources into something, you hope to have success at the highest level.”