Poo picking, tack cleaning and strimming were the order of the day for the team from Wincanton Racecourse who spent the day at Blackmore Vale RDA as part of their community engagement day.

Eight employees from the racecourse took a day off from their usual duties and were put to work on a number of tasks including washing down walls and weeding the school.

The RDA group is based at the home of Mark and Tessa Woodhouse at North Cheriton and a cuddle with their top racehorse Present Man was also on the agenda. The gelding has won the last two renewals of the racecourse’s historic Badger Chase and in November will be attempting a record-breaking third win.

Racecourse administrator Anne Collyer said: “It was a great day which we all enjoyed and we learnt a lot about the RDA. Present Man and his field mate Peak to Peak watched over us making sure we did all our jobs properly!”