George Welch: A life of farming, family and racing on the Southern fringes of Dartmoor

A Life Shaped by Dartmoor

For George Welch, Dartmoor is not just a backdrop, it’s the landscape that has shaped his family, his work, and his lifelong passion for horses. To the south of the moor, the gentler hills and valleys of the South Hams merge with the uplands where his wife Rebecca’s family has farmed for more than sixty years. “What I’m seeing now is the moor is woefully undergrazed,” Rebecca says, recalling her childhood on Dockwell Ridge. “Once the farmers and their stock are lost, they won’t come again.”

George’s own family history runs deep in Totnes, with mayors, solicitors and farmers tracing back over four centuries. He remembers riding with his grandfather, Joe Kellock, from the family farm to Huntington Warren for picnics, passing the very upland he now farms. “It’s the same landscape, but you see it differently with age,” he reflects.

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George and Rebecca first knew each other through hunting and Pony Club, their families were close, and horses were at the centre of both households. Rebecca’s father, Michael Ogle, was a respected breeder and trainer of point-to-point horses. When George went to work for him as a teenage farm student, he “caught the racing bug” that would become a lifelong pursuit.

Horses, Racing and Community

In the 1970s and 1980s, George was a regular on the West Country point-to-point circuit, riding for Michael Ogle, his own mother Josephine Welch, and other South West owner-trainers. “Maiden races with 27 runners at Ottery,” he laughs, “nobody thought twice about safety factors back then.”

Those years were filled with community and camaraderie, and the occasional late night at The Grasshopper. He rode for a decade before hanging up his boots in his late twenties, though he returned briefly in his early forties to partner Bomba Charger, one of Ogle’s last homebreds. After stringing together three consecutive wins, two aboard Bomba Charger, he decided it was time to retire from the saddle for good.

George’s passion for racing never waned. He began stewarding at meetings across the South West, later chairing panels at both point-to-points and under rules. His long service includes stewarding at Cheltenham Festival, and nine years as Clerk of the Course at Buckfastleigh.

ABOVE: George with his sheep on the farm (Credit: The Welch Family)

Newton Abbot Racecourse

For the past 25 years, George has also been a director of Newton Abbot Racecourse Ltd, taking particular responsibility for the track and its racing product. Following the death of long-standing Chairman Hugh Michelmore earlier this year, George and fellow director Peter Austin have stepped into the role jointly, blending their complementary experience.

George calls Newton Abbot “our racecourse”, one of the few truly independent racecourses left in Britain. Founded in 1866, it remains owned by 50 local families whose involvement often stretches back generations.

“Newton is the brainchild and love of local families,” says Rebecca. “If it disappeared, the loss would be tremendous.”

George agrees: “There’s something special about Newton, the family feel of the staff, the closeness of the paddock and the stands, the sound of the crowd as they set out for the last lap. The only places that cheer like that are Aintree, Cheltenham and Newton.”

Recent years have brought challenges, from Covid disruptions to flooding and new irrigation needs, but the loyalty of shareholders and the enduring enthusiasm of West Country racegoers have kept Newton thriving. Crowds remain strong, and its future secure.

Totnes and Bridgetown Races Company

As Chairman of Totnes and Bridgetown Races Company Ltd, George oversees funds from the sale of the old Totnes racecourse, ensuring proceeds support West Country racing and country sports. The company sponsors point-to-point races and Hunter Chases at Newton Abbot and Exeter, as well as its own meeting at Flete Park.

During the pandemic, it funded YouTube livestreaming to keep the sport alive when spectators were barred, innovation George describes as “the lifeblood of racing.”

Farming, Resilience and Change

Alongside racing, George has always farmed. His system is unusual: a lowland organic flock grazes the Dartmoor fringe, while lambs are finished on his South Hams home farm. He converted to organic production after the foot-and-mouth crisis of the 1990s, when livestock prices collapsed. “It forced us to change,” he says. “We went from being price takers to price makers.”

The shift to local marketing brought resilience, something he believes Dartmoor farmers need more than ever today. “There’s huge pressure on the moor,” George notes. “Without farmers, Dartmoor’s community, character and ecology are at risk.”

Rebecca echoes that view. “We’ve seen rapid changes,” she says. “Large areas are undergrazed and scrub is taking over. Once the hefted livestock are gone, they won’t come back.”

ABOVE: George on his quad on the farm (Credit: The Welch Family)

Family and the Future

George and Rebecca married 35 years ago, Rebecca jokes she “came back from America and married the boy next door.” Together, they’ve raised their children with horses and farming at the heart of family life.

Their daughters Hannah and Tamby raced ponies on tracks from Perth to Wadebridge, part of a generation in which “over 60% of pony racing graduates went on to careers in racing,” George notes proudly. The family have also enjoyed keeping the occasional racehorse under rules, with several Newton Abbot runners among their highlights.

For George, Southern Dartmoor and the South Hams represent both home and heritage, a continuity of farming and horsemanship that spans centuries. “Nothing raises the spirits more than a local winner,” he says. Whether on the farm, at the races, or walking the moor, George Welch remains rooted in the land and traditions of Dartmoor.