Born and raised on her family farm, near Newport in Wales, Rebecca Curtis showed a keen interest in horses from an early age. However, the discipline she had the most passion for, was equestrian rather than racing and competed in this event at a high level, into her teenage years.
Following this, Curtis spent a significant amount of time in the United States, working with and learning under the legendary trainer, Dan Hendricks in Southern California and gained a global perspective on Thoroughbred conditioning.
After what was a valuable and important apprenticeship, she returned to Wales and set up her own yard; converting the family dairy into a state-of-the-art training facility with the help of her father.
In 2008, Curtis obtained her dual-purpose training licence and rapidly established herself as a considerable force on the National Hunt racing scene, going from strength-to-strength. Her pedigree and success saw her forge a prominent alliance with owner J.P McManus, for whom she trained many winners, in partnership with jockey Richie McLernon.
Unique Training Methods
From her base of operations on the stunning Pembrokeshire coast, she developed highly novel training methods for her horses that included beach runs, citing the sand and saltwater as being a key contributory factor towards muscle toning and limb health.
The Newport Sands beach has become a key training ground for Curtis over the years; something that she credits to the success of her horses; the level, forgiving surface helping to reduce concussive impact on a horse’s joints.
One particularly key part of her post-work routine involves her walking the horses directly into the Irish Sea, with the cold, saltwater acting as a natural ice bath, helping to reduce inflammation and tightening tendons; a practice that she credits for the longevity of her stayers.
Meanwhile, working horses in soft, wet sand requires immense physical exertion and this has been key for the approach Curtis uses to help build core strength and hindquarter power, which means that her horses often have an edge on heavy ground during the winter months.
In addition, Curtis believes that the open horizon of the coast helps to prevent horses from becoming bored with the routine of a circular track, meaning their minds stay sharp and mentally fresh.
Interesting Tactical Management Approach
What Curtis does well is essentially, create a sense of scarcity, but there is a reasoned logic behind this. She deliberately keeps her yard to around 40-50 horses, which means she can be a “hands-on” trainer. As a result, she can easily identify subtle changes to a horse that she might miss in a yard that has 200 horses.
Over the years, Curtis has earned a reputation as a master of the three-mile-plus racing category, effectively this being attributed to her training style. With her regime being geared towards stamina and closeness to the bridle, it explains why she has been so consistent in the National Hunt Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle.
Curtis also isn’t afraid to hold her horses back if they’re not quite right, hence meaning they effectively skip a season, in their best interests. She famously did this with Lisnagar Oscar, giving him the time he needed to mature prior to his 50/1 Cheltenham Festival shock win in 2020.
Numerous Successes
The major breakthrough for Curtis came in 2012 when Teaforthree provided her first Cheltenham win with the horse then becoming a stable legend, famously finishing third in the 2013 Grand National.
Having become the ‘go-to’ trainer for McManus, this partnership produced At Fishers Cross, who won the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle in 2013 and the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree, which helped to establish him as the key stayers’ novice in the sport.
One year later, she won the RSA Chase (now the Brown Advisory); one of the most prominent steeplechases in racing for novice horses, with this victory proving that she could train high-class chasers. In 2018, she exhibited her skill further when sending Joe Farrell to Ayr to win the Scottish Grand National, with this being her biggest prize money win of her career at the time.
In 2025, it was arguably, the best season of her career, winning the historic “National Treble”, guiding Haiti Couleurs to victory in the National Hunt Chase, Irish Grand National and Welsh Grand National.