'It's heart-wrenching' - jockey Cam Hardie appeals for information after thieves steal £80,000 of yard equipment

Jockey Cam Hardie and his wife Amii have appealed for information after thieves stole up to £80,000 worth of equipment from a livery yard in Claxton, near York, during the early hours of Thursday morning. 

Amii Hardie, an accomplished dressage rider, had around £18,000 worth of tack including bridles, saddles and rugs stolen in the raid.

Cam Hardie, who is on course to register his best year by prize-money earned since 2014, described the loss of something he and his wife have worked so hard to build up as "heart-wrenching".

"In total from our yard alone, I think it was about £80,000 worth because they took two trailers, a jeep, and they took everyone’s stuff from the yard," he said. 

The perpetrators were caught on CCTV towing a trailer, and Hardie added: "The worst thing is there was a yard robbed last night [Friday] by the same people, using the same equipment. They’ve got a blowtorch to take the trailers off and they did exactly the same there as they did to our yard, which is only a mile down the road. We’ve got a CCTV camera in the village which shows the jeep pulling the trailer away.

"There’s been a farm and another livery yard burgled in the space of three days, and that’s all within a radius of five miles."

Hardie said he was concerned that if the police do not catch the culprits soon, most of the stolen items will quickly become untraceable. 

He said. "I know there’s lots worse going on in the world but it needs sorting urgently. They’re laughing at us because they’ve robbed three places within five miles of each other. 

"It shows they’re not scared to do it back-to-back and they’ve got all the equipment to do what’s needed."

Cam Hardie and wife Amii lost thousands of pounds worth of tack and equipment during a burglary at a livery yard in Claxton, near YorkCredit: Mike Egerton Pool (Getty Images)

The Hardies have begun to work through the insurance process, although the financial loss is only one part of the story.

"You’ve been working the last few years of your life to save up for nice things for your own horses," said Hardie. "Amii’s the same, she saved up a lot and we’ve both spent a lot. To take it all away, it’s heart-wrenching really. The stuff is replaceable, at least they haven’t taken the horses, but the financial impact to replace it all in the next couple of years is going to be very difficult."

He added: "We’re trying to sort the insurance through the yard. They even took bags of horsefeed and shavings. They literally took a pair of wellies we left in the yard to dry out. They took everything. You wouldn’t be sitting in a yard thinking I'll insure all my feed."

North Yorkshire Police confirmed they are investigating the break-in, but have not yet officially linked it to any other incidents in the area.

Cam and Amii Hardie have posted pictures of the missing tack on social media, as well as the crime reference number 12230208203. 

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