Going good to ploughed: local farmer jeopardises once-a-year meeting

Racing has faced many threats over the years but an annual meeting in Switzerland has been bizarrely put in danger by a new one – the local farmer's trusty plough.

Hanspeter Bachofen, who owns the land next to Fehraltorf racecourse, north-west of Zurich, ploughed the ground leading to the track and damaged it so badly that the local organising committee and the Kempttal Riding Club face no option but to cancel its Easter race meeting next year.

The organising committee's president Urs Schenkel is furious Bachofen took such extreme measures to damage a 75-year tradition within the community.

He said: "We at OC Horse Racing and the Kempttal Riding Club cannot believe that a single person has a destroyed a 75-year tradition in this way.

"The occasion was also important for all village associations, their help was indispensable for the Easter races and they were well compensated financially. They will now lack this money."

The Fehraltorf track has been ploughedCredit: (Image: zVg / Osterrennen Fehraltorf)

The land had been available for racing since the 1930s, with the Fehraltorf Easter races held there since 1934 and the farmer given compensation for the use of their land by the riding club and organising committee.

However, Bachofen launched a staunch defence of his decision to destroy the racing surface and did not warn the riding club or the organising committee of his plans, saying his private property needs to be used for agriculture.

"I am a small business. I lost space elsewhere and had to make some changes, I have no problem with the riding club," he said on Swiss radio station Radio Top. "Nobody in the world will get rich from this compensation, it wasn't such a large amount. What happens now? I have the field for a year now and then I'll keep looking. Nothing is set in stone.

"It's a hobby for them, it's not their job. You can still practice your hobby and ride."

The community in Fehraltorf is said to be extremely disappointed with the decision and want the three parties to hold emergency talks in search of a solution, as well as trying to find Bachofen another field to end the conflict.

Local councillor Fritz Schmind said: "Almost all clubs in the community support the Easter race and can thus earn a little for the club's coffers. It is important that this occasion is not lost. Because it attracts people from all over the Zurich Oberland."

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