Meet the trainer bucking a Newmarket trend and pulling out all the stops to welcome the public

The reluctance of some Newmarket trainers to open their doors has made headlines in recent weeks, but one is doing just that not once but twice this month – and it's all thanks to Animal Rising.

Shocking footage of protesters at Aintree on Grand National day led Ilka Gansera-Leveque to take the unusual step. Not only was she one of the first names on the list for the Henry Cecil Newmarket Open Weekend (September 23-24), an event she has supported in the past, the German national has also decided to open up her yard a week earlier on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 as part of National Racehorse Week.

She says: "When I saw those protesters at Aintree back in April trying to stop the Grand National, I thought I must try to do something to help project our sport in the best possible way to people. To that end, as well as the open weekend, I'm also doing National Racehorse Week and hopefully people will come."