LEADING racehorse trainer Evan Williams has been given a three-year jail sentence after he used a hockey stick to attack a man who was walking a dog on his land.
The 55-year-old, whose full name is Richard Evan Rhys Williams, carried out the attack on Martin Dandridge, 72, on his land in Llancarfan on 4th December 2024, leaving him with a fractured arm and other injuries.
In March, Williams stood trial at Cardiff Crown Court, and a jury took one hour and 45 minutes to find him guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
At the time the attack took place, Mr Dandridge, from Swindon, had been staying at a holiday cottage near Williams’ stables for three weeks. Mr Dandridge took his cockerpoo dog, Gulliver, for a walk in the paddock that formed part of the stables, and because it was dark, he used a torch.
Members of Williams’ family spotted Mr Dandridge’s lights on their land and thought the victim was lamping, where people use bright lights to find animals such as rabbits and foxes.
The court was earlier told that Williams passed two police officers as he drove to the paddock and told them: “There’s lampers on my gallops, they are there now.”
Throughout the trial, Williams denied carrying out the attack and said Mr Dandridge sustained his injuries, which included a broken arm, after being pulled over on rough terrain by his out-of-control dog and had fallen into a drainage hole.
Prosecutor William Bebb called Williams’ account ‘nonsense’ and said: “You were filled with rage due to the nature of the background you had with lampers.
“Whether a broken bone or a wound, you wanted to teach those lampers a lesson. I suggest you struck him repeatedly, swearing and shouting as you did.”
Mr Bebb read out a victim statement from Mr Dandridge, which described the ongoing impact the attack has had on his life: “I was an independent and physically active person who enjoyed my hobbies. But since the attack I don’t feel like the same person.”
Williams took over the family dairy farm when he was 18 before beginning his career as a racehorse trainer in 1996. Seven years later, he established Evan Williams Racing and he became one of Wales’ best-known trainers. His horses achieved top four finishes in five consecutive Grand Nationals between 2009 and 2013, and the pinnacle of his career came on 9th January 2021, when one of his horses, Secret Reprieve, won the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow.
The stables employ around 30 people, and his wife took over his licence on the day he was convicted, which coincided with the start of the Cheltenham Festival, but her licence will expire at the end of May, and the court heard it would not be viable for her to run the business.
David Elias KC, representing Williams, told the hearing that his client was of exemplary character and that 570 character references had been received since his conviction: “A prison sentence will not just impact immediate family but also impact employees, suppliers, and the people who own the horses he trains.
“Evan Williams is the business, he has the training knowledge and there is no-one else to take over this business,” he said.
The business was described as the biggest rural employer in the Vale.
Passing sentence, Recorder Angharad Price referred to an incident six weeks prior to the attack when Williams was threatened with a shotgun after disturbing poachers on his land, who told him they would burn his house down.
The episode had caused Williams to suffer with mental health problems and the recorder acknowledged he had “heightened fear and vigilance” as a result: “The earlier incident you experienced with threats of violence to you and your home must have been very frightening.”
But she then added: “This is an appalling offence where you attacked Mr Dandridge causing him serious injuries.
“You had a choice that night, you could have waited and let the police deal with the situation but instead you urgently raced to the paddock to deal with it yourself.
“It is never acceptable to take the law into your own hands. This sentence will be a lesson to you that it is always better to call the police if you think a crime is being committed.”
Williams will spend half of the three-year sentence in prison before serving the rest in the community.
By Marcus Stead – News Reporter
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