A horse trainer who claimed victory at the Grand National was handed a three-year jail term on April 14 for assaulting a pensioner who was exercising his canine companion using a hockey stick, after mistaking the man for a poacher.

The 55-year-old equestrian professional, Evan Williams, suspected 72-year-old Martin Dandridge of being an intruder engaged in rabbit hunting upon discovering him in one of his pastures while he wore a headlamp and was accompanied by a dog.

The court was informed that armed poachers had menaced the trainer with a firearm mere weeks before this occurrence and threatened to torch his storage building.

The trainer, characterised as suffering from anxiety, seized a hockey stick and delivered numerous forceful strikes to the holidaymaker, resulting in a broken arm for the victim.

The injured man had been staying at a nearby vacation property to be close to his daughter who had recently given birth. He was exercising his dog, named Gulliver, at the time of the assault.

Prosecuting counsel William Bebb remarked that the defendant employed a weapon to perpetrate violence and administered multiple impacts.

The prosecutor earlier indicated to the court that it was nighttime when Mr Dandridge decided to walk the dog prior to retiring for the evening, at approximately 9.30pm, wearing a head torch while the canine also wore an illuminated collar.

Two law enforcement officers were also present in the vicinity that evening, conducting patrols for rural offences including lamping and poaching.

Mr Williams approached the officers in his four-wheel drive vehicle and informed them that individuals were using lamps in his field and that he intended to confront them.

Williams bellowed at Mr Dandridge demanding to know why he was in his field carrying a lamp and accompanied by a dog prior to the assault on December 4, 2024.

Mr Bebb stated that Mr Williams delivered multiple powerful strikes from the hockey stick onto Mr Dandridge.

This involved a man simply walking his dog who then became the target of a hockey stick attack.

Cardiff Crown Court was informed that Mr Dandridge, originating from Swindon, Wiltshire, sustained two broken bones in his arm.

Minutes preceding the assault, Williams and his son-in-law, jockey Connor Ring, had encountered two police officers who were investigating rural crime, and the officers accompanied him to the pasture in Llancarfan, Vale of Glamorgan, where they observed the attack.

In his victim impact statement, Mr Dandridge disclosed that persistent arm pain now prevents him from pursuing his previous pastimes including golf, home improvement projects, and detecting metal.

He stated that the psychological consequences of the assault constitute the most challenging aspect for him. He continues to experience anxiety, disrupted sleep patterns, and unwanted recollections of the incident.

The most distressing element involves recalling the moment he believed he was going to die and recognised his inability to defend himself. He remembers this vividly.

He finds the recollection of being utterly helpless and defenceless profoundly difficult to bear.

Williams has accumulated more than 1,200 victories throughout his career, including winning the 2020 Welsh Grand National, and has earned prize money exceeding three million pounds over the previous five years.

Williams, whose full name is Richard Evan Rhys Williams, contested the single allegation brought against him but was convicted following a trial.

His barrister David Elias KC explained that Williams harboured profound affection for his loved ones and equine animals, and had previously encountered trespassers who issued threats to shoot him and destroy his farm six weeks prior to this event.

Mr Elias submitted that Williams’ assault was motivated by intense fear, hypervigilance, and an exaggerated perception of danger.

He noted that an exceptional volume of character references and testimonials from over five hundred individuals had been submitted.

Mr Elias stated that this demonstrates the considerable regard felt by numerous people across different areas of his life.

Presiding judge, recorder Angharad Price, informed Williams that he had committed a horrific crime and that Mr Dandridge continues experiencing the consequences of his actions sixteen months subsequently.

She stated that on that particular day, Williams had an alternative option available. He could have allowed the officers he encountered on the lane to respond to what he perceived as an emergency. Instead, he opted to handle the situation personally, rushing urgently to the paddock.

When providing testimony during the trial, Williams spoke with great passion about his beloved racehorses and their sensitivity, and he expressed strong views about safeguarding his family from harm.

However, that protection should not have come at Mr Dandridge’s expense. The man should not have paid such a severe price simply for walking his dog on the wrong piece of land.

Taking the law into one’s own hands is never justified. This sentence will serve as a lesson that involving the authorities is always preferable when suspecting criminal activity.

Williams received a three-year custodial sentence and was informed that he must serve half that period incarcerated.