Horse racing trainer Evan Williams guilty of hockey stick assault

Richard Evan Rhys Williams, a trainer known for winning the Welsh Grand National, has been convicted of assaulting a man on his property in Llancarfan, Vale of Glamorgan. The incident involved Williams striking Martin Dandridge multiple times with a hockey stick during an attack that occurred at night in December 2024. As a result of the assault, Dandridge suffered a broken arm.

The jury at Cardiff Crown Court deliberated for one hour and 45 minutes before finding Williams guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Williams, aged 54, was released on bail and is scheduled to be sentenced on 14 April. His legal team requested a delay in sentencing to prepare necessary reports and to allow Williams time to make alternative arrangements for his racing business in the event he is imprisoned. His barrister acknowledged the possibility that Williams could face a custodial sentence.

At the time of the assault, Dandridge was staying in a nearby holiday cottage and had taken his dog, a cockerpoo named Gulliver, for a walk in a paddock that forms part of Williams’s stable complex. Because it was dark, Dandridge was using a torch. Past issues on Williams’s land included unauthorized grazing of animals (fly-grazing), hare coursing, and poaching. Williams and his family spotted moving lights on the property and believed Dandridge was “lamping”—using bright lights to search for animals like rabbits or foxes, often accompanied by a dog.

Williams gave evidence that he shouted at Dandridge to switch off his light to avoid upsetting the horses, as flickering lights could spook them. He said he was attempting to take control of Dandridge’s dog by grabbing its extendable lead. Williams claimed that Dandridge’s injuries were caused when the dog became uncontrollable and caused Dandridge to fall into a drainage hole on rough terrain. However, prosecutor William Bebb dismissed this explanation, describing it as “nonsense” and suggesting that Williams acted out of anger toward those involved in lamping. Bebb said Williams was driven by rage due to previous encounters with individuals trespassing on his property and intended to “teach those lampers a lesson.”

Williams’s background includes taking over his family’s dairy farm at 18 before transitioning to racehorse training in 1996. He founded Evan Williams Racing in 2003 and trained Secret Reprieve, the horse that won the rearranged 2020 Welsh Grand National at Chepstow. At the time of the incident, Williams was responsible for 120 horses across two locations. Recorder Angharad Price has allowed Williams to remain on conditional bail pending sentencing

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