Welsh Grand National Trainer Evan Williams Jailed Three Years for Hockey Stick Attack

One of Wales' most celebrated racehorse trainers will spend the next three years behind bars after a Cardiff crown court judge sentenced Evan Williams for a violent assault that left a pensioner with serious injuries.

Williams, 55, was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after attacking Martin Dandridge, a 72-year-old dog walker from Swindon who had strayed onto Williams's land at Llancarfan in south Wales in December 2024. The trainer struck Dandridge repeatedly with a hockey stick during the confrontation, leaving him with a fractured arm and injuries whose effects, the court heard, the victim continues to feel to this day.

The verdict came swiftly. After Williams denied the charge and the case went to trial in March, a unanimous jury took just 90 minutes to convict him.

Recorder Angharad Price, delivering the sentence on Tuesday, was direct in her assessment of the assault. "This is an appalling offence where you attacked Mr Dandridge causing him serious injuries," she told Williams. "I know that you fully understand that he is still living with the impact of your actions on that day 16 months ago."

The court heard that Williams had experienced a frightening encounter just six weeks before the attack, when he disturbed poachers on his land and was threatened with a shotgun. The judge acknowledged that incident as a mitigating factor in the context of his state of mind, but was firm that it provided no justification. "It is never acceptable to take the law into your own hands," she said. "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."

Price pointed out that Williams had a clear choice on the day of the assault — confront Dandridge himself or await the nearby police who were already being summoned. He chose the former, with consequences that are now devastating for all involved.

The future of his training operation is clouded. Williams's barrister, David Elias KC, told the court plainly: "If he isn't there, there is no business." Since Williams's conviction in March, his wife Cath has taken over the training licence in an effort to keep the yard running. Last month, Ask Brewster, running under Cath's name, won the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival — a bittersweet achievement given the circumstances.

Williams has been a fixture of Welsh racing for more than two decades. He founded Evan Williams Racing in 2003 and built it into one of the most successful operations in the country, recording top-four finishes in five consecutive Grand Nationals at Aintree between 2009 and 2013. His most celebrated result came when Secret Reprieve won the 2020 Welsh Grand National at Chepstow, cementing his reputation as a trainer capable of producing results on the biggest stages.

His sentencing marks a stark fall from a career built on patience, skill, and a fierce dedication to his horses — qualities that the court acknowledged, while making clear they could not excuse what happened on that December afternoon in Llancarfan.