Grand National Trainer Faces Trial Over Alleged Hockey Stick Assault
A jury has heard that a celebrated Grand National horse trainer allegedly launched a violent attack with a hockey stick on a 72-year-old dog walker, mistakenly believing the elderly man was a rural criminal trespassing on his land. Richard Evan Rhys Williams, widely known as Evan Williams and aged 54, stands accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Martin Dandridge during an incident in the quiet village of Llancarfan on December 4, 2024.
Details of the Alleged Assault Emerge in Court
Cardiff Crown Court was told that Mr Dandridge, who was staying at a holiday cottage near Evan Williams Racing in the Vale of Glamorgan, had taken his daughter's cockerpoo, Gulliver, for an evening walk on the gallops at approximately 9:30 PM. To navigate the darkness, he wore a headtorch and attached a light to the dog. Williams' family reportedly observed these lights and suspected Mr Dandridge was engaging in lamping—a practice where bright lights are used to locate animals like rabbits and foxes, often accompanied by a dog.
Prosecutor William Bebb informed the jury that Williams, accompanied by jockey Conor Ring, drove a 4x4 vehicle towards Mr Dandridge, passing two police officers on rural crime patrol en route. Williams allegedly told the officers that there were lampers in the field and that he intended to confront them. "He thought there were rural criminals trespassing on his land," Mr Bebb stated.
A Frenzied Attack and Conflicting Accounts
According to the prosecution, Mr Dandridge noticed vehicles arriving at the paddock entrance and saw an individual, later identified as Williams, aggressively approach him while shouting, "who are you and what are you doing?" Williams was reportedly carrying a hockey stick, which he used to deliver what Mr Bebb described as a "frenzied" assault, raining blows on Mr Dandridge and causing him to fall to the ground.
Despite Mr Dandridge explaining that he was merely walking his dog while staying at a nearby cottage, the prosecutor alleged that "none of this registered" with Williams, who continued to assert that the victim was trespassing. The court heard that Williams then swung the hockey stick "with full force", resulting in a fracture to Mr Dandridge's left forearm. Mr Ring is said to have intervened, telling Williams "that's enough", before the police officers arrived at the scene.
One officer reportedly witnessed Williams strike Mr Dandridge with an object, producing a thudding sound, while the other noted that Williams was carrying a hockey stick but did not see the attack itself. Mr Bebb emphasized that "the penny dropped that he wasn't a criminal at all but a man innocently walking his dog in the area."
Aftermath and Defence Claims
Mr Dandridge, a resident of Swindon, Wiltshire, was transported to hospital by police, where his fractured forearm was placed in a cast. He filed a formal complaint against Williams the following day, leading to the trainer's arrest. During police interviews, Williams denied assaulting Mr Dandridge and claimed he did not possess a hockey stick. Instead, he asserted that Mr Dandridge had sustained his injuries by falling into a drainage hole measuring two to three feet deep, after being pulled by his dog on a lead.
Williams faces a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, along with an alternative charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm, both of which he denies. The trial, expected to last four days, continues as the jury deliberates on the conflicting narratives surrounding this shocking incident in the Welsh countryside.
