As the 2026 Grand National approaches, last year’s winning horse, Nick Rockett, carries a quiet connection to our charity, Dementia Carers Respite.
Nick Rockett belongs to Stewart Andrew, who supports our charity because of his own experience of caring. He and his sister cared for their father, who was living with Lewy Body dementia.
“At the start, you just get on with it,” he says. “I’d go in early, make sure he was up, cook his breakfast, get him sorted for the day. My sister would go in later. You just build it into your life.” What begins as something manageable gradually becomes something much bigger. “It’s every day. And then it’s nights as well. He’d ring at all hours, confused about the time, thinking he hadn’t eaten. You can’t switch off from it.”
There are moments that stay with you. “I remember knocking on the door one morning and he didn’t know who I was. That’s when you realise you’ve lost them to the illness.” From that point on, everything changes. “You’re doing it out of love, because they’re your parent. But it becomes a one-way thing. There’s nothing coming back.”
It is something, he says, that is very hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t been through it. “Unless you’ve lived it, you don’t really understand what it takes. It drains the life out of you, not just physically, but mentally as well.”
And yet, even in the hardest moments, there are flashes of something lighter. His father had always been a smart man, always wearing a shirt and tie. “Then I’d go in and he’d have two shirts on and two ties on. You have to laugh. Those moments … they get you through.”
For Stewart, one key thing those years taught him is that breaks make a world of difference. “On a weekend, he’d sometimes go and stay with a lady friend, and that gave us a bit of respite. You could recharge. Without that, you’d be wrecked. You can’t do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
That understanding is what led him to support Dementia Carers Respite. “There are a lot of dementia charities, but this one really struck me because it’s practical. It’s about giving carers a bit of time back and that’s what people need.”
Through his involvement in racing, Stewart has found a way to raise awareness as well as provide financial support. His horse carries Dementia Carers Respite branding at races throughout the year, helping to bring the charity into wider public view. “I just thought, if I can use what I’ve got to get the name out there, then why not?”
For Stewart, the impact of his experience goes beyond the charity itself. It has changed how he sees the world: “Years ago, if I saw an old person stood in the middle of the road, I’d be blowing the horn and saying, ‘come on, get out of the way.’ Now I wouldn’t. I’d stop and I’d get out of the car. You realise what might be going on.”
For families caring for someone with dementia, the need for support is not complicated. “It’s as plain as the nose on your face,” he says. “People just need a bit of help to keep going.”
