A PENSIONER says his life has been shattered after being brutally beaten by a champion horse trainer during a dog walk.

Retired probation officer Martin Dandridge, now 72, was left with a broken arm, lasting injuries and PTSD after the shocking attack.

The grandfather had been staying near his daughter’s home when he was suddenly set upon while walking his cockapoo, Gulliver, in a field.

He was repeatedly struck with a hockey stick by trainer Evan Williams in what a judge later branded an “appalling offence”.

Welsh Grand National-winning trainer Williams, 54, was today jailed for three years and will serve half the sentence behind bars.

The terrifying assault happened in Llancarfan, Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales, on December 4, 2024.

Williams broke Mr Dandridge’s arm in two places during the frenzied attack.

Speaking after the guilty verdict in March, Mr Dandridge described the horrifying ordeal as the “stuff of nightmares”.

He said: “My wife and I were there to be close to our daughter who had recently given birth.

“At around 9:30pm, I left our holiday cottage to walk our family cockapoo.

“Minutes later, while on the walk in a field close to the holiday cottage, I was brutally assaulted by a man wielding a hockey stick.

“I didn’t know him at the time but I now know him to be Evan Williams, the horse racing trainer.

“What kind of a human being launches such a vicious attack on a defenceless, elderly man out innocently walking his dog?

“The whole incident was the stuff of nightmares and utterly bizarre, perpetrated by a savage of a man.

The pensioner told how he had walked Gulliver past the stables or in the field next to his cottage each evening for weeks prior to the attack.

On the night of the attack, the weather was dark and stormy, prompting Martin to walk in the neighbouring field.

The OAP and his pooch both had light, fluorescent clothing on, as well as a head torch and collar light.

He added: “Shortly after seeing a car pull up at the entrance to the paddock, a man charged towards me yelling and swinging a hockey stick.

“He was shouting and swearing aggressively, ‘what are you doing’, to which I immediately answered, ‘I’m walking my dog’.

“He did not acknowledge my response but instead swung the hockey stick at me violently.

“It was a crazed, frenzied attack swinging the weapon at me hard and fast, as if he was trying to fell a tree.

“The blows knocked me to the floor and while on my knees, defenceless, he rained blows on my body.

“The blows kept coming and I feared for my life as there was nothing l could do to stop them.

“The hockey stick connected with my head and smashed my head torch, leaving bruises on my forehead.

“While I was on my knees, he raised the weapon and brought it down on me.

“l raised my arm to protect my head and he struck my arm with such force that it broke two bones in my forearm – the pain was excruciating.”

After describing his horrendous injuries, Martin told how one of Evan’s jockeys, Conor Ring, stepped in to stop the beating.

Mr Dandridge said cops arrived shortly after and helped him back to the cottage before taking him to nearby Bridgend Hospital.

He said: “l was unable to walk unaided so the police officers assisted me back to the cottage.

“l went into shock so the police decided to take me to Bridgend Hospital where l was treated.

“I had multiple bruises to my body, two fractures and an open wound to my forearm.”

Fifteen months on, he says the impact has been devastating.

He said: “I have significant residual pain in my left forearm and a significant loss of grip in my left hand. I’ve also been diagnosed with PTSD.

“I was a fit and able 71-year-old man who enjoyed sport and hobbies, none of which I can now participate in.

“The attack has not only traumatised me, but also my family.

“What should have been a happy time, celebrating a beautiful new addition to our family, was destroyed by Evan Williams’ senseless violence.”

Williams, who founded Evan Williams Racing in 2003, trained Secret Reprieve to victory in the 2020 Welsh Grand National at Chepstow.

At the time of the attack, he had around 120 horses across two training yards.