BONKERS racehorse trainer Bill Turner has stunned the equine world by learning to ride a ZEBRA.

The 61-year-old bought the African animal to fulfil an ambition to see if they could be trained to race like horses.

Bill takes the striped animal around his village and locals are stunned when they see the zebra crossing.

After just a few weeks he has already got the zebra named Zebedee up to a canter and hopes in future that he might get him jumping. He works with the 14-month-old zebra on his 300 acre farm for two hours a day and says he is coming along well.

Just half grown, Zebedee’s instinct is to see everything as a predator, and training techniques have been adapted so he is never chastised.

Bill bought the zebra from a Dutch game reserve. It cost £4,500 to purchase and legally import to his farm near Sherborne, Dorset.

Bill said: “I had always wanted to see if I could train a zebra like a horse and had tried for years to get one.

“Then a friend in Belgium who knew I wanted one managed to find one and I brought him over. He is only half grown and we’ve only been training him for a few weeks but it is going very well.”

At first I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew because he saw everything as a predator.

“So we have not chastised him and have been encouraging him and he is now doing very well.”

On the first occasion Bill rode Zebedee into his village his wife Tracy, 61, slowly followed behind in a lorry in case the zebra tired. Bill said the first time he rode Zebedee to his local pub the drinkers thought they had too much to drink.

He said: “I ride him with a saddle and I take him out to the village and the first time I did it a few people outside the pub ran back in thinking their beer was a bit strong.

“He now really likes going out and along the country lanes and his ears prick up. I haven’t got him jumping yet, but we might do in the future.

“He is not a lover of horses and he gets frightened, but over time we’ll hopefully change that. He doesn’t need to be shod and he eats just what the racehorses eat – but not in the same quantities.”

As a racehorse trainer, Bill has won 600 races over 30 years with his horses.