H&H’s longstanding point-to-point correspondent Brian Armstrong has died aged 62.
He had been suffering from cancer.
Brian joined as a correspondent in 2007 and covered the Wessex area. He provided copy and photos, as well as features for the magazine.
“Brian has been the lynchpin of point-to-pointing in H&H for years,” said point-to-point editor Aimi Clark.
“His passion for the sport was infectious; he had excellent rapport with jockeys, owners and all connections, and really was a font of knowledge.
“More often than not, an email to Brian would confirm a vital fact I was seeking much more quickly than online research.
“His pictures were as brilliant as his words and he was a familiar sight on the edge of the racetrack with a camera, hotfooting it back to the paddock in time to speak to winners quicker than most.
“Brian certainly made my first year as point-to-point editor easier, not just by being so captivated by the sport, but because he was welcoming, professional and quite simply brilliant at what he did. Brian will be sorely missed by myself and all at H&H.”
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Former pointing editor Nicola Jane Swinney added: “Brian possessed almost encyclopaedic knowledge, as well as knowing what made a good story and understanding copy deadlines — usually hellishly early on Monday mornings!
“He was a gentleman, an inspiration, a colleague and, most of all, a friend. Some people create a vacuum in this world when they leave it; Brian is one of them.”
Clare Hazell, chief executive of the Point-to-Point Authority, also paid tribute.
“Brian was a popular member of the point-to-point circuit, whose reporting was always accurate and entertaining,” she said. “In spite of his illness he continued to attend meetings from the first day of the season until the last.
“He clearly loved the sport, but gave so much back in his reports.
“We send our sincere condolences to his wife Gill.”
