Opinion
I’ll start my final comment of the season by turning the spotlight on to lady riders again — four of them to be precise.
This quartet is providing some much-needed excitement as the season draws to a close, which bodes well for the future. Three are youngsters with bright futures and one is an experienced old hand (she won’t mind me saying that).
The battle for the lady novice riders’ title is going to go to the wire at Umberleigh (16 June). Alice Stevens and Isabel Williams are having a great scrap at the top of the table and both head to Devon with eight wins on the board.
Alice and Isabel have both demonstrated that they can hold their own outside novice company and their title scrap has caught the imagination of pointing followers. It will be an intriguing sub-plot to the final day of the season — as will the battle for the runner-up spot in the ladies’ championship.
Claire Hardwick and Izzie Marshall are locked together on 11 wins apiece and both will head to Umberleigh determined to make the number two spot their own. Good luck to all four.
Lack of signage
My second point is the signage of fixtures. I’ve been to 90-odd point-to-point courses in seven years and I’m still amazed at the lack of signage for some events.
In 2011, I said pointing was one of the UK’s best-kept secrets. If you’re not in the know, it can still be hard to find information about the sport. These days postcodes tend to get you thereabouts, but some decent signs are also essential — particularly if we want to attract new customers.
Ref Horse & Hound; 14 June 2018
