Following a small drought the Pendle is this week’s lead story in the Horse & Hound, and we have a picture of Jacqueline Coward on Narciso to accompany the article
In The Media, 6th May
May 6th, 2010 by Jonathan
Holcombe Harriers
Apr 26th, 2010 by Jonathan
It’s been two years since we’ve made it over to Whittington. Recent seasons have consistently seen fixture clashes between Whittington and Yorkshire meetings. Although we do try to cover every single meeting in Yorkshire, it’s a thankless task and the draw of paying Whittington a visit this year was just too strong to ignore, even though I knew it’d get me into trouble with some!
The trip didn’t disappoint – the ground was patchy following watering and as a result both Opens suffered small fields, but large fields or not, there’s no resisting the charm and beauty of the place. It’s still a favourite of mine, and the day felt far more rejuvenating than the reality of several kilometres racked up on foot between races would suggest.
The drop fence was some way to walk, but I’m glad I did make the trip out there – it’s been rebuilt and stands tall enough on the drop side that it comes higher than even my shoulder, something i’m not used to seeing at a point-to-point. It’s mightily impressive but I have to admit that I don’t think I’ve done it justice:
However, the day was mission accomplished in my eyes: a thoroughly enjoyable day, and I won’t be leaving it two years until I go back; if only so I get better shots of that drop fence!
In the Media, 8th April
Apr 8th, 2010 by Jonathan
We have the lead picture in this week’s report in the Horse & Hound, of Jake Greenall riding One More Gypsy to victory on the second leg of his first-ever treble at the Bedale from Saturday. Well done Jake!
In the Media, 25th March
Mar 25th, 2010 by Jonathan
One in this week’s horse & hound, although it’s been credited to John Grossick!
Nothing too much seems amiss with this photo until you realise not only is John Dawson’s right foot not in a stirrup, there is no longer a stirrup in which to place it – lost somewhere during the first lap, the final few jumps must have been a little hairy!
Hurworth 2010
Mar 22nd, 2010 by Jonathan
I always enjoy the Hurworth – Hutton Rudby is so unlike any other course in Yorkshire and no matter what mother nature has in store there (usually anything and everything) shooting there is nothing short of utter pleasure.
Saturday’s weather was grotty. Varying degrees of rain, with low cloud obscuring the beautiful hills in the background, we had a constant battle keeping water off the front of the lens, and angles were restricted to avoid shooting into the wind.
The thing is, at a course like Hutton Rudby, it doesn’t matter. There are relatively few restrictions on where we can stand, and it means we can take full opportunity to try and capture the charm of the track during the racing.
Elsewhere, there is an increasing problem with access during racing, all blamed on the somewhat mis-represented excuse of health and safety. Although I appreciate that organisers must be seen to actively police the risks for insurance purposes there has to be a modicum of common sense applied and I hope sense is seen before it is too late. This is a grass roots sport and part of the charm of it is the accessibility – take that away and the soul is gone.
Hat-tip of the day goes to John Dawson – not only did he ride a double on the day but the first leg of it was done with a major kit malfunction – somewhere around the final lap, John lost his right stirrup good and proper – in fact I can only assume something snapped because there’s no trace of it whatsoever in the photos
I guess things could have been worse – at least it happened on a seasoned open horse, but it’s a two-thumbs-up ride from me nonetheless. Nice work John!
In the Media, 4th March
Mar 4th, 2010 by Jonathan
Two pics in this week’s horse & hound, both of riders who enjoyed their first point-to-point wins at North Carlton on Sunday.
16-year-old Olivia Wells was making her debut in a Members race with only two runners, on board 14-year-old Yann’s. Her only competitor ran out at the last, leaving her a simple run to the line to claim her first win.
I first saw Oscar Churton ride in 2005 at Whittington and I’m amazed it’s taken this long for him to break his duck. Luck does play a major part in this sport, but there was no challenger strong enough for Oscar and his mount, He’s The Gaffer on Sunday – must have seemed quite odd to have waited so long, and then to get it so relatively easy. Now under the solid instruction of Clive and Marti Mulhall, I’m sure Oscar will be adding to his tally sooner rather than later.
The same pic of Oscar on He’s The Gaffer is this week’s image to accompany the Weatherby’s copy on sportinglife.com’s point-to-point section
North Carlton by Night
Mar 2nd, 2010 by Jonathan
Sunday’s Blankney Point-to-Point meeting presented us with our first ever experience of a 10-race card. Despite splitting the 2m5f 4-7yo maiden prior to the event, a further split was made on the day, and the final 8yo+ maiden also needed to be split, giving us 5 maiden races.
Quite frankly, how the organisers managed to fit them all in so the last race set off just a touch after 5pm is beyond me, but they must be congratulated for such a quick turnaround.
It won’t be a surprise to anyone for me to admit that I’ve never had cause to be photographing racehorses at 5pm in February before. In days gone by, this was the time for photographers yield to the conditions, or wind down the shutter speed and maybe just get the leader over the fence for each lap (unless the field got nicely spread out)
As the final race of the day came about, the light started to drop to the point where you could see it fading before your eyes. This kind of situation demands specific decisions to be made by a photographer regarding exposure settings & shooting position and is also the time when good subject tracking and panning comes to the fore.
This shot of Tom Ellis on board Taken On Trust was taken with a staggeringly-high ISO setting of 10,000 which is 50 times more sensitive to light than your average 35mm camera’s ASA/ISO 200 film. I’m still dizzy with the thought of such a high light sensitivity setting returning anything at all, never mind something so well defined
I’m really hoping that’s the end of our near-dusk exploits this year, but at least I know we’re in good shape should it happen again
In the Media, 25th Feb
Feb 25th, 2010 by Jonathan
Two pics in this week’s horse & hound, one of Samantha Klug atop Naturally Inspired, and one of Jake Greenall riding King Among Queens over the last in the first leg of a quick double – suprisingly for me Jake’s first ever double. Samantha’s win was also her first between the flags.
In the Media, 18th Feb
Feb 18th, 2010 by Jonathan
Tom Greenall on board Gunner Jack will be in this week’s report in the Darlington & Stockton times
We’ve also supplied the Yorkshire Post with an image to accompany their story over Charlotte and Chris Cundall’s 1-2 in the Novice & Vets race.
2010 Yorkshire season underway
Feb 10th, 2010 by Jonathan
After a few problems with the weather, the delayed Yorkshire season finally got under way at the weekend at Witton Castle, for the Old Raby Hunt Club’s point-to-point.
As per usual for this fixture, the light was atrocious but it was a good test for mind, body and equipment – you always get out what you put in, and the days where there is some real graft involved are always the most rewarding.
Shot of the day has to go to Ruth, this capture of Richard Smith on board Paint Me Silver over the ditch is an angle Ruth has been working on for a while, and this image is a good example of what persistence can bring.
It always takes us a couple of meetings to get back into the swing of things. December’s meeting at Alnwick seems such a long time ago, and the cobwebs were definitely still hanging around. It sometimes feels like your brain is a step behind to start with, but I’m hoping we’re now up to speed for the next meeting at Duncombe Park this weekend as it’s a meeting I always look forward to. The venue gives us numerous shooting options that cannot be seen anywhere else in our racing calendar so I’m crossing absolutely everything in hope the weather does not claim yet another fixture
