AN
ALTERNATIVE VIEW POINT GLAMORGAN YSTRADOWEN SATURDAY 13 APRIL 2002 by Alison Morris |
Looking at Jumping For
Fun this morning, I can see that a review has already been posted for this
meeting, and as it was one of the longest and least entertaining days
racing I have ever attended I'm quite glad not to have to write a full
review of it! Having
said that I think there are a few extra things that could be commented on
after reading Ian's review. Firstly,
the attitude or otherwise of the Glamorgan Hunt, had nothing to do with
owners not running their horses; I should know I was one of them! The over
riding factor was the state of the ground which was not only rock hard,
but rough, and anyone who watched Marc Barber taking Tiger Bell to the
start and saw the horse hit an uneven patch of ground on the downhill run
and shoot Marc up his neck, will well understand why owners didn't want to
risk their horses on such going. The thing that no one could understand
was how the Jockey Club passed the course in the place! The original
course inspector had failed the track using the downhill run, yet the one
who attended the course last week found it acceptable! Having
said that all the boys riding the track said that it rode a lot better
than it looked, even Dai Jones who only got around the bend because the
kids sitting on the cross-country fence sat up and frightened his horse.
Two local jockeys had ridden the course before hand and nether found any
real problems with it, but the safety factor was ludicrously high and no
one could picture a maximum field going round the bend. Tim Jones, who's
ridden some tracks in his time, said it was the worse course he had seen
in all his years at point to points, and as he was one of the jockeys who
rode at Llanwonno, he knows what he's talking about! The
men's open looked like a carve up (and was if the truth be known), but
that sort of thing has been happening for years (Peter Bowen at Moorlands
when Damien Duggan was fighting for the national title). The only loser
out of the scene was Tom, but he will have plenty more winners in their
own right and what long term pleasure would he have got from having his
first ever win recorded as a walkover? Finally,
the Ystrad Taf Fechan hunt who are due to run on the course in May are ALTERING
THE COURSE, and are not running down the hill. Hopefully this will
encourage people to enter. A full and busy card looks in prospect at Bonvilston but, as is happening in many meetings in this area, there is no maiden for older horses so many of the entries in the restricteds and even the four miler are in fact maidens. Come on secretary's, we lost a whole year through foot and mouth and now we are penalised because our horses are over eight! |