An overnight stay in sunny (yes, I really did say sunny) Bournemouth preceded our visit to Badbury Rings for the seventh AGA Ladies Open race of the season, although the sun didn’t last and Sunday was rather gloomy. Having said that we had a tremendous day and for the second time this season Mrs S was heard to say ‘I’m not cold’ while on a point-to-point racecourse!

The Countryside Alliance Club fixture was high on my list pre-season and it was a good choice, ticking lots of boxes – a huge crowd and a tidy entry for the AGA race being two of those ticked boxes.

Anyway, before I look at some of the other highlights from the day let’s take a look at how the AGA Ladies Open panned out.

Another great race! Our series has been blessed with some competitive racing – not just this season, but also in previous seasons – and we had another good ‘un today, with Bryony Frost managing to get Aikideau’s nose in front right where it mattered, on the line! It was tough on Leanda Tickle and Byerley Bear but this pair have a few more wins in them this season, that’s for sure!

The win was celebrated with gusto by connections and not for the first time this season Mrs S found herself in the centre of the celebrations. That’s a real privilege and it adds another angle to our sponsorship, giving us an insight into just what it means to have a point-to-point winner.

The presentation was just as much fun with the whole family joining in, which is great to see.

It was a very long day (11 races), but very enjoyable, with lots of incident and some fantastic performances, plus, once again we met some very nice people. Lets’s take a look at some of the other highlights from the day …

The Henderson family (and friends) were out in force to support Camilla Henderson and the apple of her eye, Khyber Kim, with dad Nicky and sister Sarah joining a healthy contingent from the Marcus Foley stable in the paddock.

It didn’t go to plan for Camilla and Khyber Kim and they were upsides the eventual winner Cock Of The Rock at the third last when they took a crunching fall. Camilla was taken to hospital but both are ok and will be back on the course again soon, you can read the Marcus Foley blog from Badbury Rings here.

The day wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the lorry park, both to commiserate with those whose day had not gone to plan, and to share a drink with the winners … and a slice of pizza.

It was a mammoth day but we thoroughly enjoyed it and I’d love to come back here again. The boys brought the AGA Dual Control van, but the AGA show trailer would not look out of place in the impressive trade stand area!

We hit the road for the long drive back to the Midlands at 5.14pm after another great day on a point-to-point racecourse, and with plenty to talk about during the journey. There are some more photos here on the AGA Point-to-Point Facebook page, where you can also keep up to date with all of the news from our lady riders’ championship, and our owners championship.