Yorkshire, I’ve missed you!

When Claire Hardwick rang me at 7.30 am on Sunday morning (13 January) and offered to take me to Yorkshire, I jumped at the chance! More so because it was three years since I’d been pointing in Yorkshire, and five since I’d been to Sheriff Hutton!

I’d forgotten how friendly people are in this part of the world, and, to be frank, I was quite humbled by the warmth of the welcome. I certainly won’t be leaving it another three years until I return!

The hill was full of cars, something which impressed PPA CEO, Peter Wright (pictured above, left), who is keeping to his promise to visit lots of point-to-point courses in all four corners of the country.

There was a good contingent from the Midlands and South Midlands, including a fair few from the vociferous G&T Ellis fan club – and they would have plenty to cheer later in the afternoon!

*A familiar sight all over the country once spring arrives…*

Anyway, that’s enough words for now, so I’ll crack on with the rest of the pics, and, as ever a detailed report and all of the results can be found on the national point-to-point website.

The first Ellis winner came in the Ladies Open, courtesy of Haymount, who is quoted at 16/1 for the Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham in March. Click here for the latest odds.

I enjoyed the second Ellis winner (Latenightpass) because it was a) owned by a friend (Pippa Ellis), and b) because it was a homebred.

The last winner of the day (Eden Collonges) was the third leg of a popular treble for Cherry Coward and John Dawson. I enjoyed catching up with the Coward team, we had some great fun during the AGA years and they played a big part in the success of the AGA series – happy days!

And that was it, the end of a thoroughly enjoyable day! Although it wasn’t quite over as Claire stopped at the ‘golden arches’ on the journey back to the midlands for a nice little Sunday evening treat!