Novice Riders
Very pleased that some commonsense has finally prevailed for novice rider races😀 I've been banging on for years about how allowing this seasons novice star/ conditional in waiting to continue to farm these races for a whole season despite having clocked up 20odd winners many against the top jocks. Likewise only giving novices allowances in mixed opens when very few have the chance to ride open horses was a bit pointless. Been told more than once that it was too complex to administer which I always thought was utter b*//@(£$. Hopefully these good changes will encourage a few more genuine amateurs who may not have the backing of big yards and also create a few more opportunities for the less advantaged.
Will also be interesting to see how the hands and heels races pan out. I sincerely hope that they are used to encourage youngsters and are not open to Gina, James and co.......
So on this front well,done to whoever pushed these changes through the committee 👏
On a small note of clarity, we've been giving novice riders 5lb allowances in practically all Opens, Mixed or otherwise, in Yorkshire for quite some time now.
I actually hope that the hands and heels races are open to the top riders, in the same way that I wish they were under Rules. I'd take the view that it's a greater indication of horsepersonship to be able to galvanise an animal to victory by means other than the stick. I have it in somewhere in the back of my memory that John Francome was, and perhaps still is, of a similar view.
gc