NL&RC at Southwell Racecourse Countryside Evening
A new event in the NL&RC calendar this year was the Countryside Evening Race Night at Southwell Racecourse, Nottinghamshire on Thursday 28th April. This was held in conjunction with the UCSW and Grove & Rufford Hunt, and comprised seven horse races, a band, trade stands and lurcher racing. The Lurcher racing was a qualifying round for the new NL&RC Golden Jacket Racing Championship to be held at the members’ weekend in October and NL&RC would like to thank The French Fries for the sponsorship of the Jackets for this round.
A beautiful sunny evening on the 28th wasn’t spoiled by the cool breeze, and a track of approximately 130 metres was neatly fenced off in the delightful lawned area between the grandstand and the racetrack. 2 heats of Under 23” were run in each of the intervals between the 1st and 3rd Horse Races, with the 4 dog Final and Presentation held between the 3rd and 4th Horse Races. Similarly, 2 heats of Over 23” were run in each of the intervals between the 4th and 6th Horse Races, again with the 4 dog Final and Presentation held between the 6th and 7th Horse Races. The timing of the heats was absolutely crucial to the success of the evening, and NL&RC would like to thank all the competitors for their co-operation in this matter.
As the first heat got underway the professional racecourse commentator was almost speechless in amazement at the speeds with which our lurchers run, and the crowd surged forward at every race in disbelief and wonderment. The Judge throughout was NL&RC Vice Chairman Tony Linsey.
Heat Winners for the Under 23” were Helen Hulland’s ‘Lyric’, Mark Straw’s ‘Chaos’, Vicki Grocock’s ‘Pop’ and Mark Straw’s ‘Crumble’. Reserve Champion was ‘Crumble’, with ‘Lyric’ being awarded the Champion’s Jacket and parading it proudly back along the front of the Grandstand.
Heat Winners for the Over 23” were Kat Masters’ ‘Lizzie’, Ron Cockerton’s ‘Sonny’, Vicki Grocock’s ‘Autumn’ and Vicki Grocock’s ‘Joker’. The last rays of sun slid from the sky as the Champion’s Jacket was presented to ‘Sonny’, with Reserve Champion being ‘Joker‘
All the dogs were in superb condition and a credit to both their owners and the NL&RC.
The Club would like to thank Tony Linsey for Judging, and all the competitors for their support and sportsmanship.
The biggest thanks go to the team at the Southwell Racecourse for making the whole evening possible, and the date for next year’s Countryside Evening has already been confirmed as Wednesday 25th April 2012.
