WEST POINT-TO-POINTS FALL VICTIM TO LOCKDOWN AS SEASON IS PAUSED
POINT-TO-POINT racing officials have pressed pause on the 2020-21 season because of the third national lockdown and soaring coronavirus rates, writes Athwenna Irons.
While National Hunt is continuing behind closed doors amid the latest restrictions, the amateur form of the sport - which is highly valued and passionately supported across the Westcountry - has been put on hold for at least the next six weeks.
The Point-to-Point Authority (PPA), the sport’s governing body, said it hopes to restart the season on the weekend of February 20-21, based on the Government’s tier review on February 10.
Meetings planned in the Devon and Cornwall area which will now be impacted by the shutdown include the Tiverton Foxhounds at Chipley Park near Wellington (January 24) and the Western Hunt at the Royal Cornwall Showground near Wadebridge (February 7).
The North Cornwall Hunt had already been forced to cancel its fixture set to take place this coming Sunday, January 10, due to a lack of medical cover.
In a statement published by the
PPA on Monday, its chief executive, Peter Wright, said: “Whilst I know that many of you would have liked to press on, and indeed the sport remains inherently safe, we cannot claim that we are acting in a vacuum.
“The national situation is worsening, and that means amongst other things that the availability of medical assets is no longer assured. Even if those could be guaranteed, there is the likelihood of waits at hospitals for injured jockeys, and racing having to be stopped due to lack of ambulances on course.
“We also have to take into account the workload put upon the volunteers who run the meetings, the level of which may not be apparent to many of you .... Rest assured that we are doing everything possible to ensure our sport will be in a great space to get going again in a safe and secure manner, which is acceptable to us all. Please keep checking the website for further updates.”
Mr Wright added that if the 2020-21 season is able to restart as planned next month, that will leave a total of 19 racing weekends until its end in June - during which two thirds of the normal fixture list would run.