CHAPTER XX

THE ORGANISATION OF A POINT-TO-POINT MEETING

By Captain E. N. L. Venn

LATE SECRETARY OF THE PYTCHLEY

THE point-to-point steeplechase instituted by our fore-fathers exists no longer to-day in its original form, with a few isolated exceptions, the only one of which the writer has been privileged to attend being the Weedon Equitation School’s Race.

This is a race in which a field of forty odd face the starter on a commanding piece of ground with an extensive view. They are shown a turning point out in the country, which they are to leave on their right or left, and the winning post, nothing more. They are given a few moments in which to visualise the lie of the country, and are despatched on their journey.

Each competitor picks his own line, and rides the race as he would a hunt.

But the modern point-to-point is a very different proposition, and is to all intents and purposes a race meeting. It is a general gathering of all the countryside and the day of the year par excellence when the Hunt entertains all the farmers over whose land they ride, and by whose courtesy alone the sport of fox-hunting goes on. A day’s sport comprising a card of five or six races must therefore be provided. This entails making up the fences to be strong enough to ensure a good course to ride over until the end of the day, and the making of efficient arrangements for a large crowd of spectators to arrive, park their cars, see as much of the racing as possible in comfort, and get away quickly and easily at the end of the day.

These meetings are held under the sanction of the Masters of Hounds Point-to-Point Committee, whose registry office is at Messrs. Vinton & Co’s., 8 Breams Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, E.C. 4.

This Committee, known as the M.P.C., is controlled by the M.F.H. Association, with additional members representing Masters of Harriers and Beagles, Masters of Staghounds, the Regular and Territorial Forces, and the Pegasus Club.

The procedure for the organisation of a point-to-point meeting does not vary very much in different countries, with the exception of the all-important question of the amount of funds available to be spent on it; and very few of the people who attend their local point-to-point have any idea of the actual turnover in money that is necessary to enable the Committee to provide their day’s sport. Its success depends, as does everything else in life, on an infinity of trouble being taken and on a minute attention to detail.

The writer proposes in these notes to endeavour to summarise briefly the necessary steps which, in his experience, have to be taken by a point-to-point secretary organising a meeting.

1. Decide on the Date.

A suitable date is most important and should naturally be selected as early as possible in the season while there are still plenty available. If for any reason this is left too late, great care should be taken that the date selected should clash as little as possible with that of neighbouring Hunt meetings (for obvious reasons) to ensure as many entries as possible in members, farmers, and open races, and that the entries and attendance will not be seriously affected by race meetings such as the National Hunt Meeting at Cheltenham, Grand Military Meeting at Sandown, or Liverpool Grand National Meeting, etc. etc., all of which take place during the height of the point-to-point season and are extensively attended by the fox-hunting world.

2. Decide on the Course.

This should be the best riding 3 to 3½ miles of country that can be found, which fulfils the following conditions.

(a) In that part of the country in which it is considered desirable to hold the meeting, e.g.

(1) the middle of the country, or the Monday or Tuesday country, or

(2) near the town or towns which will provide a great proportion of the “gate.”

(b) Accessible to a railway station, for horses arriving from a distance.

(c) And this is all-important; part of the course really adjacent to a good main or metallised road, but not overlooked by it, thereby enabling spectators to watch the racing from cars on the roadside.

(d) A good winning-field for parking cars, and controlling a crowd in, and for providing facilities for good visibility for spectators.

3. (a) Decide on Number and Conditions of Races.

(b) Appoint Stewards and Officials.

(a) This is naturally dependent on local conditions and on the number of runners and size of fields likely. The actual number of races allowed and their conditions are definitely laid down in the M.P.C.’s regulations. A copy of these should be obtained from the Registrars, Messrs. Vinton & Co. Ltd., before anything else is done (price 2s. 6d.). The regulations governing the number of races at Hunt point-to-point meetings are briefly as follows:

(1) Two steeplechases at least shall be confined to members, subscribers or farmers, and/or puppy-walkers of the Hunt promoting the meeting, in the case of fox hunts, and one steeplechase in the case of harriers.

(2) Except by special permission of the M.P.C. not more than one open nomination race may be held.

The remaining races shall be confined to:

(3) Adjacent Hunts.

(4) Any Naval, Military, or Air Force unit, including Territorial Force and Special Reserve.

(5) Some other society approved by the M.P.C. regulations. In connection with (4) and (5) it should be noted that each Naval, Military, Air Force, or other society point-to-point steeplechase meeting or race must be sanctioned and registered separately and the usual fee paid even when held in connection with and at a Hunt meeting.

The procedure for a regiment, for instance, wishing to hold its regimental race or races at the X point-to-point meeting, is:

(1) To obtain permission or receive an invitation from the Master of the X Hounds to do so.

(2) To forward application on an official form, which must be obtained from the Registrars, and two schedules (printer’s proofs before printing the bulk) of their race or races, accompanied by the written permission of the Master, with the necessary fee, to Messrs. Vinton & Co., applying for the necessary permission, not less than fourteen days before the meeting.

(3) Within fourteen days after the meeting to render the three same returns for their own race or races as the point-to-point secretary has to do for the whole meeting.

Full particulars, dealing with these returns, etc., will be found in detail below.

The regulations governing the races at Naval, Military, Air Force, Club, or other society point-to-point steeplechase meetings vary slightly as to conditions, but full particulars can be found in the M.P.C.’s regulations.

When deciding on the numbers and conditions of races, it is obviously of great advantage to include, whenever possible, at least one regimental club or other society race, as this adds interest to the card and increases the attendance.

It should be noted that “Hunters’ Certificates” are required for all point-to-point races.

Certificate forms are official, as laid down by the M.F.H. Association, and no other form is admissible. These are obtainable from the Registrars in books of fifty, each in duplicate form, one for M.P.C. Meetings and the other for N.H. Meetings, the forms not being interchangeable.

“Hunters’ Certificates” for point-to-point meetings may, if desired, be registered at Vinton’s for the season, on payment of a fee of 2s. 6d. for each horse, thereby obviating the necessity of producing them at scale at meetings, and saving a great deal of trouble to Masters, owners, and point-to-point secretaries.

No other registration is recognised or valid at point-to-point meetings.

(b) Appointment of Stewards and Officials.

These will naturally consist of the Master or Masters, some members of the Hunt Committee, and prominent landowners, etc., but should also, whenever possible, include one or more stewards with some active experience of racing under National Hunt Rules. Conundrums do crop up at the most carefully organised and best-run meetings, and, although they are fortunately not of very frequent occurrence, “Objections” are sometimes lodged, and ‘ ‘live” stewards who know their business are then invaluable.

4. The next step is to get out (a) schedules of the programme, and as they accompany them, (b) entry forms, and to have the date of the meeting and the schedules approved.

“Application for permission to hold the meeting must be made to the M.P.C. Registry Office (Vinton’s), 8 Breams Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, E.C. 4, on a form to be obtained therefrom not less than 14 days before the Meeting, together with a Fee of Two Guineas and two printer’s proofs of the actual programme in the form to be issued, for approval, before final printing.”

(a) Schedules. These should in every case include the following particulars:

(1) The following regulation must be printed verbatim on these and on all advertisements and on the front page of all programmes and race-cards:

“This Meeting is to be subject to the Rules and Regulations of the M.F.H. Association and to National Hunt Rules 5 and 164 to 168 (disqualification of persons and corrupt practices).”

(2) Place of meeting.

(3) Nearest stations.

(4) Date.

(5) Where stabling can be obtained close to course.

(6) Names of stewards and officials with the latters’ addresses.

(7) General conditions.

It is also laid down that the two following regulations must always be included verbatim on the schedules and on the race-cards:

(a) “Horses whose names are registered under any recognised Rules of Racing, or Steeplechasing, or which have ever run in a race in public, whether under any recognised rules or otherwise, shall be run under the same names in these ‘Steeplechases’ and

(b) “No person or horse who is disqualified under any Rules of Racing or Steeplechasing shall be eligible to take part in these ‘Steeplechases.’ ”

Others are framed as the Committee may see fit, to enforce their own particular local conditions and rules not comprised in M.P.C. regulations. These should include the right to reject any horse or rider without giving any reason therefor; a statement that the decision of the Stewards is to be final on all matters, subject to any appeal to the M.P.C., and a caution requesting gentlemen walking the course prior to the races not to bring dogs with them, and not to make gaps in the fences, in order to save the farmers over whose land the races are run as much trouble and annoyance as possible. They should also give the name, address, and telephone number of the secretary of the meeting; state to whom entries are to be made, if not to him, and date on which entries close.

(8) Each race should have the following particulars given:

(a) Time.

(b) Name or designation.

(c) Stakes.

(d) Accurate description stating what horses are eligible to run, and who may ride, and detailed conditions including penalties, if any.

(e) Weights.

(f) Distance.

(g) Entrance fee.

(h) Dress to be ridden in, e.g. hunting dress or racing colours.

In connection with (d) it is to be noted that ladies are ineligible to ride except in races limited to lady riders, and that any or every race may in future be limited to lady riders if the promoters of the meeting so wish.

(b) Entry Forms. These can be quite simply drafted in any convenient form which provides the necessary columns for all the particulars required to be given, and for convenience they should be printed as the last page of the schedule, and made to tear off, to save the necessity of having to include an extra form in each schedule sent out. Or, official printed entry forms can be obtained from Messrs. Vinton & Co. Ltd. at 2s. 6d. for 50.

The following are the column headings necessary:

Race … Name of horse … Colour and distinctive marks … Sex … Age … Rider and colours … Pedigree (if known) … When and from whom purchased or obtained … Previous wins …

And on the bottom of the form:

“Entries close at (Time) on (Date) to … and must be accompanied by entrance fees.”

(Name of owner and address.)

As soon as sanction for the holding of the meeting has been obtained, and the proposed programme has been approved, it must be well advertised. This should be done in the Sporting Press, publications such as The Field and Horse and Hound, some weeks before the meeting is due to take place, and also in all the local papers, and in some cases by bill-posting.

So much for the administrative preliminaries. The next step is:

TO PREPARE THE COURSE, ENCLOSURES, ETC.

The Course.

It is laid down in the M.P.C.’s Regulation No. II that “The Course shall be of as natural a character as possible and typical of the country concerned,” and in Regulation No. III that “The Course shall be over a distance of not less than 3 miles (if practicable 3½ miles is preferable).” Particular attention should be paid to this as the governing authorities are very averse to artificial courses and may send inspectors to view same where necessary, or, indeed, will send an inspector, if so desired, to confer with the Hunt concerned and advise as to the best means of remedying any defects or injury to the course.

The proposed course must first be walked most carefully, fence by fence, to decide which way to run it, where to start and where to finish, and which is the most practicable line to take it over, after close attention to the actual place in each fence which it is proposed to use; particular attention being paid to the take-offs and landings, and to the condition which the fence is in and the width of it, etc. The length of the course must be not less than 3 miles but preferably more, as laid down in the M.P.C.’s regulations, and this should include between twenty and twenty-five fences, and should have as few awkward sharp turns, if any, as possible.

The first three or four fences should be made as wide as is necessary to allow ample room for all the runners in the biggest field in the day’s racing which is probable, to be able to jump it abreast, to avoid danger of crowding and accident. An allowance of a width of approximately one yard per horse is sufficient for this purpose. The last two fences should also be sufficiently wide to ensure plenty of elbow room.

To allow the spectators to see as much of the racing as possible, it is desirable, where feasible, to run the course through the winning or enclosure field at the beginning of the races as well as at the end. The “going” should be carefully considered, and, where necessary in low-lying fields, some simple form of drainage should be carried out.

The Fences.

These should be big, not small, stiff, and as black as they can be made to look, no fences being cut or strengthened more than is necessary. Small, weak, gappy-looking fences are the cause of most of the falls and accidents at point-to-points, as tired horses are apt to chance them and will not rise at them. All big roots, stumps, etc., must be cut out, particularly on the take-off side, as these are very dangerous and are terribly likely to stake horses. Particular attention should be paid to the “take-off” and “landings.” These must be good, level, and absolutely sound, and considerable trouble and pains should be taken with them, as one or other side of most point-to-point fences has either been poached by cattle or has cart ruts. These must be carefully made good and levelled off. In a year when the ditches are very full, it may even be necessary to put in a short length of drain pipe to carry the water off, to cover this with a layer of cinders and to turf it on top. The fences themselves should be built up, strengthened, and blackened with thorn, gorse, or any other similar material easily obtainable near by, or they may be faced with gorse like regulation fences, but they must be black and solid. As soon as the “take-offs” and “landings” have been made good, and while the fences are being made up, till the day of the meeting, it is advisable to have them strongly wired off all round to keep any horses, cattle, or sheep grazing near by away from them.

On the day of the meeting, material should be left beside each fence, and men told off to make good any holes or gaps punched in them after each race. The fences should be flagged where necessary, red flags on the riders’ right, and white on their left, and any turning flags in the middle of a field should be on high poles which can be seen from some distance, and are really obvious, as few things are more unsatisfactory than objections lodged on account of horses going the wrong side of a flag.

Enclosures.

The number and size of these are, of course, dependent on the crowd anticipated. But they will, in the majority of cases, generally include the following: winning-field car enclosure (incidentally car enclosures and the sale of race-cards are the only sources of revenue). This must be on sound old turf or hard ground, in which cars will not sink. The main entrance gate into it from the road must be wide enough and the gateway itself absolutely hard and solid enough to carry all the traffic which it will have to. This will very likely need the use of a lot of clinkers, and possibly some drainage. The traffic control on the roads is best done by the police, and the arrangements for parking cars, etc., in the enclosures, and for getting them away, by R.A.C. Scouts.

Inside the winning field, a paddock. This is best fenced in with chestnut paling or some similar material; admittance cannot be charged, but if competent men are posted at the entrances, undesirables need not be admitted, or, arrangements may be made for admission only by permit or badge issued to members, subscribers, owners, farmers, etc.

In this will be the weighing, dressing, and secretary’s tents, and a horse-ring in which all runners should be saddled and paraded before each race, and three hurdle “pens” for the 1. 2. 3. to dismount and unsaddle in after each race.

A new regulation has just been passed to come into operation for season 1930–31: No horse shall be weighed out for any race unless the name of the race and of the horse and the jockey have been given in writing by the owner or duly authorised agent to the Clerk of the Course not less than three-quarters of an hour before the time fixed for the race.

A reminder may not be out of place here that no riders may dismount until the weighing tent is reached after the race, as numerous races have been lost on an “objection” owing to the non-observance of this rule.

In connection with the weighing tent, it should not be forgotten that the ground selected on which this is to be pitched, should be as flat as possible, and that it should then be made absolutely so, to ensure complete accuracy in the scales.

Other enclosures necessary are cheap-car enclosures adjacent to the approach roads to the course, in which spectators not eligible for the special enclosures, or who do not wish to take their cars into the winning-field, can park their cars. These bring in a certain amount of revenue and are very necessary to enable the police to prevent people trying to park their cars on the roadsides.

FARMERS’ LUNCHEON TENT, ETC.

This is too wide a subject to be gone into within the scope of these notes. All the arrangements for the farmers’ lunch are of the utmost importance and require a lot of thought and careful working out, and this part of the meeting really requires a complete organisation of its own.

Before leaving the subject of the enclosures, etc., it would be as well here to enumerate briefly some of the personnel whose services must be engaged for the day of the meeting, and who should be seen beforehand actually on the course, and shown the general lay-out of the ground and the arrangements made.

(1) Police. Numbers necessary and amount of payments for services required, vary in different counties. The simplest procedure is for the secretary to ask the inspector or superintendent concerned to meet him on the ground, show him all that is required, traffic control on the road, car parks, etc., and control of crowd, and the chief constable of the county will then forward a statement stating numbers considered necessary to carry out this work efficiently.

(2) R.A.C. Scouts to superintend traffic control inside the enclosures, parking of cars, etc.

(3) Ambulance Contingent. These should have a headquarters near the tents, and a motor ambulance. Arrangements should be made for this to be able to be driven to any fence or point on the course, in case of accident, and the remainder of the contingent should be allotted positions round the course, provision being made for them to deal with every single fence.

(4) Men to look after any roping, etc., e.g. ropes keeping the crowd away from the “run in,” and men to make up the fences. These latter must be so organised that the fences are fairly divided up between them, and so that they can efficiently keep all the fences in proper order during and after every race with the material at their disposal, which will have been dumped beside each fence beforehand.

(5) Medical Officer and Veterinary Surgeon. It is as well for these two officers to see everything before the actual day of the meeting, in order that they may be shown where their headquarters are to be, and to enable them to make their plans for reaching any point on the course when wanted, in the shortest possible space of time. Their headquarters and they themselves should be somewhere where the secretary can always find them at a moment’s notice. The veterinary surgeon’s equipment should always include a float and a humane killer.

(6) Bookmakers. It is also as well to get one of the most representative of the bookmakers proposing to attend the meeting, to meet the secretary on the ground and to arrange definitely with him exactly where the bookmakers’ pitches are going to be allowed, and to explain carefully that they will be allowed nowhere else, and that the police have instructions to this effect.

Most point-to-points are now also adopting the Totalisator, which is licensed and operated by the Racecourse Betting Control Board. This offers obvious advantages, and all particulars can be obtained from the Secretary, The R.B.C.B., at 33 St. James’s Street, London, S.W.1. Attention is drawn to the fact that there is only one “tote” that can be used and that is the one sanctioned and operated by the Racecourse Betting Control Board.

(7) Careful plans should also be made with regard to the selling of race-cards, exactly how this is to be done, and whether race-card boxes or kiosks are to be used or not, and if so, where they are to be erected to the best advantage. The most efficient steps possible must be taken to prevent cards getting into the hands of unauthorised persons, a great number of whom try at every meeting to buy up large quantities and then re-sell them at an exorbitantly increased price. With this end in view, the prices should be numbered in bold print on the cards, official race-card sellers should all wear armlets or badges and the official price should be stated on numerous notice boards, put up on the sides of the roads leading to the course, in the enclosures, etc.

RACE-CARDS

The setting up and printing, etc., of these entails a good deal of thought and care, and the date on which entries close should be settled so as to allow a sufficient margin of time for the printers to carry out their work properly and to be able to submit final proofs for approval before actually going to press. The actual particulars to go on the race-cards are practically the same as those already on the schedules sent out. Rule XI of the M.P.C.’s regulations again must be quoted on the front page of the card, and the same two conditions as before must be included in the general conditions.

Some conditions extra to those already on the schedule will have to be added, dealing with such matters as hunters’ certificates being produced at scales, if not sent with entry; starters weighing out a certain time before each race; keeping red flags on their right and white on their left; procedure when lodging an objection, etc., and a good and approximately accurate plan of the course should always be included.

On the day of the meeting the secretary should ride round the course, fence by fence, and the enclosures, etc., seeing that everything is in order, and everybody at his post. It is as well to have a reliable runner to send out when and where wanted, and to remain at the secretary’s tent when he is away from it, so that he can always be found.

All that remains now is to hope for a fine day, without which no meeting, however well arranged, can be a success, and if the foregoing details have been carefully carried out, the organiser’s troubles and worries should be practically over by the time the Hunt servants, in their pink coats and on their best-looking horses, have cleared the course, the runners for the first race have been weighed out and are down at the post, and he hears the roar of the Ring: “They’re off.”

At the end of the day arrangements should be made to send the money taken in to the local bank, under adequate police protection, and after the meeting a start should be made, on the following day, to remove all tents, fencing material, stakes, ropes, farm waggons, etc., and to clear up generally. All the debris which will have been left lying about, must be collected and got rid of; the fences made up, and the gaps made good, and all gateways made good again, and everything put straight and left as it was found. The greatest care must be taken to complete this work in as short a time as possible, and that it is carried out to the complete satisfaction of all the farmers concerned.

Within fourteen days after the meeting, in accordance with the M.P.C.’s Regulation No. XIV, the following fully completed returns must be made to the Registry Office:

(a) A certificate (on form supplied) signed by two stewards, one of whom must be the Master.

(b) Two marked race-cards, indicating the runners, placed horses, riders, etc.

(c) Registration of winners and placed horses, giving full particulars of each horse as required on the form supplied, the secretary of the meeting being responsible for this registration.