The AGA ladies open series may well have finished at Littlewindsor on April 22nd with our 28th AGA sponsored ladies open race, but we have still been pointing every weekend since, and keeping in touch with our AGA lady riders.
Grafton, Whitfield - A visit to Whitfield is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and we headed to this popular venue for the second time in four weeks, and the third time this season. The Simpson sat nav was definitely on the blink for our previous visit, however, we arrived without incident this time around.
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Hannah Watson and Mad Victor
A good ladies race will always be of interest to AGA Pointing, whether we are sponsoring or not, and we certainly got a good one today. It was won by Mad Victor, piloted by annah Watson, who beat Citizens Arrest and Bridget Andrews.
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Bridget Andrews and Citizens Arrest
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| "Where's the AGA signs ..." |
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| Eyes front! |
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| Bridge is thinking "what's the AGA man doing here?" |
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| "No plaits in my mane" |
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| Simon manages to keep within sight of the hospitality tent |
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| "Where did you get that hat Ally?" |
A nice chap in an AGA coat was spotted taking photos ... hello Beazo, we've missed you!
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| Beazo and a strategically placed AGA coat |
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| Ally and the Ginger Man |
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| Sara Moule is accosted by a huntsman! |
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| Hannah and Hope Sound |
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| Not sure what Mrs S is thinking ... |
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| Could this be a star of the future? |
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| I've seen these two somewhere before ... are they reflecting on the 5 interviews from last season? |
Supper from the AGA at chez Oliver - After racing we headed for Barnard Cottage - via the local car wash, for a spot of very lovely supper which was cooked on Jackie Oliver's rather nice red AGA. Mr & Mrs Kemp, along with Sara Moule were our fellow guests, and I also had a treat from Mrs O which was saved until after we had finished eating ... some home made Mars Bar vodka! It was delicious and I think Jackie should seriously considering marketing it ... as long as I get a decent supply.
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| Our fellow supper guests are captivated by Jackie's pony! |
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| Jackie and her "baby" |
Meynell and South Staffordshire, Garthorpe - A beautiful sunny Saturday so what should I do? I know, let's go pointing! It was a toss-up between Bredwardine and Garthorpe, a handful of texts to the Yorkshire AGA girls and Jackie Oliver meant I plumped for Garthorpe.
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AGA finalist Sam Drake ... she lined up at Cheltenham still
in with a chance of winning the AGA Total Control cooker |
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| The Intermediate - first circuit |
The Yorkshire girls were all in action in the second race on the card, the Intermediate, and Jo Mason fared best giving Chip N Pin a fantastic ride to finish a close second to hot favourite Sous Mix and Tom Greenall, beaten only 2 lengths.
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| Sammy |
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Jacqueline, looking decidely better than she did on our
last meeting earlier in the week! |
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| Becky Mason dismounts from Blandings Castle |
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| Cool me down ... |
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| Nobody is safe from the Simpson camera ... but that doesn't bother Jo who just loves it |
The Mason's were out in force and had a good chuckle at my map reading skills, before telling me that I had actually been quite close to finding them ... perhaps they will send a guide to escort me in next time? They were also cleaning up on the Best Turned Out front and Laura Clark was seen heading for the lorry clutching two bottles of champagne.
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| Sammy and Leac An Scail |
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| Thirsty work! |
Another Yorkshire lady just lost out as Sam Drake went down by only a length on Leac An Scail in the Mixed Open, it was a valiant effort and at one point I thought the pair were going to bag the spoils.
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| Leac An Scail after his 5th bucket |
I decided to kick on before the last, despite Jacqueline having a ride ... big mistake and I won't do that again as she only went and won on Battle Range at 8/1 to keep her title dream alive. I'd love to post a couple of photos of the happy jockey and connections but I was on the M1 when they crossed the line!
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| The hounds are on the course - and well strung out! |
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| No strays this week! |
