Part 2 of the AGA title goes to Yorkshire and the AGA cooker goes to the South Midlands

AGA Championship final exceeds all expectations with a thrilling finish as the lady riders take centre stage at the home of jump racing!

Words by yours truly, with the mood of the evening captured via a series of marvellous photographs taken by our very own John "Beazo" Beasley, and Jackie Oliver - with a few from me thrown in for good measure! 

The culmination of five months of hard work, the big race - The moment we had all been waiting for had arrived, nine top quality horses, piloted by nine top lady riders were lined up to face the tapes at the home of jump racing - it doesn't get any better than this! 

Not only was there a prize fund of £7,500 at stake, but we had a "race within a race" to decide who would be the inaugural winner of the AGA Total Control Lady Riders' Championship. The winner of the championship was set to be the proud owner of a brand new AGA Total Control cooker worth more than £10,000 - what a prize, and as the tapes went up there were still 5 possible winners - Claire, Jane, Hannah, Jacqueline and Sam!

Pondering the challenge ahead - AGA girls Hannah Lewis (Rathcor), Charly Prichard (Prince Massini) and Sam Drake (Unowatimeen)

My pre-race tip was Upton Springs, although in truth I felt it was too close to call and the one certainty was that we would get a thriller! The following images by John and Jackie are fabulous and tell the story of the race better than any words I could use - I hope you like them.

A great shot of the whole field, L-R, Rathcor, Metal Detector, Prince Myfanwy (outside), Billyvoddan (stars on sleeves), Unowatimeen (striped cap), Prince Massini (rail), Amicelli (outside), Upton Springs (pale blue) and Impact Zone (green)

Part 1 of the AGA title goes to Yorkshire and the AGA cooker goes to the South Midland

AGA final exceeds all expectations with a thrilling finish as the lady riders take centre stage at the home of jump racing!

Words by yours truly, with the mood of the evening captured via a series of marvellous photographs taken by our very own John "Beazo" Beasley, and Jackie Oliver - with a few from me thrown in for good measure! 

AGA Pointing arrive early for the big day
Was I looking forward to this evening? The answer to that question is a resounding yes! After five months of hard graft the big day had arrived and I had three things on my wish list:


1 - All of our guests would have a night to remember
2 - The lady riders would savour every moment
3 - Our series would end on a high  


Arriving early was always going to be the plan so myself and Mrs S met up with Derek just after 1.30 with the car and van packed full of goodies for the AGA room. Driving straight in through the gates we parked up by the grandstand and took everything up to National Hunt Room 1 (our home for the evening). Well, that's what should have happened but we locked the vehicles and headed straight for the parade ring!

Beazo, Derek and Mrs S stride across the hallowed turf - 
before changing into their race day outfits

This was too good an opportunity to miss and having spotted the flowing locks of Beazo in the distance we hailed him and he joined us to take in the atmosphere. This was a day off for Derek and for the first time this season he did not have to erect the AGA branding, however, he was still casting a critical eye over the efforts of the RTA team! As we strode around the parade ring Derek was convinced that he had found the exact spot where Big Bucks had walked and he also reeled off the names of some of the greats who had graced this hallowed turf.

Looking good - the winners podium with lots of strategically placed AGA banners!

Mrs Kemp wins the last one before the AGA final - and Emily MacMahon also bags a win at Whitfield as our season ends on a high ... Cheltenham here we come!

Our 50th meeting of the season was something of a home game for us as we had the luxury of setting off after midday! The weather was rubbish (boy was it cold), and we ensured that the car was parked facing downhill as on our last visit to Whitfield we had needed the services of a local tractor driver and our tow rope made its seasonal debut!

This popular venue is one of my personal favourites and it was a pleasure to meet so many familiar faces who were genuinely delighted to see us. One such familiar face was a lady I have worked closely with since August of last year, Heather Kemp, and her ride in the ladies open - Gidam Gidam, was quietly fancied by one or two shrewd judges.  

A very happy Emily MacMahon and that fella from AGA