Exciting AGA Ladies race at Ston Easton leaves us dreaming of grabbing the headlines ... but instead we are left nonplussed

Our race at the Mendip Farmers meeting at Ston Easton had it all, it was one of the most exciting I have seen, and barring last years final at Cheltenham I don't think I've seen a more exciting finish in an AGA race (more of that shortly). On a bitterly cold day - I used the word 'Siberia' on more than one occasion during the afternoon, this thrilling race was just what we needed to warm us up.

This was the scene when we left Cubbington for our two hour drive to Ston Easton, and while I had assured Mrs S that there would not be any snow at all on the course, I neglected to mention how cold it would be (as a result of which I would later be called a 'con artist').

Mrs S - purple hood, only got out of the car twice, and this was the first time, while Derek and Dan look as if they would be much happier if they were sat in front of a nice warm AGA at home! The AGA Ladies Open was the 3rd race on the card, and with five declared Beazo grabbed a couple of pics of the AGA man in the paddock with the two lady riders who would shortly be the cause of much drama and excitement (Emily MacMahon and Lucy Gould).

In anticipation of a close finish we decided to watch the race stood by the winning post, this proved to be a very wise decision - as you can see from the following photographs, all taken by master point-to-point photographer John Beasley.

Azulada Bay jumped like a stag leading the field a merry dance from the off, and only question we were asking ourselves was would Emily MacMahon be able to keep him there.

Another great pic from John Beasley captures the moment that Jayo, Azulada Bay and Special Occasion took the last fence almost as one.
Heads down, whips up and jockeys in full cry as the three fight out the most exciting finish of the day, seperated by a head and half a length as they flashed past the post.

I am just visible between Azulada Bay and Jayo in the photo above as I get a close up view of the finish - and what a finish it was!

As you all know I have what you would call a 'fuller figure', but let me tell you that after this finish I sprinted, yes, sprinted back to the paddock to greet (and thank) Lucy, Emily and Charlotte (and connections).

Emily (smiling below right) said she had it, Lucy (below left) wasn't sure, and nor were we, but we were thrilled with the race and the finish. Then Emily objected, there were tears and some strong language, and a lengthy stewards enquiry followed, so lengthy that our presentation had to be delayed until after the Mens Open.

Did we care about the delay? No we didn't, the longer the better as this just added to the drama. Me - AGA man, and William - AGA CEO, were grinning like Cheshire cats, this was the stuff that headlines are made of. I was heard to say, and I quote, "this is great, there's only three meetings this weekend so this is sure to grab the headlines next week, I can't wait".

"Result stands", well done Lucy Gould, and the two Cheshire cats were joined by top GB eventer Dani Evans to present Lucy with her mementoes. We're freezing but we're still grinning because we love doing this, but also because we think we have it in the bag, this is the race that everyone will be talking about throughout the week and beyond ... won't they?

So, lets remove our AGA hats for a moment and take a step back, we had just witnessed a thrilling race, the kind of race that when people read about it, they would think "that sounds good, I need to go to a point-to-point meeting".

But sadly we didn't make the final cut - apart from the odd mention online, and a horse which sauntered home without the jockey moving a muscle was the one which grabbed the majority of the headlines, with a one liner at the end of the report just about the best that we could muster. Then came the weekend and ... nothing! As you can see from the photo above this was the final straw, Derek can't believe it, while it was just too much for Dan who has his head in his hands! In the meantime Mike Smith offers odds on somebody using the fabulous John Beasley pics - which are free, yes FREE I said, FREE to anyone who would like to use them.

The AGA man is buoyant, as are his team, and we've reached the halfway point in our series with much still to look forward to - including the Pony Racing finals, closely followed by the final of our series at Stratford. The AGA iTotal Control Lady Riders Championship is shaping up very nicely indeed and we still have one or two surprises up our sleeves. So there are no sour grapes from the AGA collective, and there is no huff with a threat to take our ball home, because we care, but we are a little nonplussed. We're also concerned when such an exciting race, accompanied by those fantastic John Beasley (free) pics, can't get a mention. I can only imagine how the great Carl Evans would have described the race ...