A DAY A THE RACES
ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT by Jo Monck
held last year in 2018 due to adverse weather conditions. The ground truly has to be perfect for this day which consists of five races. There really is something for every breed of horse and every person from children right up to the seasoned jockey, it takes guts at all levels to compete in this event. The definition of Scurry in the English dictionary is a period or situation of busy activity which I would say perfectly describes this day of racing on the Island. There is always a gentle atmosphere of excitement at the Scurry, a feeling of going back in time to the 1950’s, there is a marquee with a bar and a fantastic array of homemade cakes to eat whilst you are deciding where to place your bets. It has a community feeling of everybody pitching in to make the day as enjoyable as possible. Horse racing on the Isle of Wight has been taking
T
place definitely since the middle of the nine- teenth century, and there is a high probability of much earlier racing activity, some sources say that horse racing was taking place during the Roman occupancy of the Island. Recorded in relatively recent nineteenth century history are steeplechases, hurdle races and occasional flat races. However, in the 1950’s racing was actually taken off the Island as it became too expensive for people to bring their horses over from the Mainland and the Isle of Wight Hunt cup was actually run in Aldershot in 1978. I hear wonderful stories of days gone by of horses travelling the Solent, being led on to the ferry, standing patiently and then being led off at the other side! The land at Ashey, where the present Scurry is based was acquired by a Mr George Young in 1881 and then leased to host the racing. It is believed that the site was chosen because of a nearby railway station; carriages were leſt on the track to provide extra grandstand seating! Even today the vintage steam railway will drop you off on race day and you can wander across the field to spectate, truly a day to remember. On March the 30th 1922 the Isle of Wight point
to point was won by the Islands most famous equine inhabitant, Warrior, born here in 1908, better known as “War Horse” the incredible
he Isle of Wight Grand National and Ashey Scurry is an annual event that takes place over here on the Isle of Wight. It was not
horse who survived World War I and came back home to the Island to retire with his owner General Seely, going on to be the subject of the film and the stage play. WWI and WWII naturally interrupted racing on the Island, it resumed in the late 1950’s and aſter a gap of over thirty years was then resurrected at Ashey in 1992 and once again gave Islanders a chance to experience the Sport of Kings without having to travel to the Mainland. For this years Isle of Wight Grand National and Scurry the weather was perfect, the ground was good and the sun was out. I arrived early with my camera at the ready, weighing up where best to photograph the first race which was the ‘Puffing Billy Stakes’. For each race I work my way round photographing different jumps; the fence heights progress with each race as the day goes on finishing with Grand National. The kids who take part in the first race just fly, appearing to have no nerves just sheer determination and an enjoyment of their ponies, it is such fun to watch! Two years ago a very brave young Oxfordshire lad aged seven called Freddie Fletcher came all the way over to the Island from Oxfordshire and took part in the racing on his pony Rock on Tommy. For this race ponies have to be under 14.2 hands and riders under fiſteen years of age. Freddie was a particularly brave competitor as six months prior to competing he had been desperately ill with a life threatening infection and was being treated at the John Radcliffe hospital. The one thing that kept Freddie going throughout his illness was the thought of his pony Tommy. He competed in the race to raise money for the Oxford Children’s Hospital to say a big thank you for the care that they had given him. What determination! They came in at a very healthy 4th place. That same year Hadden Frost, also from Mark Smith’s Didcot based yard, rode Paul aka Templar in the Isle of Wight Grand National going one stage further bitless AND bareback to also raise money for Freddie Fletchers charity. People were double taking right the way around the course as Hadden flew round and finished in second place winning the Competitors Cup. He is a seasoned rider in the Isle of Wight Grand National, having won it in 2015 also riding bitless. Hadden is the son of Jimmy Frost who
won the
Aintree Grand
National in 1989 on Little Polveir, definitely a huge talent running through that family! I remember catching up with Freddie, Hadden and Paul aſter that last race and got a photo of the three of them together. As I recall, Paul was in a hurry to get back to his haynet totally unaware that he was probably the first horse to go around that course bareback and bitless, even Warrior didn't do that! This Oxfordshire yard first started coming over
to the Island to take part in the Scurry in 2010, originally just in pink head collars, all bridles and clothes are pink in support of Breast Cancer. Mark Smith is a great advocate of the bitless bridle and is an absolutely fascinating authority on the subject, “there isn’t a bit in the world that hurts a horse, it’s the hands on the end of the reins that can hurt.” It makes so much sense, and to see these horses jumping hedges and galloping flat out does beg the question ‘why we actually do bit all our horses and why certain rules prevent riding bitless in some disciplines?’ I for one am going to give riding bitless a try and give my horse a little break from that chunk of metal. This year, the yard got a first in the Junior Scurry with Madison Peries riding ex-advanced eventer Buddy and Sophie Carter riding ex jump horse Ross coming in second in the Senior Scurry; Ben Wyatt riding Del got a fourth earlier in the day in the Senior Puffed Out Billy Stakes. The Scurry always seems to speed by and I am
always amazed as I drive past the next day and see the racetrack peacefully being returned to it’s natural grazing state until the next year when all the excitement will take place once again.
www.iw-scurry.co.uk www.grovefarmequestrian.co.uk/quitthebit/index.html
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MAY/JUNE 2019
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