Some people say that this blog is “nowt but hot air” – a derogatory comment designed to leave the author feeling deflated. But I’m not having any of it, because this weekend we intend to breath fresh life into Britain’s expanding jump racing audience.
That’s if they haven’t been blown away beforehand by Storm Amy who is forecast to pass briskly through on Saturday, leaving a dry and breezy afternoon for racing on Sunday.
Kelso’s fixture on Sunday is the annual Family Fun Day and we’re looking forward to welcoming lots of children to the racecourse (as well as their parents – because someone has to take the little critters home afterwards). There’ll be plenty of entertainment for younger racegoers including a marquee full of inflatable equipment, ball-ponds, bouncy castles and slides.
Stich, the character from the Lilo & Stich movie will be there, as well as face painters and (without wishing to stretch the inflatable theme to bursting point) a balloon artist too.
Before racing gets underway, there will be a series of charitable races in the parade ring involving teams of jockeys in wheelchairs. The brainchild of Rhona Elliot, who runs the Multiple Sclerosis Borders Racing Club, the Jockeys’ Wheelchair Challenge is based upon conventional gymkhana games and was conceived to increase awareness issues relating to accessibility while simultaneously helping to raise money for the Injured Jockeys Fund and the MS Borders Branch.
Volunteers from the MS Borders Branch, who have a trade-stand near the parade ring, will be selling inflatable hobby-horses for use by racegoers in “hobby-horse races” staged throughout the afternoon in the Family Zone marquee adjacent to the final hurdle.
The Navigator (Grossick Photography)
It’d be disappointing if some of the children taking part don’t take an interest in the action on the track too – as The Navigator (our selection for the weekend) is an impressive hurdler who likes to give his obstacles plenty of air.
It was images very much like the one shown here, of The Navigator captured by Grossick Photography at Kelso’s September meeting, which really got this racegoer hooked on jump racing at an early age.
While we don’t like to blow our own trumpet at Kelso, we’re pretty sure that Sunday’s heady mix of family fun and great horseracing will go a long way towards inspiring the next generation of racegoers. And while they may by puffed out be the end of the day, they’re bound to be swelling the crowds at jump-racing tracks for years to come.