ANOTHER major subject of discussion at the races recently was the forthcoming point-to-point seminar due to take place in Clonmel’s Hotel Minella on Wednesday week, January 18th.

The principal topic will centre on how hunts can get the most out of a point-to-point meeting. For some, the measure of success is how many people pay through the entry gates while for others it is the number of entries received. It could also be the quality of the racing or indeed a combination of all three.

This past year, we have seen what can be achieved with the great success of the meeting at Dowth Hall. I am not privy to the balance sheets of that meeting but when one takes into consideration the cost of publicity – which must have been considerable – and the complimentary tickets issued along with many ancillary costs which do not accrue to run of the mill fixtures – things might not be that remarkable.

The pre-Christmas meeting at Lingstown, which I did not actually attend, I am reliably informed attracted a massive attendance and there were no gimmicks or extras at what was just an ordinary meeting.

While the open race here was run over the banks course, I am sure that had it been run over bush fences it would have made little or no difference. As I have remarked before, the Wexford people love their point-to-points and meetings in the county are always well supported. However there are only four hunts in Wexford, holding six meetings over the eight months of the hunting racing season which means there is saturation of fixtures in that area.

Co Cork, with approximately three times the area and four times the population, has 28 meetings, virtually one every week from mid-November until the end of the season. There is no doubt that these meetings no longer attract the attendance that they once did: of course attendance was absolutely free in the old days and only those who parked in official car parks had to pay.

One radical proposal put to me in order to boost interest in the sport was to go back to pre-foot and mouth days and to abolish the autumn fixtures.

I can see the point in this argument as I well remember the thrill of anticipation for the new season whereas now, with effectively only three and a half months between the old and new seasons, that has gone.

Point-to-pointing is a rural sport and in Ireland it has to compete with GAA club matches in the autumn which is the height of their competition. Last autumn did not seem to suffer to the same degree as in previous years but there are so many variables to take it into account that in 10 months’ time things could be very different. The thing is that for many people, the autumn belongs to football and hurling and these are habits that are hard to break.

On the other hand, the autumn fixtures have done a lot for our sport. I am sure it is no coincidence that, since the autumn programme began, Irish horses have won six runnings of the Cheltenham Foxhunters and three at Liverpool, as opposed to four and two respectively in the previous 20 years.

I am also sure that the longer season, giving more regular opportunities, has raised the standard of our amateur riders. While in previous times the standard of the top riders was always high, now the depth of high-class riders is manifest.

We have these good riders and obviously good horses and this is what we want to show to spectators. However, casual spectators want to see things with which they are familiar. Too few of our riders and horses are familiar names and this situation is made worse by the proliferation of maiden races.

Racegoers like to see horses that they recognise and I feel that, at a minimum, it is essential to have two races on every card in which previous winners may compete. There are plenty of variations to use for these. It may be necessary to raise the prize money for these races in order to encourage maiden winners to remain in points and thereby to climb the ladder to the summit of hunter chasing before they move on to the track in search of graded race success.

While British point-to-point racing is very different to that in Ireland, they have maintained a recognisable ladder and it is still working.

The British point-to-point is still very much built around the social aspect with the expectation of a day out being of major consideration.

As a result, there is a longer interval between races to allow for a chat with friends and another drink or bite to eat and this does attract good attendance. But this is not what we in Ireland look for: it will be interesting to hear what comes out at the seminar.