"Point to point"

[altisw5]

Can someone help me to understand the meaning of "point to point" term which is beeing used on the forum?

Tnxs

[TheOldhamWhisper]

Try HERE (http://www.dingley-uk.com/pp003.htm) for a brief explanation.

[The Lady Tipster]

Point to point racing developed from racing across country between two points. Any route to the finishing line was permissible and necessitated jumping over any obstacles encountered en route, usually using prominent features such as a church spire (hence the name Steeple Chases) as a marker for the finishing line. Nowadays racing takes place under Jockey Club Rules over a defined circuitous grass track and steeple chase type fences.

Point to Point racing is steeplechasing for amateurs. It is run under the sanction and regulations of the Jockey Club while each Meeting is run at a local level by a Hunt or recognised Point to Point Club, under the jurisdiction of the Point to Point Owners' and Riders' Association (PPORA), and the Point to Point Secretaries' Association (PPSA).

"So many horses come into racing through Point to Pointing. A couple of years ago at Larkhill, See More Business, Cool Dawn, Harwell Lad and Hanakham all competed on the same card. Hunting and Point to Pointing provide young horses with the ideal introduction to chasing." Robert Alner, 1998 Cheltenham Gold Cup winning trainer

The season runs from January to June and there were 208 fixtures scheduled for this season, the majority of which will be held at weekends. Most races are run over 3 miles with a minimum of 18 fences to be jumped, although there are a few longer races (up to 4 miles) and a small number of 2 mile races for maidens.

A large number of riders, owners, trainers and officials all received their first taste of racing from Point to Points. The sport encourages and educates young jockeys in race-riding as recent examples Joe Tizzard, Tom Scudamore, Mark Bradburne, Ben Hitchcott and Richard Johnson illustrate, all having made the transition from Point to Points to racing under rules with considerable success.

Equally, many horses that started their racing career in Point to Points graduate to the highest level of National Hunt racing. Recent graduates from point to pointing include:

Ad Hoc (winner - 2001 Whitbread Gold Cup)

See More Business (winnner - 1999 Cheltenham Gold Cup, 1997 & 1999 King George VI Chase, 1999 & 2000 Charlie Hall Chase, 2000 Aon Chase, 2000 Martell Cup, 2001 Pillar Property Chase)

Teeton Mill (winner - 1998 King George VI Chase, 1998 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, 1999 Mitsubishi Shogun Ascot Chase)

Double Thriller (4th - 1999 Cheltenham Gold Cup)

Cool Dawn (winner - 1998 Cheltenham Gold Cup)

Harwell Lad (winner - 1997 Whitbread Gold Cup)

Hanakham (winner - Royal & Sun Alliance Novices' Chase)

Coome Hill (winner - 1996 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup).

In addition, best Mate, the winner of the 2002 Cheltenham Gold Cup, started his career point to pointing in Ireland.

The effects of the 2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak, which led to the abandonment of the Point-to-Point season that year, may mean that some future stars will take longer to break through, but as the list suggests, you could be watching a future champion at any point to point meeting.

Further Point To Point reading here (http://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/point/pointframeset.html)

Link approved by Oldham.

[altisw5]

Thnx for your explanations.