David Simpson: Engaging with a new audience *H&H VIP*

Opinion

As the season draws to a close, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Horse & Hound’s point-to-point editor, Aimi Clark, and the team for giving me the opportunity to comment on the sport in these pages.

I’ve had some excellent feedback and a couple of the topics covered have provoked what I would call robust discussions.

I’d like to sign off for the season by commenting on a topic which I have long been passionate about — introducing new people to the sport.

I was with some pointing friends last Saturday (10 June) and we spent most of the day with a passionate group of National Hunt owners. During lunch the conversation turned to point-to-point and lots of questions were asked.

We must have given the right answers as this group of people will now attend a fixture with us next season — in fact, they could very well sponsor a race.

That’s an extremely positive prospect, although it was interesting to hear their thoughts on how accessible the sport is to newcomers.

Various points were made and they highlighted race definitions as something they did not understand.

I was, however, relieved that none of them asked me where they could view the entries free of charge in advance — we’ll keep that one for nearer the time.

Enjoy the summer!

Ref Horse & Hound; 15 June 2017