A glorious spring day welcomed a large crowd who enjoyed six horse races and two pony races high up on the Mendips at Ston Easton.
The day started with the Donkey Derby, which consisted of two races – the first won by Lucie Harvey of Midsomer Norton and the second by Martha Bath of Priddy. These races were
followed by a Donkey Scurry race, which was won by Will Frost of Pilton. A wonderful opener to the day.
The first race of the afternoon, sponsored by Ford Fuel Oils, was over three miles, and local interest was represented by Gingili, owned and trained by Johnny Farrelly from his yard at Wellow, and was ridden by Luca Morgan, finishing in first place.
The next race, the Maiden over two-and-a-half miles, saw Litton resident, Roger Penny’s Earth Leader (trained by Rose Loxton at Ditcheat and ridden by Matt Hampton) show his class and run out an easy winner.
The final race of the afternoon was the R. M. Penny Open Maiden, over three miles. Local interest in this race was focused on three horses, including Al Valiente (ridden by Luca Morgan) and Doctor Wong (owned by David Young and trained and ridden by Keagan Kirkby, both from Midsomer Norton).
This race turned out to be eventful, and was void on safety grounds. On the first circuit, a horse ran out the side of the fence, damaging the wings; the jockey fell off and was injured, requiring treatment by the on-course medical team, and their vehicles were also on the racing line. Due to these reasons, the course was deemed unsafe for the race to complete and was duly stopped. The day finished with two pony races.
George Pullen, Secretary, said: “Brilliant weather and a huge crowd always make for a great day. We’ve had good fields for the day and enjoyable racing. A special thanks goes to the enormous number of volunteers who make the day happen. Such a wonderful day is testament to all their hard work.”
Rosie Sage