| Here We Go Again ..........!
Posted by David R-J  on May 12, 2009, 2:50 pm
86.137.153.249
In April 2008 I posted the following message (in bold) on the Forum to try to roughly outline to some who did not appear to understand as to how the SE PtP Area operated. A whole year on, very little if anything has changed that I am aware of and we face exactly the same issues we have done for the last 5+ years.
As the SE 2009 season is about to end and no doubt the Forum will go into hibernation I thought it may be interesting to post the majority of what I wrote last year again to see if in another 12 months (end of 2010 season) anything has changed.
1. There is no SE PtP Committee running the Sport in the SE Area, with a power of veto, ability to decide by voting, or who possess the ability to overrule individual Hunts.
2. Each individual Hunt is individually responsible for planning and running its own PtP meeting, including race planning.
3. Whilst there are 2 SE PtP Area meetings each year, these are purely "Conferences" where the various Hunt PtP Secretaries come together. These conferences are not a forum where the majority vote rules and the Area Conference cannot dictate or insist as to what each Hunt does re its PtP.
4. There is no representation at the SE Area Conferences from a current Jockey, current Trainer or current Owner. Equally there is no coming together of SE Jockeys, Trainers or Owners or a collective body representing them on a local basis. (There is a position who I believe acts on a national basis for the SE Area re the PPORA etc)
4. There is a document in existence drawn up a few years back to which each Hunt is meant to have signed up to. This agreement gave structure to the SE Ptp Area and ultimately I recall gave the collective Area power by vote to prevent Hunts stepping outside the mark.
However, with the ever changing Mastership and PtP Secretaries almost annually I strongly suspect if asked the vast majority of SE Hunts would not even know of the existence of such an agreement. Furthermore, I am not sure if this document is still current or if it has ever been used.
5. The only two positions I am aware of in the SE Area is the Area Chairman and the Area Secretary, which Colin Squance and Nicky Featherstone hold respectively. These positions are held for a pre-set period of time, with the collective SE Hunts at the Area Conferences voting for who holds these positions and who is re-elected.
There are other groups such as the SE Area Supporters Club, but they again have no decision making role.
6. There is recourse for the Area back to the BHB, Jockey Club or whatever they call themselves these days. If one or more Hunts stepped way out of line then the ultimate sanction from London racing HQ is that the Hunt would not be given permission to hold a meeting in the SE Area which they do have to have.
7. Whilst there are ongoing attempts to get a more balanced structure re Race Planning in the SE ARea, there is nothing incumbent on any of the SE Hunts to adopt what is recommended. Whilst the role of the Area Chairman and Area Secretary is to encourage the respective SE Hunts to see sense in the suggestions, it is entirely down to each individual Hunt and their respective individual PtP Committees to decide as to what happens and to what they adopt.
I am sorry to drag on for so long but hopefully you can see from the current structure, or lack of it, what the likes of the Area Chairman and Area Secretary are up against on the basis there is little, other than a coming together twice a year, to ensure that the Sport of Point-to-Pointing is protected in our Area.
As I stated last year "... All the time the Sport in our Area does not hold a balance of control, along with having elected representation from the various sections who all do so much the provide the Sport we all enjoy, then it is an uphill battle. The Hunts will be able do what they like, charge what they like, be as pro-active or as apathetic as they like and the Sport of Pointing-to-Pointing in the SE Area will just have to suffer the consequences.
To cap it all, with the onset of a deep recession can anyone be surprised the paying public are not prepared to part with anywhere near the demanded £25 - £35 for witnessing the spectacle of some of the racing we have seen this year, and will not doubt see again?
There is so much good about the SE PtP Area that it is a crying shame the dissenters we hear or see of from time to time do not identify themselves and come up with helpful, productive ideas.
My mid, to long term solution is that Hunting should look to give up the running of point-to-points and it should be centrally controlled and run in each Area by those who have the knowledge, the ability and the expertise to maximise the potential of each course and meeting. Pooling of net profits, better negotiation of Area discounts, the financially risky meetings are offset by those meetings who bring in the mega thousands Far too radical for most I am sure, but hey ho, just an idea!
For those of you who have not fallen asleep and have managed to get through to the end - Well Done!!!
Now I will sit back and watch the fur fly!
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