AS far back as 1752, a Mr Edmund Burke and a Mr O'Callaghan became engaged in a challenge on horseback from," the spire at Buttevant Church to the corresponding spire of the St Leger Church at Doneraile in North Cork. In all, this covered a distance of four and a half miles through the countryside as such a race from steeple to steeple or point to point. In this way, the term Point To Point was born.
Late in the 1800s, a similar match was arranged from Slanemore Hill to Eagle Hill, just five miles from Mullingar. This eventually evolved into the Westmeath Harriers' Point To Point meeting. Although it has been held at the old Mullingar race-course, Culleen, Abbeyshrule, Doory, (near Ballymahon), and Castletowngeoghegan - sometimes in conjunction with other Hunts over the last 30 years, the fixture returned to its original home at Slanemore in 1988.
"For the last eight years we have been in Slanemore and with the kind permission of landowner Michael Rooney, we hope to stay here for the foreseeable future," says Committee member Cecil Ross.
Thus, the first Sunday in January draws patrons from all corners of Ireland to an open field down one of the back roads of the Midlands. Isolated and exposed. it is given over to farming for the rest of the year, but on this day the Westmeath Harriers Point to Point lies in wait.
As the congested traffic slows to a standstill, a train of admission attendants and racecard vendors lines the approach to the entrance. From the road a muddy avenue trails into the field. Admission is cheap at £5 per car and most vehicles are weighed down with passengers, wellingtons, overcoats, hats, Sunday newspapers, soup and sandwiches. The hardened point to point supporter always expects the worst underfoot and general weather conditions, and may often bring a bottle of whiskey to warm the insides, to celebrate a profitable afternoon or to drown the sorrows of defeat with friends as the boot of a car turns makeshift bar.
The parade ring is marked out by a hotch-potch circle cum rectangle of stakes driven into the ground and joined together by a thick rope. Not pretty, but pretty effective Nor is the jockeys' weighing and changing area (a tent) a welcome refuge from the wind, rain and over eager punters fishing for information. For the point to point scene is quintessentially Irish. with much punting carried on as a result of winks, nods and gossip. Inside, the tent contains a disorderly collection of constantly moving bodies with God's natural earth as a floor, sparsely covered with straw. Wooden benches around the sides give the cluttered room a basic shape and a common touch.
Not here the shelter and warmth of stands, bars and enclosures. Not here the refinement of designer clothes and high heels. Heavy clothing and common sense wear well.
The track itself is as undulating as John Bruton's popularity ratings, with a severe climb from the second-last to the last fence. Three laps of the tight one mile course places a colossal strain on horse and rider. The fences are well built. Crafted by hands of experience, they are testing, require clean jumping, but are not unduly punishing. The nature of point to points decrees that fences are temporary. Thus, trainers and jockeys eagerly await their inspection as quality can vary greatly from meeting to meeting. The ones at Mullingar are well presented.
As racing gets underway, the ground is heavy and will only deteriorate. Any lack of fitness, willingness or ability on the part of horse or jockey will be found out. This is immediately evident as Irish Stout, ridden by Meathman Tony Martin, finishes alone in the 16-runner Five Year Old Maiden. Less than half and hour later, John Codd aboard Dennistownthriller resists the persistent challenge of Private Yashgan by one and a half lengths to capture the Open Novice for the Master of the Killinick Harriers John Stafford.
This is greeted with a raucous bellow of satisfaction from a rather portly, red-faced man leaning beside one of the four fast-food vans in the field - one can't help but feel he will inspect each in turn before the afternoon is out. "First blood of 1996," he shouts. The season has begun in earnest.
Shortly afterwards, the proven horse at the meeting, Elegant Lord, owned by J P MacManus and piloted by Enda Bolger, sets the pace in the Open Lightweight. At the first fence after the winning post first time around, the second-favourite, Loch Gorman Hotel, comes to grief. In response, a middle aged man, with the sort of handy legs that suggest he is no stranger to horses, shuffles by whispering "well at least that's one less to contend with". There is no thought of the well-being of horse or rider. But that is point to pointing., It's an unsympathetic business for hard people, who have to endure hard knocks.
SEASONED trainer and, race starter Cecil Ross can recall his first visit to Slanemore. "As Mick Foster (of Foster and Allen), would say I've been coming, here since God was a boy. My first memory is of holding my mother's hand as I watched my father ride in 1944. Back then the course was a three mile circuit over the old Slanemore track taking in ditches, banks, and walls. My father went on to be the race starter, a position I've held since the meeting returned to Slanemore.
In fact, much of the old course went through land owned by Ross's fellow starter Tom Daly. Indeed, the garden at the back of Daly's house was a landmark from which the business end of the race started. Strange it may seem, the horses jumped into and out of the garden, which was roughly a mile from the finish. Coincidentally, when Ross rode hi5 second winner. Daly was the trainer. "To this day I can remember Tom's instructions. If they were to trot, I was to walk. You see my mare had a nice turn of foot, but she didn't like to be in front too long. Eddie Harty rode the favourite, but he lost ground at Daly's Garden and that's when I made my move."
Like most other Point to Point venues, Slanemore has spawned its fair share of prolific National Hunt winners. Committee member Jimmy Tormey's first success at Slanemore was with Leney Princess, who went on to foal Cheltenham Gold Cup victor Fort Leney and Proud Tarquin, both trained by the late Tom Dreaper. Possibly the greatest animal to jump a fence at Slanemore was the Tormey-owned Another Flash. He was schooled here as a four year old, although he never actually ran, before leaving, "for the Paddy Sleator yard. Later, he would take the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
As regards the season as a whole, the campaign begins and ends with the South Union Hunt in Cork. On New Year's Day the Rochestown meeting got the year off to a flying start, while a two day finale at Kinsale will close the season over the last weekend in May.
As to the destination of the Jockeys' title, Mike Barrett, who compiles the Point to Point annual is in a position to give an expert view on the main protagonists. Six times champion Enda Bolger has trimmed down to 11 stone four to ride for the powerful Michael Hourigan stable among others. This is almost unheard off for Enda and is an indication of his serious attitude this year.
Title holder Tony Martin can never be written off, and John Berry has a big string of horses this year. A rising star to watch out for is young Lisgoold man Adrian O'Shea. He might even turn professional by the end of the season. Overall, however, "I would have to go for Bolger to regain the crown he last held two years ago," says Barrett.
He continues: "Generally, the meetings to look out for take place early on. In Leinster, the Carlow Farmers at Ballon (January 28th) attracts a good crowd. On the Cork. circuit, the United Hunt at Ballynoe (April 7th) is popular. The Limerick Hunt meeting at Patrickswell (January 14th) is always one to watch, as is the Galway Blazers held at Athenry (April 14th). Up north, the East Down at Tyrella (February 3rd) is probably the most competitive."
Whatever the opinion as to what is the best Point to Point meeting in the country, there are plenty of horses around to encourage competitive racing. In fact, there have been far too many runners in recent years. Twelve and 13 race meetings have become a huge headache for organisers, jockeys, owners, trainers and punters alike. Some suggestions have been put forward to remedy this problem, (i.e. widen fences, increase the number of meetings) but none has found total favour with those that matter.
Despite this hindrance, Point To Points remain as popular as ever and in many ways reflect the rural Ireland of yesteryear, as communities come together to enjoy an afternoon spent in the company of those who share a common interest in horse and man.
