Freda

Mine moved too.

yeah, NZ grooms not allowed off plane, Chinese grooms not allowed on...and no vet allowed to travel to destination as would normally happen.. but also, apparently, Rider Horse [ NZ ] has to generate its own profit, as opposed to being propped up by Mr Wolf, so...

Yeah, same. Sad to see many of the broodmares unwanted, not much hope for them.

The pet's meat operators will be well supplied.

Danny Frye and Nicki Browne are two that come immediately to mind...I'd have to dig out a list to have a better idea. But some on the list have either not renewed licenses, are heavy, or are doing other things.

At least the fans have spoken loud and clear about the ' Super League ' which will now not go ahead, by all accounts. But your observation about the homogenised structure that appears to be our future is getting closer by the week. I have a mate who spent the last eleven years in Perth. Used to race a horse with me, we had fun, and a modicum of success. Her modestly-bred little gelding won four in his first prep - despite a few 'top' jockeys wrinkling their nose at his nondescript appearance and pedigree. But he tried like hell. She recently returned to NZ for family reasons, and was horrified at what the racing industry, remembered so fondly, has become. No fun, she said. All the Hitlers on the gates trying to stop people getting in, over there you are welcomed. The racing is great, the social aspect is great, the provincial meetings are friendly and inviting, the bush meetings - even the red dirt ones - are still worth turning up to, with family stuff to do, races for the local kids, everyone joins in. She used to come to the Coast races with us, had a blast; a particular fond memory was of hiking along a partly-flooded railway line at Omoto to the stable area to get the horses out before the Grey River did. Jamie Bates standing in his underwear, in a horse truck, holding on to several horses dragged out of flooded yards, Bevan Laming [ at the trotting park ] swimming horses from the stabling there up to the top of the grandstand, one by one, using his sprinter Crescent who was a very proficient swimmer. Nothing like that now...just a bunch of pen pushers steadily shagging the game. BTW she is off back to Perth as soon as possible. Won't return.

Will there be enough amateur riders? Talking to a couple of southerners yesterday, they have several middle distance horses that probably now won't get a run.

From reading the article, it appears the reference is to a dirt track - as in American dirt - not a polytrack. Towards the end of the article, thoughts are voiced about the wisdom of trying to repair this dirt track, with the option of installing a synthetic surface. So, not apples with apples.

Sadly, yes. I notice that the jumps races formerly programmed for Riverton have been deleted, along with those for Wingatui. Timaru still has them on offer - so far - but, with Riverton and Timaru on the 'to close' list, there goes jumping. Most of us have been aware for a while that the days of jumpers in the S.I were numbered...so, why pay lip service? it is only prolonging the slide to oblivion by pretending to host them at clubs that have no future [ according to the plan]. So, yes, the provincial competition option wouldn't fly either.

We were never enemies.

Not even.

Pitty and Freda don't argue or bitch. At worst - we agree to disagree. 😇

Won't be long to wait to find out, anyway. It will be trials-ready by the new season apparently.

What about the steeple course? Was it there then? I recall my erstwhile namesake rueing the introduction of the figure-eight option. There goes the best test of a true, staying jumper, she fretted. If I wanted to watch an effing figure eight competition I'd go to effing pony club.

We're not on different pages at all, I agree with what you say in essence. However, I see country circuit[s] - revamped no doubt to maximise exposure at holiday times which may differ depending on the region, with perhaps a points system culminating in a final or finals to be held at one of the metrop hubs..? and worth decent money? I'm only casting ideas around, but, such options are run/held in Aus, the Highway series comes to mind just for one example, yes, we all know they get it right, but a more modest version here could get buy-in from the regions and complement, not antagonise, the centralised model. As for nicking assets, the whole idea is so flawed, they are chasing peanuts compared to the value of what is currently locked away, and can only be frittered away until there is no more to grab.

And, to revisit the small club theme...no need [ as you said ] to forcibly close venues..market forces will do that. But, what is wrong with a country circuit to complement the flash venue?

Time critical - i.e shoulda been done last year but we didn't get around to it.

Wow. That's informative.

Should have been actioned already.

I think overseas AWT's are shown as being 'standard' , 'fast' or 'slow'. Shouldn't think there would be any need to go further than that.

Reefton's idea is a wonderful concept, but sadly, won't happen in my lifetime...if ever. I fear that by the time anyone with sufficient vision bothers to take a look at options, racing will be such a shadow of its current self [ which isn't very substantial ] that there will be zero public interest to get the thing off the ground and becoming a paying option. The Caulfield development is different in that its success depends on the very fact that it is in the city...the fabulous options shown above for other recreations, sport, entertainment, and all sustainable, need the buy-in of a large and vibrant city to make it work in the way it is depicted. But, with the post-earthquake redevelopment of Lancaster Park in the pipeline, and swimming/sports areas needed, what a potential game-changer a multi-sport/entertainment complex might have been.

As a matter of interest, one of John Austin's better ideas [ when he was Chairman of the CJC ] was to do just that.

Ngai Tahu was the initial purchaser of the lot. The idea was that it couldn't be sold for 'commercial' purposes. I had a chat with the Chairman at the time of sale, wondering why the Racecourse Trust couldn't develop the excess land in it's own right, but was told that that was not allowed under the original Deed of Gift conditions. How that resonates with the 'commercial' reality of flogging off a parcel of land for money I'm not sure.

Yes, agree. However - is the 100 hectares the land area now with the housing development?

What a courageous girl. Wonderful to see how well she has done, a way to go still, but great work by her and her support team, friends and family.