A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



Although flat-racing is chiefly indulged in over 

 the Colwick course, followers of National Hunt 

 sport are also admirably catered for ; indeed, the 

 prizes provided for steeplechases and hurdle races 

 are remarkably liberal, and there is generally at 

 each meeting one race equivalent in value to that 

 of the principal event at the gatherings under 

 Jockey Club rules. In 1907 the jumping pro- 

 gramme comprised meetings in January (this, 

 however, was abandoned on account of frost), 

 April, May, and October. The April fixture 

 was under the auspices of the midland hunts, who 

 usually patronize this course, and the card con- 

 sisted of a 2-mile handicap steeplechase, a 2-mile 

 selling steeplechase, a 2-mile handicap hurdle 

 race, a 2-mile selling hurdle race, a 3^-mile 

 handicap steeplechase, a 3-mile hunters' steeple- 

 chase, and a 3-mile foxcatchers' hurdle race a 

 very attractive and comprehensive programme. 

 The long distance steeplechase was won by 

 Merry John, owned by Colonel Birkin, a 

 highly esteemed local sportsman. 



Although National Hunt sport in the Mid- 

 lands has for some years been of moderate quality 

 and generally tame by comparison with that in 

 vogue in other parts of the country, there is no 

 doubt that at Nottingham, at any rate, it is dis- 

 tinctly of good class ; indeed, visitors to the meet- 

 ings in December 1907 and January 1908 were 

 loud in their praises. Horses were sent from all 

 parts of the country, big fields contested almost 

 every event, and many exhilarating finishes were 

 seen, whilst several promising recruits to the 

 jumping business were on view. Colonel Birkin 

 won the principal race at the January meeting, 

 the Nottinghamshire Handicap Steeplechase of 

 400 sovs., distance 3^ miles, with his fine 'chaser, 

 Springbok. It is evident that the enterprise and 

 liberality of the Colwick Park executive are to 

 be rewarded, and much good racing over obstacles 

 may be looked for in the future. This class of sport 

 in recent years has been exceedingly tame and 

 uninteresting, but the Nottinghamshire gatherings 

 can certainly be quoted as bright exceptions to 

 the general rule. 



The Southwell Hunt meeting has developed 

 from a humble beginning. Originally it con- 

 sisted of pony races on Burgage Green, grandilo- 

 quently described as open to all England, although 

 the prizes did not exceed in value 4 ! These 

 races, organized by a small committee of local 

 sportsmen, were usually run on the Thursday 

 after Whitsuntide. By 1853 three races were 

 contested : an Innkeepers' Plate of ,15, a Hurdle 

 Race of ^30, and another race of 15. For 

 several years the fixture was conducted, with 

 more or less success, under the conditions indi- 

 cated, the stakes being increased and further races 

 added as the meeting grew in importance. A 

 new and more convenient course was also 

 obtained just outside Southwell. 



In 1883 a new committee was formed and 



fresh energy thrown into the work. The pro- 

 gramme embraced the Tally-ho Hunters' Flat 

 Race and four hurdle races. In 1886 a limited 

 company was formed to carry on the meeting, 

 the chief promoters being Messrs. C. F. Henry, 

 R. Horsley, R. Harvey, sen. ; L. Gyngell, 

 J. Townrow, R. Hatfield, and W. Harrison 

 (secretary). Subscriptions were collected, a 

 grand stand was erected, and the meeting placed 

 upon a more satisfactory basis. The stakes were 

 still insufficient to induce owners to send horses 

 from long distances, and the event had to depend 

 principally upon local support. The experiment 

 of an October meeting was tried, and in 1890 a 

 new reserved stand was built, and the spring 

 meeting was extended to two days. Eventually 

 the National Hunt refused to license the course, 

 which was palpably inconvenient, and the last 

 meeting was held on 17 October 1897. A 

 succession of bad days as regards weather, espe- 

 cially at the October meetings, militated seriously 

 against the efforts of the executive, and their 

 ill-luck seems to have culminated on the last race 

 day on the old ground, when the attendance was 

 the smallest for years. 



The company next obtained a lease for twenty- 

 one years of land at Rolleston from the four 

 owners, Mr. Manners-Sutton, Lord Manvers, 

 Mr. Preston, and Mr. John Pepper. Here an 

 admirable steeplechase and hurdle race-course was 

 constructed, the land readily lending itself to 

 the purpose. The subsoil for the greater part 

 of the mile-and-a-quarter circuit is sandy, and 

 the turf firm and sound. It is level throughout, 

 and from the stand the horses are always in view. 

 For about half the way the course runs alongside 

 the River Greet, and all the obstacles have been 

 constructed in a line with the natural fences. A 

 commodious ring was formed, with a stand 1 1 2 ft. 

 in length, capable of accommodating 1,200 

 people. 



At the inaugural meeting on 1 6 May 1898 

 the attendance exceeded anything ever seen on 

 the old ground, and excellent sport was witnessed. 

 The seven races produced 110 entries, the fields 

 averaging as nearly as possible eight runners for 

 each event. The programme included the Ruf- 

 ford Abbey Hurdle Race, the Rolleston Maiden 

 Hurdle Race, the Barnby Moor Selling Hurdle 

 Race, the Southwell Selling Hurdle Race, the 

 Blidworth Oaks Steeplechase Plate, the Wes- 

 thorpe Selling Steeplechase, and the Fountain 

 Dale Steeplechase ; the stakes in each case, with 

 the exception of the Rolleston Race of 25 sovs., 

 being of the value of 40 sovs. The races have 

 since been continued with little alteration in the 

 value of the stakes or character of the sport. 

 Racing now takes place four days a year, and 

 although few celebrated horses have been seen 

 there, the fixture has a peculiar charm of its 

 own. Among sportsmen who have given it 

 support in one capacity or another are the Earls 



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