Monday, 6. April 2026
Paxford, Gloucestershire
Easter Monday saw me going to a Point-to-Point for the first time in a very long time! But since I have rediscovered my enjoyment of all things horse related, we decided to go to the Point-to-Point at Paxford, near Chipping Campden.
It was a lovely sunny day – not too cold but not too hot either. We had to queue for quite some time to get in and sadly missed the two Shetland Pony Grand National races. We did however manage to get to the ‘meet and greet’ to say hello to some of the horses. It is easy to forget… but my equine therapy was with a Miniature Shetland – these ones looked big in comparison!
It was interesting to hear just how big the Shetland Pony races are – some of the ones we met there have gone out as far as Hong Kong to take part in races, sharing the flight with much bigger, world-famous racehorses. Very well travelled Shetland Ponies!
The main races – of which there were 6 – started shortly after. I enjoyed watching the horses in the paddock where I could pick which horse I would back. Not being an expert in racing, I chose a horse based on which one I liked the look of, or which name appealed to me.
After picking my horse, we’d go and find somewhere to watch the race from. Sometimes near the start line, sometimes closer to the finish (near where we’d parked the car). I had some horses do really well – if I’d actually put a bet on, I might have done quite nicely.
Others didn’t do so well. The lovely grey one I really liked didnโt finish. The vets’ screens came out and the horsebox was driven down onto the course. I heard someone say it was struggling to walk. Hopefully everything turned out okay, but it was a reminder that this is a proper sport with real risks involved.
Another of my horses came past in first place. Unfortunately, it had left the rider on the ground halfway around the course. But hey, it was in first place. A win is a win, right? Wellโฆ the horse had other ideas and eventually gave up, with officials stepping in to get things back under control.
Away from the racing, one of the more unexpectedly entertaining parts of the day was the dog show, which had very much a โvillage feteโ feel to it. We’re not talking professional, pedigree dogs – just regular owners and their pets.
Classes included things like Waggiest Tail, Dog the judges would most like to take home, Best Trick, and Musical Sits (which is exactly what it sounds like – musical chairs, but for dogsโฆ and chaos). None of it was particularly serious – just local dogs and their owners having a go, which made it so enjoyable. I couldnโt help but stand there laughing at some of the attempts to get their dogs to do a trick, sit on command, or simply walk in a straight line.
By the time the final race had finished, it felt like the day had just flown by. Six races, plenty of walking, and more than enough fresh Cotswold air.
For something I hadn’t done in years, it reminded me how much I enjoy days like this – and given how much Iโve been getting back into anything horse-related recently, it felt quite fitting.
Would I go again? Yes – absolutely.
FH.
