The Club Handicap was held at Low Park
Wood on Saturday 22nd January.
We had a handicapped Norwegian event with the handicapping taking the
form of starting runners at different controls on the course. Quentin Harding had done all of the hard
work putting the controls out and I had utilised our time-honoured handicapping
system to decide who started where.
Actually, everyone started from the Start, but set off to a variety of
first controls. I reckoned on a
winning time of just over 30 minutes so we relaxed for a bit in the expectation
of not seeing anyone for a while.
After about 15 minutes Dave Hargreaves appeared, heading in a direction in which nobody
should have been heading. We had a
little panic. Was one of the mini-maps
on the wrong control? It turned out
that Dave had gone to the wrong first control. This was actually the second control on the course when he
should have started on number six.
This meant that after four controls he was back to where he should have
started. He didn’t seem too upset
afterwards.
Mike Eccles duly came home first to
claim the silverware with Mike Ormerod second and Becca Roberts third. As Handicapper, I was rather pleased that
places 3 to 15 were covered by just 75 seconds with some competitive sprints
into the finish from some people.
Everyone arrived back eventually but Dave Kesby had run into a try
branch and had injured his eye. Mary
Wheeler and Mike Ormerod took him to hospital and he had to return there again
later that night. We hope that he is
recovering well.
Unfortunately, I had been unwell all
day and was unable to go to the social.
Many thanks to Martyn Roome for taking over the announcer’s job at the
presentation of prizes. Cluib League
and Galoppen winners received their trophies and two days later at the Club
Committee meeting I was presented with the National and Provincial trophy.
Many thanks to Quentin and also to the
other helpers at the handicap and social.
The full results list was as follows
:
1
Mike Eccles 34-16
2 Mike Ormerod 39-18
3 Becca Roberts 41-05
4 David Downes 41-29
5 Sue Roome 41-29
6 Rowena Browne 41-29
7 Helen and Annie Ockenden 41-36
8 G Smith 41-38
9 Paul Ferguson 41-39
10 Chris Roberts 41-40
11 Brian Jackson 41-50
12 Martyn Roome 41-52 13 Julian Lailey 42-05 14 Jacob Roberts 42-15 15 Sophie Roberts 42-20 16 Miriam
Rosen 43-14 17 Katrin Harding 44-45
18 Zoe Harding 44-46
19 Andrew Oliver 44-58 20 Kris Moeckell 45-04 21 Alex Finch
46-52 22 Heather and Dave Ward 47-04
23 Glenys Ferguson 47-32
24 Flora Hetherington 48-03
25 Jenny and Hannah Tynan 48-03
26 Maurice Collett 51-32
27 Paul Tynan 51-33
28 David Rosen 51-56 29 Ann Gager 59-42
30 Mary Wheeler 61-51
31 Philip and Alice Gager 61-53
32 Barrie Bertram 67-39
33 Sandy Hetherington 76-27
34 Hetherington family 79-58
plus Dave Kesby, Dave Hargreaves
and John Ockenden - all retired.