Point to point races feature on TV

11:53am Monday 5th May 2008

The Tivyside Hunt Races in Cilwendeg, near Boncath will feature on the first programme in the new S4C series of point-to-point racing Rasus ar Garlam on Monday, 12 May (9.oopm).

Rasus ar Garlam presenters Brychan Llyr and Shân Cothi and race commentator Wyn Gruffydd, covered the fourth point-to-point meet of the season in South West Wales, which featured 150 horses preparing in the much anticipated meeting.

The point-to-point 2008 season has attracted a large number of young jockeys to the world of point-to point, a form of racing which calls for skill, bravery and dedication to win.

At Cilwendeg, they included Matthew Barber, the youngest son of the trains and horse owners Garry and Julie Barber from south Pembrokeshire, racing in the men's heat on his parents' horse Derring Dove.

Among the ladies, the majority of jockeys were young, with Jessica Jones, Ceri Evans and Christine Toy in their first season competing against Isabel Tompsett, the Champion Jockey of 2007, in the Women's Open.

As well as covering the races, Rasus ar Garlam will present features about point-to-point racing. This week it includes a visit to the Pembrokeshire base of trainer Wyn Morris, who has had more than 20 winners over the years. There's also a chance to take a sneak peak of the first meeting of the 2008 season, the Vale pf Clettwr Hunt in Erw Lon, to see who set the standards at an early stage in the season.

Brychan Llyr, originally from Blaenporth, Ceredigion says, "Rasus ar Garlam captures the buzz and excitement of point-to-point. The first series brought in viewers who weren't previously huge followers of horse racing. The series also ticks the right boxes for dedicated fans of the sport as it means they could enjoy substantial coverage of the racing on television."

Cardiff-based Shân Cothi says that the series opened her eyes to a form of racing which first developed as a race from church tower to church tower to determine the best and fastest huntsman.

Shân, originally from Farmers, Carmarthenshire explains, "I have to admit that point-to-point racing was relatively new to me, as it was to many S4C viewers. I enjoy the excitement of the races and learning more about the skill of training the race horses. It's great to see how passionate Welsh people are about the tradition."