SATURDAY was the last race meeting of the season and as usual it was racing for charity, this year the supported charity was Parkinson’s UK as one of the mainstays of racing over many years suffers with this disorder.

After the long dry summer it was disappointing for the last day of the season to be wet. However this did not detract from the racing at Broadheath Common, Presteigne, with both equines and humans enthusiastically providing some racing magic.

The first two races were for the younger Novice horses, making their way up through the grades.

In the first it was a real newbie, only having had a handful of races in his career so far, Glenfield Thomas owned by Gary Billington and driven by Mathew Tromans that prevailed, ahead of ever reliable Begwyns Trust (Lloyd, Painscastle) while Yewtree Some Bruva (Millard, Stourbridge) was third.

In the second race the winner was another horse coming into his own in the later part of the season Slingshot driven by Lynne Boxhall, owned by long time supporters the Greenway family from Michaelchurch Eskley, and trained in Brecon by Andrew Hardwick. In second was Morris Dancer (Evans, Newport) while Isolation (Collingwood, Huntington) was third.

The first race in the open saw the well named Fold Fearless cross the line in front, driven by Mathew Tromans, this is one of the local stable’s up and coming stars, bred owned and trained by the Perks family from Presteigne, in second place was the back marker Ontop Shouda Cuda (Bevan, Llanddewi) with Easy Connection (Millard, Stourbridge) in third.

In the second open it was the consistent Stateside Icon driven by Lee Price for the long time supporting Weigel family from Llanddewi Velfrey, a just reward for their long journey to the races, in second was Fold Megastar (Perks, Presteigne) with the talented Blue Guns N Roses (Thomas, Pontypridd) in third.

The charity race meeting is always a fun day, and despite the rain there was plenty to entertain the crowd.

A four horse cob race showed how the roots of the sport began centuries ago, with local horses taking a day off from their usual work on the farms or town deliveries to prove who was the best of the bunch.

Jack driven by Colin Davies of Knucklas proved to be the fastest, but this ‘blast from the past’ provided some light hearted entertainment.

Three brave youngsters competed in the kids’ race, and the human race with four entries when a human pulls a sulky with a driver urging them on, provided more end of season fun.

The awards for the season were announced with Hillbilly Jackson the homebred youngster belonging to Andrew Bevan and family from Builth Wells top of the list.

Champion driver was Mathew Tromans, from Newcastle Emlyn, top lady driver was Lynne Boxhall, from Brecon, and top Junior was Finn Bevan, from Builth Wells.

After the break it was the only saddle race of the season, when Brywins Saturn ridden by Jimmy Munro for John Tomkins from Clyro took on the specialist Standardbred jockey Jayne Bevan from Llanddewi, on her own Ontop Shuda Cuda, the years rolled back as this premiere pair made up their handicap of 70 yards to claim a magical victory.

The Junior race has been an important feature in the racing for many years and the kids of today are just as keen to show their skills as in the past.

Finn Bevan, a fourth generation of the Bevan family from Maesmynis, Builth Wells driving his granddad’s youngster Blazing Eagle claimed a narrow victory over the experienced Jacob Bird from Evenjobb on his mum’s Fold Megastar, another homebred horse from the Perks stable at Presteigne, while Lexey Millard aboard her granddad’s Yewtree Some Bruva (Millard, Stourbridge) after loosing ground at the start, rode a good race to be third.

In the Non whip Lorna Bird driving the Perks family pony Fold Fearless helped him claim his second victory of the afternoon, just beating Glenfield Thomas (Billington, Leicester) while Slingshot (Greenway, Michaelchurch Eskley) was third.

Only two lined up in the Dash but it was still an exciting race as the experienced driver Lee Price urged Lucifer owned by Robin Lloyd, from Painscastle to claim victory ahead of the young Maddy Davies, who started the season as a Junior driver, but has now progressed to the adult ranks. She partnered her grandmother, Amanda Hawkes’ Manceys Deuce to a close finish.

The season often concludes with a Non drivers’ race when the stable supporters have their chance to have a go.

This year four lined up and it was the older generation of the Munro family, Dick Munro from Bridgend who took the reins of Sealofapproval to finish in front of Easy Connection (Millard, Stourbridge) and Vinny Price, while Simon Camden and Mikey Millard was third.

So after a day of showers, the horses will go out for a rest until next May, as will the trainers and drivers. When they meet at the AGM or the annual dinner there will still be discussion about the highlights from 2025 along with the plans for 2026.

Baby & Novice race 1: 1, Glenfield Thomas (Mathew Tromans) owned Gary Billington Leicester trained Hardwick Brecon; 2, Begwyns Trust; 3, Yewtree Some Bruva. Time: 2:48.00

Baby & Novice race 2: 1, Slingshot (Lynne Boxhall) owned Greenway, Michaelchurch Eskley trained Hardwick Brecon; 2, Morris Dancer; 3, Isolation. Time: 2:49.56

Open race 1: 1, Fold Fearless (Mathew Tromans) owned & trained Perks, Presteigne; 2, Ontop Shouda Cuda; 3, Easy Connection. Time: 2:44.75

Open race 2: 1, Stateside Icon (Lee Price) owned & trained Weigel, Llanddewi Velfrey; 2, Fold Megastar; 3, Blue guns N Roses. Time: 2:45.68

Saddle: 1, Ontop Shouda Cuda (Jayne Bevan) owned & trained Bevan, Llanddewi; 2, Brywins Saturn. Time: 2:48.63

Junior: 1, Blazing Eagle (Finn Bevan) owned & trained Michael Bevan, Builth Wells; 2, Fold Megastar; 3, Yewtree Some Bruva. Time: 2:48.63

Non whip: 1, Fold Fearless (Lorna Bird) owned & trained Perks, Presteigne; 2, Glenfield Thomas; 3, Slingshot. Time: 2:49.63

Dash: 1, Lucifer (Lee Price) owned & trained Lloyd, Painscastle; 2, Mancies Deuce. Time: 1:23.78

Non Drivers: 1, Sealofapproval (Dick Munro) owned & trained Munro, Bridgend; 2, Easy Connection; 3, Simon Camden. Time: 2:49.96