The Spring family raceday featured an afternoon of Jumps racing alongside a range of countryside activities to keep the whole family entertained. Colts and Fillies members could collect a free junior lanyard on arrival which contained details about the day and a host of facts, puzzles and activities.
The Club sponsored a race for the 14th year running and Colts and Fillies members Seraphina and Oliver did a fantastic job of representing the club, picking the best turned out horse and presenting mementos to the winning owner, trainer and jockey.
In the main arena, there were entertaining performances throughout the afternoon including dog agility, Duck Herding, Birds of Prey and the cheeky ferret roadshow. While away from the arena, there was a chance to learn about basket making, campfires and nest building, get involved in arts and crafts and create some seed bombs to take home.
Colts and Fillies members enjoyed a treat before racing at our special brunch with Father Christmas, Mrs Christmas and Scotty, our club mascot. A delicious brunch was enjoyed by the children before Father Christmas handed out a special early Christmas gift to all of them.
Out on the track we saw six exciting Jumps races with Crambo winning the Howden Long Walk hurdle for trainer Fergal O'Brien.
Away from the track the children enjoyed some festive fun starting with the Christmas Parade which saw our Christmas characters arrive at the Parade Ring. During the afternoon there was the chance to meet Father Christmas in his snug, hear stories from Mrs Christmas, take part in Christmas crafts and decorate some yummy gingerbread.
Rudolph and his friends were here and there were pony rides for the budding young jockeys in attendance. With fairground rides, face painting and a scavenger hunt there was plenty of fun for everyone.
To round off the day we held our Christmas carol concert with lots of Christmas cheer and audience participation.
The Summer Mile Family Raceday had entertainment for the whole family to enjoy. There were seven exciting races out on the track with Master of the Seas taking the Group 2 Summer Mile for trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey James Doyle. Earlier in the day children took centre stage with 2 pony races, it was great to see them on the Ascot turf and we may have seen some of the jockeys of the future! Other children looking for a career in the saddle were able to take a pony ride during the afternoon.
Families were invited to the Old Paddock Family Enclosure where there was plenty of space to relax while the children were entertained. Children could join our welcome party, meet a dinosaur and say hello to mermaids and fairies. New skills were learnt with circus skills, gravity boots and segways to masters, crazy golf to try and a mobile cave to explore. There were also assorted fairground rides, music and dancing throughout the day.
Located under cover at the end of the Grandstand was the Colts and Fillies area where members could decorate a tote bag and then collect a yummy lollipop. There was also dino egg decorating and the ever-popular face painting on offer.
Thrilling racing and full-on fun resulted in a great day out for the whole family.