Licensed trainers may be able to saddle pointers

There are no immediate plans to change, but the idea is being considered as the sport looks at declining numbers

- LUCY ELDER

ALLOWING licensed trainers to run horses in point-to-points is “being considered” as the sport looks at ways to address declining numbers.

There are no immediate plans for change; leading figures stress that they are looking carefully at how this would work while protecting the traditional side of pointing.

As racing’s amateur arm, pointing in Britain is open to “trainers”, known as keepers, who do not hold professional licences, but there are a few exceptions where licensed trainers are allowed to saddle runners, in certain conditions.

The idea was tabled at the Point-to-Point Owners and Riders Association (PPORA) AGM last month and the Pointto-Point Authority (PPA) told H&H it “is definitely being discussed and considered”.