07 June 2011 Ablington Challenge
by Carolyn Tanner
From 1999 to 2009 inclusive, with the exception of 2001, the year of the FMD epidemic, a total of over £56,600 has been raised for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance service thanks to the Ablington Challenge, the charity flat race which has been run at Larkhill and has always been generously sponsored by Stan and Sally Rawlins, who farm a stone's throw from the course at Figheldean. The highest annual total was in 2008, when £8,624 was donated.
The administration for the contest, which was run at the mid-week 14th Regiment Royal Artillery fixture in May, was originally undertaken by Babs Richardson, but when she moved away from the area in 2006 it was Sally herself who took over the reins. The Challenge was transferred to the Larkhill Racing Club in 2007, but last season that meeting was abandoned due to hard ground, as was this year's intended host meeting, the South & West Wilts.
Sally has decided that now is the time to relinquish the administration and the sponsorship, and she is hoping that somebody will come forward to take it on so that the tradition can be continued.
Every rider who has taken part has received, in addition to a race video and a Linda Charles photo, a memento trophy provided by the Rawlins, and Sally points out that the mementoes which were due to be presented in 2010 are waiting to be handed over to a new sponsor.
She is quick to make light of the part which she and Stan have played in recent seasons, instead preferring to hand all the credit to the riders who have raised the money in order to participate, some of whom have competed on a regular basis. "They are the stars," she stresses, "so I hope they will be able to carry on."
