A NEW date has been found for the final meeting of the Northern Area Point-to-Point season.

The concluding Border meeting at Hexham Racecourse will now be held on the evening of Tuesday, May 30, after the venue was double booked for a wedding on the original date of Saturday, May 27.

Originally, the fixture was cancelled as a result, but the decision would have been another big blow to the local point-to-point scene following the cancellation of the Braes of Derwent meeting at Downhills, near Corbridge, due to take place next month.

However, Jimmy Walton, chairman of both Hexham Racecourse and the Border Hunt, managed to persuade the race committee to hold it midweek to ensure the season would finish with the Yarridge double.

He said: “We had to go to the Point-to-Point asking to change it to Tuesday, but their view initially was that we couldn’t put it on with the same kind of facilities.

“But one of our directors visited a midweek fixture and persuaded them it was all about the racing and not the hospitality.

“It isn’t ideal to have it on a Tuesday evening, but there will be lots of riders there and it at least gives them the chance to go for the title if they’re still in the running.”