Thankfully weather itself wasn’t an issue at last week’s Aintree Grand National fixture – although its effect on the going might have been with an official report of ‘heavy, soft in places.’

Not the bottomless going which has prevailed for much of the season so far and it still may have suited some more than others. but who would have predicted that after 4½ miles over 30 fences. it would take a photo finish to decide the winner?

In 2012, it was Neptune Collonge which had the nod over Sunnyhillboy – this time it was the courageous little competitor, Tiger Toll, which just held on to lead from a gutsy Pleasant Company which looked well beaten half-way down the run in but rallied well towards the finish.

Yet again it provided the nation’s favourite horse race with an exciting climax and Ryanair’s boss, Michael O’Leary, with his second winner in three years – the other being Rule The World in 2016.

It would take the influence of the company’s owner to delay the Dublin flight in order to collect his trophy and allow him and successful jockey, Davy Russell, to catch the last flight home. With drinks all round for those passengers who had to endure the delay, it came at a cost to O’Leary, but only made a minor dent in the £500,000 first prize his horse had just won. Full marks to the popular trainer, Co Meath’s Gordon Elliott, whose Randox Grand National win made it 200 for the season.

No stranger to the winner’s enclosure at Aintree and aged just 29, he saddled the 2007 Grand National winner, Silver Birch, and also saddled the third in this year’s race, Bless The Wings.

The race still comes under a great deal of criticism from animal rights activists, despite huge changes to the course in recent years in a bid to make the racing safer for both horses and jockeys. Interestingly, the statistics show that much the same number of horses fall at the first fence in the Grand National as they do at the famous Beecher’s Brook, which was by-passed second time round this year due to a fallen horse.

Thankfully, both horse and jockey were able to walk back to the stables and there were no serious casualties in this year’s race and only one fatality during the three days of racing. Unacceptable as this may be to some, it certainly is a big improvement on previous years and one of the inevitabilities of this industry.

Headed by former Sky football presenter Ed Chamberlin and Francesca Cumani, daughter of leading flat race trainer, Luca Cumani, ITV Racing’s comprehensive coverage featured more than 10 hours’ live footage across the three days of the race meeting.

With assistance from other big names such as former jockeys, Sir AP McCoy, Ruby Walsh and Mick Fitzgerald, there was plenty of entertaining chat, some might say at the cost of interesting dialogue to which we became accustomed when Channel 4 provided the coverage. While the wisdom of Ted Walsh, John Francome, Jim McGrath and Alistair Downes, is sorely missed, however the one voice which remains constant for both production teams and somewhat underestimated, in my view, is that of commentator, Richard Hoiles, who not only calls the races but does so with an enlightened view.

I was interested to learn that just as the oldest rider at Aintree won the big race, second in the last race of the meeting was one of the youngest, Lorcan Murtagh, from Carlisle, who currently rides for Donald McCain.

Coming from a strong racing background, along with his brother, Connor (who rides for the Richard Fahey racing team), we used to see the two boys compete in the working hunter pony classes on quality ponies. They were two of many youngsters encouraged in that part of the country by Heather Metcalf, whose own boys were seriously strong competitors some years back.

Through organising clinics, training days and shows, Heather now gives up much time and effort in pursuit of developing young talent and results show that her hard works is paying dividends as demonstrated by the Murtagh lads.

She shares with others a ‘belief in what’s possible’ – part of the mantra which also drives endurance cyclist, Mark Beaumont, something he shared with attendees of the National Equestrian Awards ceremony, at Airth Castle, last month by horsescotland.

Another interesting belief he shared with everyone during his entertaining address included the notion that: ‘You never do more than you set out to do,’ which acts as a natural inhibitor of exceptional performance.

Having cycled on average 240 miles a day (the distance from Central Scotland to Birmingham!) during his record-breaking ‘Round the world trip in 80 days’, no-one could surely accuse him of saying one thing and doing another.

There were a diverse number of awards given out during the night, many focussing on youngsters and some particularly interesting ones for the not-so-young, not least of which was that for Lifetime Achievement awarded to Heather Galbraith, from the Barskimming Estate, near Mauchline, in Ayrshire. Daughter of the first Lord Strathclyde, Minister of State for Scotland in the 1970s, she started the Barskimming Horse Trials (now known as Eglinton Horse Trials) in 1959 with just 32 entries in two classes. It remains second only to the Badminton Horse Trials in terms of continuity at the same venue.

The British Eventing Millennium Award was presented to her in 2000 for her contribution the sport and in January, 2016, at the age of 85, she was awarded the MBE for her services to eventing. It was little wonder that her presentation was met by a standing ovation of a very appreciative audience, many of whom would also be aware of the recent death of Ms Galbraith’s sister, Jean Galbraith (aged 96), who was also a great supporter of eventing and latterly carriage driving.

Well-known BHS representative in Scotland and The SF’s contributor, Helene Mauchlen, was a popular choice for the ‘Equestrian Writer of the Year’ and young Nick Hunter, one of Sinclair Photography’s enthusiastic team members, took the ‘Equestrian Photo of the Year’.

Among the many other worthy award winners, special recognition was made by horsescotland of one of its founder members, Muriel Colquhoun, an accomplished horsewoman herself and a force for all things equestrian in the greater scheme of things at grass roots and professional levels. Her contribution, too difficult to quantify, has brought equestrianism to the fore since horsescotland’s origins as the Scottish Equestrian Association.

Among previous award winners, Scott Brash has once more shown his special qualities as a rider when last month he won the first leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour in Mexicom riding his former Olympic ride, Ursula Xll.

Now 17 years of age, this brilliant mare was bred in Scotland by Mary Turnbull, who, in turn, was recognised as Breeder of the Year in 2013. Yet another award winner and ‘Performer of the Year’ in 2016, dressage rider Jo Barry has shown brilliant form recently at the British Dressage winter championships with her dressage horses included her latest ‘find’ the Dutch-bred KPWN registered Goofy La Perle.

Owned by Kingfisher Building Products’ Gordon Grainger, from Aberfoyle, the bay seven-year-old is by Bellissimo and was crowned National Elementary Freestyle Gold Winter Champion for 2018.

With, disappointingly, not a single horse award during the horsescotland ceremony, perhaps his name or Ursula’s might inspire a new award in 2019?