In modern day point-to-pointing, the Kildare Hunt are the only such hunt hosting point-to-point racing Kildare, a county synonymous with horse racing, but that has not always been the case.
The South County Dublin more recently have held point-to-point action at Naas Racecourse up until the early 21st Century, and another hunt to race in the county was the North Kildare’s.
Their 1925 fixture at Windgates, which is between Straffan and Maynooth, features in the British Pathé collection in a piece titled the ‘Sportsman Races’.
Of all the video footage of point-to-point racing within the Pathé collection, this fixture would appear to have drawn one of the biggest crowds at the North Kildare venue and the footage itself is primarily based around crowd shots, both of racegoers watching the action and in and around the enclosures.
Two lady riders feature in the footage, both of whom race side saddle as was common of the time.
A year earlier, footage from the 1924 North Kildare Harriers fixtures also exists within the Pathé collection and features more action shots from the racing itself, including Mrs Wall winning the ‘Bracelet Stakes’.
