Northern Southland a great role model

Saturday's harness racing meeting at Ascot Park that was run under the banner of the Northern Southland Trotting Club was a real eye opener for this scribe as the club went out of their way to leave no stone unturned in trying to make sure every body on course had an enjoyable day.

There was a real buzz about the course for most of the day and a number of the people that this writer spoke to were very knowledgable and enthusiastic about the quality of the racing on offer yesterday.

Most were hoping that the odd local or two may stop the raiders from Canterbury winning every race but they were a lot more excited at the prospect of seeing some of the up and coming stars of New Zealand harness racing in the flesh.  

It was a refreshing experience for a journalist to have a club go out of their way all day to help you do your job and nothing was a problem they couldn't fix.

They set me up in the presidents room which fronts onto the birdcage so I had access to the drivers and owners all day without having to hardly move from where I was based.

Food and refreshments were constantly on offer all day and I can personally recommend the Paua and the Salmon.

The Northern Southland President Bill McDonald was in the thick of all the activity in the Presidents room all day and was a pleasure to deal with at all times.

It was only at the end of a very busy day that one was able to reflect on the fact that even though I had been  rushed off my feet all day, it had been one of the most enjoyable working days I had experienced for a long time and that was due entirely to the efforts of Bill McDonald and his team at the Northern Southland Trotting Club.

The reality today for most journalists covering harness racing in New Zealnd is a high level of apathy from most of the clubs who you work with at on a regular basis.

Most clubs I deal with seemed to have forgotten the very salient fact that you are providing free publicity and coverage for their business and any help they give you is reflected in the quality of the coverage you can provide for them.

It needed a trip to Southland and to experience the level of co-opoeration that I received yesterday from the Northern Southland Trotting Club to realise how poor the level of support I receive from a lot of the more high profile and metropolitian clubs I work with on a regular basis.

Yesterday Northern Southland put on a great programme of high class racing which was a pleasure to cover.

I have already penciled in next years meeting in my calendar as a meeting I won't be missing and I can highly recommend the meeting to harness racing enthusiasts throughout the South Island as one not to be missed.

Mark Robertson – Harnesslink Media