Published in The Times 1868

The  Illustrated London News March 15th 1870

Royalty at Cottenham, visit of Prince & Princess of Wales, on Tuesday March 15th 1870.  Their Royal Highnesses accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Manchester, the Hon. Mrs Stoner and Capt. Ellis in waiting, Marquis & Marchioness of Hamilton, Marquis of Hartington, Marchioness of Aylesbury, Lord Carrington, Lord & Lady Downe, Lord Dupplin, Lady Danglan, Hon. O Montague Hon. H Bourke, Lord Cockrill & others, left Kimbolton Station of the Midland Railway, by special train to Cottenham Pastures in order to be present at the Grand National Hunt Steeplechases.  Their Royal Highnesses were most enthusiastically received by the thousands of pleasure seekers around the course.  In the Royal stand, in addition to the distinguished personages from Kimbolton, were present Lady Westmorland, Lady Londisborough, Lord Royston, Baron Rothschild, Major Pemmberton, Sir F Johnstone, Capt. Machell, Capt. Harford. Capt. Tempest etc. by Cannon Maurice

The Starter 1949

The starter in the Paddock prior to the commencement of racing - taken by H R Clayton Ltd.  Cottenham, Saturday February 19th, 1949. 

By courtesy of Mr M Gingell   ​

The Tatler March 6th 1946

​The Tatler and Bystander, March 6th 1946.  Taken from a page entitled, "The first Post-war -Point-to-Point"

Cambridgeshire Harriers organised the meeting, and although the weather was wet and cold and there was a high, blustering wind, everyone enjoyed themselves.  The racing was excellent, with very few falls. 

By courtesy of Mr M Gingell.  

The Tatler March 6th 1946

Mrs P Heywood, Lt. S Barclay and Mrs Rootes 
Mr Van Custem and Mr Leader, one of the acting stewards 
Lord Irwin with his daughter Caroline 
Mr Routledge with Sir Humphrey and Lady deTrafford 

Horse & Hound February 6th 1981

The Racing Post
Hugh Gingell on Cox's Orange
Horse & Hound. February 6th, 1981

If it ever needed to be proved that point-to-pointing and showing hunters are inexorably tied up with hunting, one has only to look at the Gingell family in Cambridgeshire.

Mr and Mrs Hugh Gingell were the popular recipients of the point-to-point annual dinner committee's special award in September for their services  to point-to-pointing, in particular through their running of the course at Cottenham.

But their involvement goes far deeper than that.  One of the country's leading show hunter judges (and just as eminent a pony judge) Mrs Gingell is not only still a top show rider herself but, in particular, is Master and huntsman of the Cambridgeshire Harriers, a post she has held since the last war, and devoted owner of the 28 couple of hounds.

The future of Cottenham has been assured, thanks to the Gingell's generous wish that it should be kept as a point-to-point course in perpetuity - and that in spite of the fact that it is on prime agricultural land, which has not been ploughed in living memory.

As a point-to-point course it has few peers, with ideal ground, good viewing and facilities and well-built, inviting fences, the latter built under Mr Gingell's instruction by his staff.

Though Cottenham dates from the early 1880s, it was only bought by the Gingell's in 1962, shortly before the death of its previous owner, veterinary surgeon Mr. J Runciman.  Many notable horse and riders have graced it over the years.

The strongest earliest influence was Cambridge University, the course making an ideal stamping ground for sporting undergraduates.

By courtesy of Mr M Gingell    
Fitzwilliam point to point, Cottenham. 
​
The parade of Cambridge Harriers by their Master Mrs Hugh Gingell - taken by Frank H Meads

By courtesy of Mr M Gingell    

The Guardian January 7th 2002
The fog was so thick that you could barely see the last fence from the grandstand, never mind the three on the far side.  But no one grumbled, or asked for a refund, or gave up and left after the first, because simply being there was all that mattered.  As they strained to see the field in the Club member's race come round the home turn a few minutes after 11 o'clock they knew that point-to-pointing was about to emerge from a much deeper gloom of its own.

The 2001 pointing season was barely a month old when it joined millions of animals and countless rural livelihoods on  the pyre of foot-and-mouth.  For many, the blank weekends were a continuing reminder that the disease would not allow them to relax for so much as an hour or two on Sunday afternoons.
​

Now they trust and pra6y that it has gone, and the new point-to-point season is an important step on the path back to a normal life.  Like any pointing track, Cottenham yesterday was little more than a cold, damp field, and in a fairly bleak corner of East Anglia too, where the fog found a way through even the most freshly waxed jackets.  The mood, though, was the joy of coming home.

Pointing is jump racing as it used to be, before entrepreneurs and marketing men tacked on all manner of accessories that it doesn't really need.  It is gloriously, and defiantly, amateur, something you do for fun, not money.

There may be no money in pointing but the dangers are just as significant as at Cheltenham of Aintree.  Perhaps more so, because there are riders and horses of all shades of ability, galvanised by the sort of enthusiasm which prefers to overlook the risks... - Greg Wood, The Guardian, Monday January 7th, 2002

By courtesy of Mr M Gingell