Pointing People: John Sharp
- pporacommittee
- Dec 22, 2025
- 7 min read
Few, if any, people do more to support point-to-pointing in East Anglia than John Sharp. Based at Dullingham near Newmarket and a former rider with a distinguished career, counting 168 winners between the flags alone, he also finds time to run a successful horse feed business, Sharp Nutrition, alongside his pointing duties. A former Chair – and now Vice President – of the PPORA, John also acts as Clerk of the Course at Horseheath and Chair of the Thurlow Hunt. Jake Exelby talked to him in advance of the forthcoming fixture at Horseheath on New Year’s Eve.
How did you get into point-to-pointing?
My first rides were on Paradise Beach at Cottenham in the late 1960s – the horse was about the same age as me and would only last two-and-a-half miles. I was terrified – I remember Hunter Rowe swearing at me, “Don’t you ever come past me, boy.”
I wanted to be a jockey so had two years as amateur for George Owen in Cheshire when Tommy Stack rode for the yard and rode in points against the likes of Robin Greenaway. Because I wanted to turn professional, I went to be second jockey for Les Kennard in Somerset, then went to work for Stan Mellor near Lambourn, who told me I wouldn’t make it, so I went home, which was on the border of the Midlands and East Anglia areas, to ride in points.
Tell me about your equine feed business.
I founded it in 1997, after leaving Dodson and Horrell, where I’d helped start their thoroughbred division. I knew people in Newmarket through my riding and mostly supply studs – my leading customer among trainers is Harry Eustace.
I used to supply Shadwell Stud – Hamdan al-Maktoum’s death left a big dent – and my largest client is David Redvers and Qatar Racing.
Christmas is our busiest time of the year, as most people don’t hold more than a week’s worth of stock, so we have to keep delivering. We’re spoilt this year – we normally only have two days off, but Christmas Day and Boxing Day lead into the weekend!
Horseheath has a (deserved) reputation as a fair, staying track, with many using it as a stepping stone to Cheltenham. Why do you think that is?
Apart from being right-handed, I think the two courses are very similar. Both have hills and hollows, uphill and downhill fences, and both have a downhill back stretch and a climb to the finish.
What improvements have you made to the track during your time as Clerk of the Course?
We were unable to race in 2014. There was a new farm director on the Thurlow Estate who thought it would be a good idea to mole-drain the course but shouldn’t have done it in the summer and didn’t realise there would be a problem. The root system died and there were brown lines across the track. The ground – which is normally a lovely cushion – was false, you couldn’t ride faster than a canter and, walking the course, your stick would go in six inches.
The three hunts who raced at Horseheath held a joint meeting at High Easter that year and we got the course back by drilling, rolling and disking, working on it until the root system recovered. We were able to race as usual in 2015.
Then, after the 2017 season, we moved the last fence on the downhill stretch, which used to cause problems – I called it a ‘jockeys fence’. The horses would be motoring by that stage and – coming past the wood and noticing the new reservoir – they could lose concentration. So, we moved the two downhill fences closer to the bend at the top of the hill, to slow the horses down. The second fence is now 250 yards further back than it used to be.
You moved the February meeting at Horseheath to November this year and it was abandoned due to low entries. Why do you think so few horses entered?
One reason is that people aren’t ready with their horses. Another is that all the numbers are dropping. When I moved to East Anglia 25 years ago, there were 19 fixtures – now there are ten.
Owners are going under rules – you can win £350 even if you’re unplaced – and there’s less of an incentive to have pointers. And as well as clamping down on trail hunting, the government isn’t being helpful to English farmers and agriculture.
I hope we don’t plan to run in November again next year, because I think the same thing will happen.
The New Year’s Eve meeting has a respectable 88 entries. What steps did you take to ensure that we didn’t see a repeat of the low entry?
It’s purely about timings. While we hadn’t had a lot of rain before the first fixture, the going was Good and we’ve had plenty of rain since, but the water table is still below its usual level. It drains like a colander!
Which jockeys have you most admired?
I grew up following David Turner – literally. I had great respect for John Bryan, to whom I was third in the jockeys title in 1978. Alan Hill was bloody good in his time and Gary Hanmer was one of the toughest.
Nowadays, I like to watch Dale Peters and Jack Andrews, and Alex Chadwick has won a lot of races for us. Alex and Jack have both turned professional now and will be a loss to our sport.
Who have been your favourite horses?
Water Sport was the best I ever rode, and one of the best pointers in the country at the time. I won 30 races on him, but he only ever won at Worcester under rules. Stanwick Lad was the most prolific – we won over 40 together – but he was another who couldn’t cope with the bigger fences and only won twice under rules.
What are your favourite courses?
I loved Newton Bromswold. It was set in proper grassland, and we would race across seven different fields. I also had a lot of success at Cottenham and Higham.
What have been the highlights of your time in the sport?
Winning the RE Sassoon Hunter Chase twice on Kelly’s Honor and finishing second on him to Three Counties in the 1989 Cheltenham Foxhunters.
I know you’re a keen hunter and that the government recently announced its intention to ban hunting. What do you think will happen to pointing if this happens?
Trail hunting is well-regulated – for example, we have drones to monitor our activity – so it’s worrying. Without hunting, we won’t get the volunteers. I’ve been Clerk of the Course at Horseheath for 15 years and have a ‘tenancy’, which means I pay for everything and charge the individual hunts. I wouldn’t be able to make it pay without volunteers.
There are only three ‘boutique’ meetings in East Anglia that make money – Good Friday at Higham, Grand National day at High Easter and our own meeting on New Year’s Eve, which used to be held at Cottenham and got their best crowds.
I’m usually an optimist but fear pointing will die a death. The people involved are getting older and youngsters are too busy to volunteer.
You’re also an owner, enjoying success in recent seasons with the likes of Ragnar Lodbrok and Aramax. Who have you got to run for you this season?
We no longer own Ragnar Lodbrok, but we still have Aramax and have bought Allmankind from Tim Gredley. Last year he ran in the Cheltenham Foxhunters, but we’ll stick to pointing with him. They’re both entered at Horseheath and we plan to have some fun with them. There are lots of mates in the Whiskey & Water Partnership – the likes of Caroline and Gerald Bailey, Chris and David Docker, and Alice Vaughan-Jones – and we’ve been lucky so far. We like to have a giggle and have a party!
And who do you expect to ride for you, with Alex Chadwick having turned conditional?
Conal Kavanagh, who won on Ragnar Lodbrok last season and works for James Owen, will ride Aramax and we hope we can get Heidi Palin for Allmankind.
What do you enjoy most about pointing?
There are so many people that you know and like. When I first moved to Newmarket, I’d go racing on the July Course in the summer and would meet up with the pointing crowd there – but the atmosphere isn’t the same.
You’re vice president of the PPORA. What does this involve?
I still represent the PPORA in East Anglia and do things like put up banners and dish out rugs to winners.
In my time, the best thing I’ve done was to get people from the Jockey Club – like Simon Claisse – and the PPSA to come to our meetings and to convince Simon to become our Chair. He’d tell us what he would like the pointing world to do and helped the PPORA get representation on the PPA board. This enabled us to be proactive, because we knew what was going on.
In recent years, you’ve won both the Michael Connell (PPA) and Jim Mahon (PPORA) awards for services to the sport. How does this make you feel?
Embarrassed first and foremost! There are far more deserving people.
Who would you give the PPORA award to next season and why?
Alan Hill. I don’t think he’s ever been given an award, but he should be. Although – and I’m sure he won’t mind me saying this – he probably gets too many peoples’ backs up!
What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?
I wouldn’t know where to start!
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