Local attractions on show for first Visit Ripon Community Raceday

The Visit Ripon Community Raceday took place on 16th July and brought together a diverse range of leisure attractions to showcase how much the City has to offer.

All of the participating attractions had race titles promoting their venues: Newby Hall & Gardens, Lightwater Valley theme park; Fountains Abbey World Heritage Site; Ripon Cathedral and Ripon Museums.

Trade stands were set up in the paddock and there was plenty of choice for the 2,000-strong crowd. The Racehorse Rescue Centre was also present, running a tombola for their charity.

Far from competing with the racing action, representatives from the tourist attractions had the opportunity to get involved with a trophy presentation and took to the racecourse PA system to engage with the racegoers. The idea was to pool resources to raise the profile of all the city’s attractions. Ripon Museum gave an interview for At The Races and the venues made good use of social media.

The Dean of Ripon Cathedral was especially delighted, stating that the occasion was wonderful for the City. Dean John Dobson summed up the community spirit of the day, saying: “On a very pleasant afternoon’s racing, the racecourse enabled some of the great visitor attractions of the area to gain an improved profile. In addition, one great benefit was that we showed we are all working together and supporting each other.”

The aim of this collaboration is for Ripon’s attractions to work together more closely as part of the ‘Visit Ripon’ group. Next year the racecourse is hoping to invite more local businesses to exhibit alongside the big attractions.

Adding his praise was Richard Compton, owner of Newby Hall: “It is a privilege to be involved with the inaugural Visit Ripon Community Raceday. Ripon has such a lot to offer for visitors and we hope that all the attractions being represented on race day will show the world what a great place our corner of Yorkshire is.”

James Hutchinson, Managing Director at Ripon reflected on the day: “Ripon is renowned for its customs and traditions such as the Horblower, Bell-Ringer, the Wakeman and the St Wilfrid Procession and has a lot to offer. We hope that by joining forces with other fantastic attractions in the area on the ‘Visit Ripon Community Raceday’, we have been able to promote Ripon as a destination and benefit the City and community.”