A BRIEF HISTORY OF FINMERE SHOW
Interlinked with the progress of
The Stoke Mandevile Games through to The Paralympics

INTRODUCTION – 1959  - THE FIRST TEN YEARS

Thursday, 23rd April, 1959
Grafton Hunt point to point, Pattishall, near Towcester, Northants.
Penultimate fence fall of Nicholas IV, ridden by Sally Haynes. 
Sally immediately taken by ambulance to Northampton General Hospital suffering serious head injuries and suspected rib/collar bone fractures.

Friday, 24th April
Shattered spine at vertebrae T9/10 diagnosed.
Spinal surgery performed, during which the spinal cord was severed and permanent paralysis the outcome.

19th June
Sally transferred from Northampton to The National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury for treatment and several months follow-up rehabilitation.
During this time family friends got together with the idea of organising a local benefit horse show for her.

Tuesday, 18th August
A particularly hot day. 
In Ward 5X at Stoke Mandeville Sally sat up in bed for the first time, for just one hour.  Rehabilitation had begun. ……..
On that same day THE SALLY HAYNES JUMPING SHOW AND GYMKHANA took place in a field at Hill Leys Farm, Finmere.  It featured a unique showjumping class and donkey derby contested by Grand National winning jockeys.

Committee responsible for arrangements:
Tom Tredwell (Chairman), Jane Tredwell (Secretary), Rosemary Lines (Treasurer)
Bertie Allen (Hill Leys), Alec Cubitt, Frank Roads, Jeff Tredwell, Jan Ridd, John Lombard, Derek Ancil, Barry Brazier, David Gertler, Alan Tredwell, Mildred Tredwell, Christine Markham, Fizz Robarts

The Show was a fantastic success and raised over £2,000.00.

Following this success the committee volunteered to organise another benefit Show for the next year; the idea  being to expand its fund-raising appeal.

Sally had by this time become aware of the importance of wheelchair sport  -  finding it to be some replacement and competitive compensation for what she had lost. 
She suggested any money raised from then on should be used to send a strong team of paraplegic athletes to Rome, to compete in the INTERNATIONAL Stoke Mandeville Games, due to take place there immediately following  the Olympics.  

The first Finmere Show:

Tuesday, 23rd  August, 1960 
FINMERE JUMPING SHOW AND GYMKHANA
in aid of The Stoke Mandeville Games
Patron H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
(featuring one of the first ever sponsored showjumping classes)

The Finmere Open sponsored by Ind Coope to the value of £200.00
1st George Hobbs (Royal Lord)
2nd Miss Valerie Clarke (Knight of the Wold)
3rd Alan Oliver (Red Admiral)

Grand National Winning Jockeys showjumping competition, won by Gerry Scott with the silver rose bowl presented by Sir Gordon Richards. 

Derby Winning Jockeys Donkey Derby including Lester Piggott but won by Harry Carr.

Grand Draw for Lambretta scooter, presented by boxer Percy Lewis.

A Dance was held in the evening to the Melochords Dance Band.

It was a Hard Act to follow but shortly after the 1960 Show it was announced that Finmere Show would become a firm annual event and at the request of the NH Jockeys, would take place on the second Tuesday of each August  to slot in with their racing calendar – thus enabling their continued support for the cause.

It was to be a dual-purpose show  -  apart from raising funds the organisers wanted it to be known as a ‘competitor-friendly’, high-class jumping show in its own right:-

August 15th, 1961
FINMERE JUMPING SHOW AND GYMKHANA
Organising committee included :  Lionel Vick (Chairman),
Lord & Lady Masham, Mr. & Mrs. J.Tredwell, Bertie Allen, Derek Ancil, Dick Francis, David Gertler, Peter S. Hastie, Jim Haynes, Sally Haynes, John Lombard, Pam Morris, Jan Ridd, Joan Scruton, Ted Stacey, Josephine Templer, Capt. Webber

Extract taken from the Show Brochure FOREWORD written by Doctor Ludwig Guttmann, Director National Spinal Injuries Centre
‘The great success of the 1960 Show enabled us to send a large team to Rome to take part in the 1960 International Games, which were held immediately after the Olympic Games and under OLYMPIC Games conditions’.
‘Encouraged by the great success in Rome, our Australian friends are organizing the first Empire Games for the Paralysed, which will take place in Perth, Western Australia in 1962.  Once again the Finmere Show committee have taken up the challenge and are organizing another Show to enable us to send English, Scottish, and Welsh teams to Australia’.

*Contribution from Finmere Show:
towards the cost of the 1961 International Stoke Mandeville Games, Aylesbury

Extract taken from the Show Brochure: a message from Tim Brookshaw(NH Jockey, who before breaking his back at Aintree rode regularly in the jockeys showjumping at Finmere and following rehabilitation was a weightlifting competitor at the 1964 Tokyo SMG)
‘In the years prior to my accident I rode in the Jockeys Jumping events to help the Sports Movement of the Paralysed.  My inspiration to do this like many others who were strong and healthy, was to help a very worthy cause.  It was not until I became paralysed myself that I realised just how important the Sports Movement really is’.
*International Stoke Mandeville Games, Aylesbury

August   9th, 1966
Taken from the Show Brochure:  a few Words From Lady Susan Masham
‘In Yorkshire we now have the Northern Horse Show – started by the inspiration of the Finmere Committee.  Throughout these two shows the same spirit is noticeable which shines out during the paraplegic games, that of enthusiasm and fellowship embodied in the motto of the Stoke Mandeville Games – UNITY, SPORTSMANSHIP AND FRIENDSHIP’.
*Second Empire and Commonwealth Paraplegic Games KINGSTON, Jamaica

August 15th, 1967
Extract taken from the Show Brochure FOREWORD, written by (Dame) Margot Fonteyn Arias
‘As someone with personal experience of the work of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, I well understand the value of sport for the paralysed as introduced by Sir Ludwig Guttmann.  I have seen how paraplegic and tetraplegic men, women and children gain a new interest in life through sporting activities and have seen how sport has changed their whole outlook’.
*International Stoke Mandeville Games, Aylesbury

August 13th, 1968
Extract taken from the Show Brochure FOREWORD by Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann
‘The Paralympic Sports Endowment Fund has embarked on the unique venture in sport and humanity on building on the sports ground of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, the first National and indeed first International Indoor Sports Stadium for the Paralysed and Physically Handicapped, and it is to this great project that the proceeds of the next Show will be dedicated’.
‘If all continues well with the Fund’s Appeal, the Sports Stadium should be completed in time for official opening in July 1969’.

*Proceeds from this Show went to the Appeal launched to build the above Stadium 

1969 – 1977
THE THRIVING YEARS
With the annual fund-raising show now well established and going from strength to strength 
under the Chairmanship of Stuart Hastie, MRCVS, from 1978. 
In 1981 the Show moved, at the kind invitation of the Tredwell brothers, from Hill Leys to Finmere Airfield, where, - with more available space, Show and Working Hunter and Private Driving classes  were included.
The Jockeys jumping format was changed to a “Jumpkhana” team event  -  (each team consisting of a wheelchair archer, showjumping celebrity and NH jockey).  The Finmere Open won that year by Caroline Bradley (Fieldmaster).

*All proceeds continued to go to the Stoke Mandeville Games Fund now known as
The British Paraplegic Sports Society

1982 – 1983  Warwick Haynes as Chairman
1984 – 1985 (Silver Jubilee year)  James Briggs as Chairman           
1986  - Graham Ecob as Chairman.  For the first time the Show Day was changed from Tuesday to Saturday, on a 2-year trial basis but reverted back to the regular Tuesday in 1988.  HOWEVER a major change was to be made before long.

FOLLOWING THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN SEOL, KOREA, THE STOKE MANDEVILLE GAMES FOR THE PARALYSED OPENED UP TO INCLUDE FIVE OTHER DISABILITY GROUPS, NOW RECOGNISED AS THE PARALYMPIC GAMES

1991     In conjunction with the Rotary Club of Bicester
The Show day went back to Saturday and the venue moved to Dymocks Farm, Bicester, by kind invitation of John G. O’Neill.  The Organising Committee included Bicester Service Clubs, i.e., Rotary/Lions, etc.  It was hoped this would produce an infusion of new support from Bicester town area.

BICESTER & FINMERE CHARITY SHOW
Held on Saturday, 27th July
In aid of British Wheelchair Sports Foundation (formerly BPSS) and local charities

A “Country Ring” was brought in and run by Rotary as an added feature.  The Finmere Open became The Oxfordshire International Trial with £750.00 to winner

1994     In aid of The English Paraplegic Sports Society (affiliated to and under the umbrella of BWSF), Spinal Injuries Research and local charities
Sunday became the favoured day for the Show and it was flourishing again but in May 1996 encountered problems when the EC would no longer allow the use of “set aside” land for charity events. The matter was raised in the House of Lords by Davina, Baroness Darcy de Knayth (an ex-Stoke Mandeville Spinal Unit patient).  In July the EC decided to ease the ban  -  a decision to the benefit of many other charitable functions too.

1996
A hastily arranged one-off Show was relocated to Slade Farm, Bicester, entailing a lot of extra work but resulting in one of the best days on record.

1997
Following another very good Show back at the Buckingham Road showground Graham relinquished chairmanship and it was (rather reluctantly!) taken on by Derek Ricketts.
Derek had been involved with the Show since its inauguration, initially as a competitor then as a committee member since 1980.

FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
1998 – 2007

Sunday, 9th August , 1998
BICESTER & FINMERE SHOW
In aid of The English Paraplegice Sports Association and International Spinal Injuries Research
Chairman: Derek Ricketts , Co-ordinator: Sally Haynes, Treasurer: Ralph Followell
Entries Sec: Susan Meyerding, Committee: Joan Scruton, Anne Barstowe, Delia Ecob, Georgina Ecob, Graham Ecob, Nicola Fowler, Paul Freshwater, Pauline Hannally, Ian Mordue, Tim Price,
Mark Seckington, Janet Selmes, Linda Smith

1999
Remembered as the worst year on record for incessant rain, the showground was almost a washout but despite the terrible conditions all scheduled classes were completed.  A glance at the show programme that day served to reminded what it was all about:-

“Hi my name is Ella. 
I am 12 years old and I am tetraplegic as a result of a car accident.  Now I am paralysed from the chest down.  To help me deal with what happened I write lots of poetry.  More than anything I want to walk again”.

It was only due to a hastily arranged Millenium Raffle organised following the Show that a miraculous £4,500.00 was raised.