My Race Days

  • Nov
  • 08
  • 2012

Cheltenham showcase 2012 ; A Fashion shoot, vintage fashion and fond Farewells; Sleek Bodies, Dark Lovers and a bit of Bondage.

  Just prior to the showcase meeting at Cheltenham in October I was approached by Leonna Mayor the flat jockey who has been injured since a fall at Kempton to help her with her modelling portfolio. Leonna was a model prior...

  • Oct
  • 15
  • 2012

Dubai International Arabian Raceday Newbury 2012 : the Pure Bred in Legend and Reality and a meeting of cultures

At the start of this year the 2012 Dubai International race day at Newbury which is one of my favourite race days of the year was of uncertain schedule in the race diary. Usually held in the summer, I did...

  • Sep
  • 26
  • 2012

Fashion Pad : Racing, Rock n Roll and Retro; Barbours , Belstaffs and Burberrys , Biker Chic and Black Leather; and an addiction to Muck and Speed!

I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycle....to go Horse Racing this autumn/winter They said it wouldn't work so rising star of flat racing, jockey Leonna Mayor who is also a model,  and I , did a shoot at...

  • Aug
  • 29
  • 2012

Friends at Fontwell Park: Number 6 and a figure of 8; Vintage Fashion & Fab history; Flying leaps, cricket & music...From The Jam and more!

About two years ago we met Anna Kujanpaa at an exhibition by photo-artist Marco Sanges at which I was modelling. I was at the time the fit model for Agent Provocateur; and Marco had done a shoot for a campaign...

  • Aug
  • 29
  • 2012

After the first race; Fontwell

 Eliza has backed the winner Ivan Vasilevich from the Tim Vaughan yard. Eliza follows the yard a bit with some success; and also likes to bet on horses with Russian names. The horse won at 4/1 so Eliza has won...

  • Jul
  • 30
  • 2012

Eliza’s Log: back from a remote Arctic scientific research station; a suitably International blog; and some movies, art, fashion and music

  Well it’s a while since my last log entry but I hope I will be forgiven as I was on scientific field work – and have been for the whole of June – at a deep core station on...

  • May
  • 15
  • 2012

April Showers; shoot at Cheltenham; Racy Rockabilly accessories; Welsh pt 2 pt National; jockey interviews; Super Ted, Super Greys &Superheroes

  It has been an exceptionally busy April and May for me as I get prepared for amonth’s fieldwork in Greenland in June; and a couple of the race meetings I was going to attend were lost to the...

  • Apr
  • 06
  • 2012

The Start of the Flat Season: the Lincoln at Doncaster

I am a little wary of betting too much at the start of the flat season as one doesn’t know as yet what yards are in form. So when I was asked by my Facebook friends for a tip on...

  • Mar
  • 27
  • 2012

Mother’s day and Maz; Mark Wall, Maria the Whip and the local Monmouthshire MP; Monkeys; Unusual Markings, Maidens, and Molon Labe!!

 The two point to points at Howick either side of the Cheltenham festival are popular days out for the whole family and this year the second one was on Mother’s day. A day at a point to point or racing...

  • Mar
  • 24
  • 2012

The Cheltenham Festival 2012

 The highlight of the year (in the racing calendar) for me is unquestionably the Cheltenham Festival. Last year I won the best dressed lady award and the Gold Cup featured an epic battle between three heroic legends in Denman, Kauto...

  • Feb
  • 27
  • 2012

Festival Fancies and '40's and '50's Fashion; Horse Racing in Cinema; DNA research exposes a scandal; Hats; 'Pin Ups' and Jockey's Tattoos!

As those following my blog will know last year at the Cheltenham Festival I won the fashion award for best dressed on Ladies Day. A number of people have asked me to do something on vintage fashion so I shall...

  • Feb
  • 09
  • 2012

Festival Trials and Racing winter blues; The Undefeated and the Vanquished; Interview with ‘Bridgy’; Newmarket and White Turf; and latest Fashions

Well winter has finally arrived with a bite and many meetings have fallen to snow and frost. Luckily we managed to get Cheltenham Festival Trials meeting on the 28th January in before the cold snap; and what a meeting it...

  • Jan
  • 17
  • 2012

Year End and New Year: Welsh National and King George heroes; Movies, War horses and Heroism; Wild Frontiers, Hunts and record race crowds

  Who would have thought back in March that we would witness the double demolition of the Gold Cup winner Long Run by the amazing Kauto Star this Autumn? ‘Out with the old guard and in with the new’ they...

  • Dec
  • 23
  • 2011

From Copenhagen to Cheltenham; Ascot to the Arctic; tales of Yuletide, Sun Horses, Trolls and reindeer; The Thing and secrets in the ice

  Well if I can sew all that into a coherent blog entry I deserve a medal! But that is what I am going to attempt because the last month that has been the mad life I have had! From...

  • Nov
  • 20
  • 2011

Wear the Fox Hat? Cheltenham of Course : Gallant Greys and Great Endeavours, Cocktails and Cross Country, and Hounds and Hinterlands.

The three day Paddy Power meeting at Cheltenham in November is the first of the season’s jumps meetings with a festival flavour. It is one of my favourite meetings of the year; and every day boasts top class fields in...

About Eliza Cook

Hi! I'm Eliza. I am a Geographer by profession, and am currently studying for a PhD in Geography at Swansea University. I will be investigating ice core records from Greenland pretty soon. But you don't want to hear about those. 

On top of this, during a year out, I fell into working as an in-house model for Agent Provocateur. Strange but true! This experience heightened my appreciation of fashion - especially the eclectic and eccentric fashions of the races.

I've been a racing fan for two years. I love all racing, but a day at the jumps is where I really feel the most excitement. Having grown up in Gloucestershire, with two great racecourses on the doorstep - Cheltenham and Chepstow - it is a wonder that I didn't find racing sooner.

I've been privileged to be a part of some of the 'behind the scenes' elements of racing, from photographing frosty morning breeze-ups to attending the post Cheltenham Festival jockeys' celebration in the Weighing Room!

I am thrilled to be a 'Voice of the Races'. To me, the most striking feature of racing is the accessibility of participants - and the fact that everybody attending has a part to play. A day at the races has it all; wonderful horses, spectacle and fashion, in an adrenaline soaked atmosphere where people from all walks of life come together in mutual appreciation of the sport.

I can't wait to tell you all about my experiences at the races, the people I meet and the adventures I have, as well as the fashions I encounter and the stories I uncover.

I hope you enjoy it! 


 

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