The annual Hodgemoor Wildlife Junior Photography Award was judged on Saturday 2nd September at the Chalfont St Giles village show. There were some super entries.
Congratulations to the winner Dora Hiely-Rayner with her photo of a male Holly Blue butterfly and a honey bee in a blackberry hedgerow. The Holly Blue made a welcome comeback in the UK after years of scarcity in the noughties and likes life in the southeast and Midlands. The photo was taken in the brambles at the edge of Hodgemoor as you enter from the direction of the White Hart. She wanted to take the photo of the butterfly and was lucky the bee flew in as she was taking it!
Animal-loving Dora is 8 and loves going for walks in Hodgemoor with her whippet puppy Storm. The family goes all together for a walk there at least once a week… it’s exalted company because Dora’s sister Anya accompanied her entry last year with a coloured painting of the Hodgemoor logo which was adopted as the Hodgemoor Riding Association logo for the year.
Well done Dora. Enjoy your glass tankard trophy, your £20 from the Hodgemoor Riding Association and the £20 voucher from Southbank Photography in St Giles for framing the winning picture.
The Hodgemoor Riding Association and its 300 members sponsor an annual cup and a cash prize in the Junior Photography Section. Since 1999 the Association has raised over £240,000 for the renovation and maintenance of the 6km of horse-riding trails in the woods and nearby, improving this popular amenity for all users, whether walkers, cyclists or horse-riders. The winner each year keeps this engraved one-pint glass tankard, £20 from the Hodgemoor Riding Association (attached to this certificate) and a voucher from Southbank Photography in St Giles for framing of the winning entry or £20 off any order.