Photographs of 2024 Donkey Derby. This event is held every year, organised by the SPAJERS, and the proceeds are used to take the old people from Bampton on a trip to the seaside and for a Christmas donation. What a fabulous Donkey Derby this year!! Brilliant weather and amazing volunteers who gave up their Bank Holiday helped to make it an event to remember. We welcomed Hannah Shuker as the new MC taking over from Don Rouse and his many years of service. Hannah provided fantastic commentary and information on how the funding is spent and is a welcome addition to the team.
Article by Miranda Norris, entitled "Bampton's annual Donkey Derby is a runaway success" Children race donkeys around a field as a much-loved village tradition on bank holiday Monday. The donkey derby in Bampton is run by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Junketing (SPAJERS), which was formed in 1953 and also runs the village's famous shirt race. Children aged eight and above and weighing under eight stone are allowed to ride the donkeys with a donkey welfare officer in attendance.There are eight races, with six donkeys in each. Each race is sponsored by a local business, and the donkeys are sponsored by villagers. All proceeds from the event go to events and trips for Bampton's senior citizens. Visitors to Sandford's Field also tried their hand at games such as crockery smashing and Splat the Rat, while children not keen on donkey racing enjoyed pinning the tail on one.
Newspaper article about the cancellation of 2023 Shirt Race, which had been one of Oxfordshire’s most popular social events was cancelled in 2023 , The historic Great Shirt Race at Bampton, organised by the Spajers (the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Junketing) - has delighted hundreds of people annually for seven decades. Cancelled because three committee members had resigned. Don Rouse, one of the organisers still in post, was Master of Ceremonies at this race since 1970. The modern version began in 1953 when village gasman John Quick, farmer Doug Read and fishmonger Paul Bevington dreamed up the idea of a pram race through the streets to celebrate the Queen’s Coronation.
Lynne Rosemary Pointer was born on 23rd April 1946 and in Bampton enjoyed helping save the local library from closure, and being involved with the SPAJERS charity whose events are fun, legendary, and unique to a village with a strongly supportive community.
