Steeplechases are run over distances that range between 2 and 4½ miles (3.2 and 7.2 km). The runners jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jumps or open ditches. The fences in chases are a minimum of 4½ feet (1.3m) high and are made of a mixture of birch and spruce.

Ross’s pilgrimage takes in the melancholic beauty of Old Saint Paul’s in Edinburgh, “a sigh made of stone”. He also shivers at the creepy wax effigy of Sarah Hare, a member of the local gentry who has stared out from her cabinet in Holy Trinity, Stow Bardolph, since 1744: “a wonderful, terrible thing… She brings to mind Dorian Gray, Miss Havisham, the ending of Don’t Look Now.”An ancient and beautiful church fulfils its primary function merely by existing,” said Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, the founder of the heritage charity Friends of Friendless Churches. “It is, in itself, and irrespective of the members using it, an act of worship.” Tennessee State Historian Walter T. Durham's book Grasslands relates the history of the Southern Grasslands Hunt and Racing Foundation, a group that organized the first international steeplechase held on U.S. soil 80 years ago at Grassland Downs, a 24-square-mile (62km 2) course located in Gallatin, TN between 1929 and 1932.

In 2021, jumps racing in Australia was only run in Victoria and South Australia, though, contrary to common belief, only New South Wales had banned it. All six states and Australian Capital Territory have some history of jumps racing and the states that stopped conducting jumps racings were based on economic decisions. The NSW government officially shut down jumps racing in 1997 after a bill was put through linked with bird tethering, but by that stage there had not been regular jumps race meetings in NSW since World War II, when it was ceased due to the war efforts, except for a handful of exhibition events on an annual basis in the 1980s. [16] Bourke, Tony (2007-04-28), "Tasmania calls end to jumps races", The Age, Melbourne, archived from the original on 2008-01-11 , retrieved 2007-10-27

Ross is a wonderfully evocative writer, deftly capturing a sense of place and history, while bringing a deep humanity to his subject. He has written a delightful book.’– The Guardian New legal challenge looms as racing rebels reject 'flawed' Oakbank ballot". www.indaily.com.au. 7 July 2022. Award-winning writer Peter Ross sets out to tell their stories, and through them a story of Britain. Join him as he visits the unassuming Norfolk church which contains a disturbing secret, and London’s mighty cathedrals with their histories of fire and love. Meet cats and bats, monks and druids, angels of oak and steel. Change of heart as Oakbank retires names of iconic jumps races". www.racenet.com.au. 17 April 2022.