We need to let our members know that unfortunately, Forgandenny (1) scheduled to run on 20th & 21st April, and Ascott under Wychwood (AUW) due to run 13^th &14^th April,  are having to abandon due to ground conditions. However, the good news is that we are already working with Doug Etherington-Smith and his team at Oxstalls to ascertain if his ground would be ready to hold an event in AUW’s place. We will be making the decision on Monday and entries will open as soon as possible after that. We will also be looking over the next week to see what we can get up and running in Scotland to fill the gap.

We have some great examples of where organisers, the staff team and our wonderful volunteers are working hard to offer opportunities despite the conditions, and we can only thank them for all their efforts.

We have also paid out circa £131k from the abandonment fund, members are getting the refund in under 48 hours and some organisers have been able to top up the refund as well, those being Epworth, Northallerton, South of England and Portman. We have also been able to transfer 89 riders from Northallerton (1) to (2).

CEO Rosie Williams said: “This is a tough start to any sporting season and I am as frustrated as our members. We know that horses and people are bored of not being out competing, but we cannot control the weather. What I can say is that we will be looking hard at when the season starts and at venue selection for different levels and the ongoing knock-on effect of climate change on our sport as a key part of the fixtures review. We are near completion on the preparatory planning for the review, and will be calling on members to be involved in our feedback consultation sessions that are planned over the coming months.”

Some more positive news is that, compared to last year, we have had more cross country runs completed this year, but by less horses, and despite it being one of the wettest periods on record, by the end of this weekend we will have completed 25 cross country days and abandoned 18. Please see figures below.

2023

 Good luck to those competing at Norton Disney, Larkhill and Breckenbrough this weekend, and thank you to everyone who is keeping the show on the road.