THURSDAY’s horse showing programme commences with the North Down Marquees ladies’ hunters astride classes where the number of horses entered are down slightly on last year.

Twelve are catalogued for the four and five-year-old class while 22 older horses could come before Jo Strange and Denise Colebrook. Janeith O’Gorman’s eight-year-old Emperor Augustus gelding is due to defend his title in the afternoon’s ladies’ side-saddle class where he is one of 11 entries.