THE Fell family at Ballindenisk are no strangers to weather related adversity, and once again the elements tested them to the full. Having attracted their biggest entry to date and undertaken a perfect preparation, the entire event was then threatened by a weather warning for Saturday afternoon. In what ultimately turned out to be a stroke of genius, Peter Fell and his team not only rejigged the timetable but moved entire dressage and show jumping arenas to accommodate it.

As a result, the cross-country kicked off two hours earlier than scheduled on Saturday morning, and was completed within minutes of the projected deluge at 4.30pm.

“We tried to pre-empt the weather, because 40mm of rain was forecast and I was worried that we might not even be able to run,” explained Fell. “We staged a second show jumping arena to get all completed before the rain was due, which also minimised the damage to the main arena and gave the long format horses the best possible going on Sunday.

"We tried to make the best decision for the whole event – it may not have suited every individual rider, but I think it did for most and I’m sorry for those who feel they may have been put out.”

Fell had no need to worry as the feedback from the riders was phenomenal. As news filtered through from the UK that every event there had been either abandoned or cancelled, those on site were massively appreciative of the efforts made.

Speaking on behalf of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, long format rider Annie Ho commented: “We’ve bought horses here specifically to gain their MERS (minimum qualifications), as we know how hard the team here at Ballindenisk work to give the best possible going for the horses.”

This was endorsed by British international Sam Ecroyd, who remarked: “The Fells always try to run the event for the riders and the horses, not for themselves.”

Of course, due to an exciting new development which was unveiled on the Friday of the fixture, dressage and show jumping on grass will largely be a thing of the past. Work is due to commence in the next few weeks on an all-weather arena measuring 140m by 70m and covering some two and a half acres. The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD officially opened the site on Friday lunchtime, and has been according to Fell, “a tremendous help, and keen to get things moving.”

The new arena, which will be up and running in time for the April international next year, will be utilised at both international and national competitions, and will also be available for regional and national training, from grassroots to high performance Olympic athletes.

App development

Another innovation is the Ballindenisk app, which not only saves reams of paper but has been well received by competitors. It encompasses the times, results, course maps and valuable information all at the click of a button, but maybe it does at times, need to be accompanied by hard copy, notably on the final day. Owners especially like to have a startlist with the current scores in the front of them, and while the office team are happy to print some on request, perhaps sheets could be made more readily available at the show jumping pockets.

The lion’s share of the red ribbons went overseas, with just two remaining on home turf. Riders from Great Britain, New Zealand and America were among the winners, while WEG and European squad members Cathal Daniels and Sarah Ennis flew the flag for the home nation. Looking good for the future, both headed classes with promising youngsters, while Esib Power, who picked up several podium placings, also had a fantastic weekend. One of Power’s rides was the exiting mare Shannondale Mari, who encouragingly was one of several mares to claim a podium placing.

In the competition itself, the tracks rode well. Tony Hurley’s show jumping courses delivered just the right balance of severity, while designer Helen West’s first attempt at the four-star long format level was a brave and ultimately successful one.