IT was a week of mixed emotions for Peter Fell, organiser, event director and chief cross-country course designer for last weekend’s Ballindenisk international horse trials.
Speaking to The Irish Field on Sunday afternoon, Fell was beaming – as the sun had been for much of the three days – but he revealed that he couldn’t raise even a smile earlier in the week. “When I saw the rain on Sunday and Monday, I could have cried,” he said. “In fact, I was nearly sick!”
Heavy rain caused the late cancellation of this fixture last year but conditions were ideal this time around and while people were delighted that they could enjoy warm, sunny weather, it was the excellent going at the Co Cork venue which garnered most praise.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a big entry for the event even though nine classes were staged from the CCI4*-L down to the CCI1*-Intro.
“There were a lot of reasons for this,” commented Fell. “There was the uncertainty over Brexit, the fact that it was Easter weekend and, of course, the fact that we cancelled late last year wouldn’t have helped. Also, with the cost of entry for the national events having gone up this season, perhaps people are just watching their spending.”
The cross-country tracks caused few real problems although two horses were eliminated at the new water at six, while there was a lengthy delay during the CCI4*-L as a pin had to be fixed at the second of the corners at 19. This had been broken when the Patrick Whelan-partnered Footfall fell.
“The horse ran off and I was up quickly,” reported the Wexford rider. “However, it was the furthest point on the course so it took a while for the doctor to get there to check me over and for the repair crew to get there and then do their job. The horse was fine thank God.”
One of the fences most discussed was the ‘hedge ditch’ near the finish on the three-star tracks. A narrow, angled open ditch it required positive riding and most of the experienced riders jumped it very well. Unfortunately, two horses fell here but both they and their riders walked away uninjured.
INFLUENTIAL JUMPING
As usual, Tony Hurley’s show jumping tracks proved influential over the two days and it was particularly disappointing that not one of the 10 starters in the CCI2*-S for ponies managed to record a clear round. In contrast, just two combinations received jumping penalties across the country.
When I put it to Fell that he and his team shouldn’t have too much work to do on the ground after the event given the fact that the weather was so good, I was firmly advised otherwise.
“Certainly not!” he stated. “There are pockets of ground that the horses ‘went into’ that will require a good bit of work and I pride myself on having the ground in the best condition I can for whatever events, point-to-points, etc are coming up. We also have plans in the pipeline to improve the facilities we have here.”
As mentioned by Sally Parkyn in her preview, last weekend’s event was a mainly paperless fixture, with officials, riders and all others encouraged to use the Ballindenisk app designed by event secretary, Kate Fell, a software engineer. This is obviously the way of the future and fits in with the FEI’s sustainability initiatives. It worked well for most but there are people who need print-outs and I, for one, think there could be a brochure with details of the event, list of entries, officials, fences, maps, etc., but with all results on an app.
“The feedback that we got about the app was very positive,” reported the designer. “Riders were coming into the office saying how good it was, with all the information they needed . It only went fully live during the international and there will be changes and improvements made to it to give both competitors and spectators a more user-friendly experience in the future.”
The riders were also pleased to receive their stable plaques and, for the occasion, a chocolate Easter bunny.
Nothing to do with the Fells, but the change to the ‘star’ system had many confused over the weekend and it’s going to take some time to get used to the new regime.