FOLLOWING the much publicised collapse in hunter certificate numbers, it is unsurprising that field sizes have taken a notable hit, however this has not been helped by some elements to the fixture list.

As an example, this spring in the north, four days of racing took place within a seven-day period, as the two-day Easter fixture at Loughanmore preceded a similar two-day fixture at Largy. With the Loughanmore meetings taking place on the Saturday and Monday of the bank holiday weekend, the Largy meeting followed just four days later running on the Friday and Saturday of that same week. In previous years, Loughanmore had held a Monday-Tuesday meeting which would have further complicated the situation had that meeting not altered its dates.