AS has become customary in recent times, it was the two-day Ballingarry fixture which held the honour of bringing to down the curtain on the 2017/18 season, and it is certainly a season that has ended with the positive news that participation numbers within the sport are once again heading back in the right direction.

In total, 2,797 hunter certificates were issued over the course of the season, and that is a significant number. For the first time in six years, it represents a year-on-year rise in the hunter cert figures.