THE Northern Region of Eventing Ireland may have to reconsider their strategy of running an event which clashes with Balmoral Show, as there was a very low entry for last Saturday’s fixture at Hazeldene Farm and that in spite of the inclusion of training and combined training classes.

The wind which had whipped across the showgrounds during the week hit Hazeldene as well, drying out the going on the cross-country track, which resulted in many withdrawals from the EI115 and EI110 classes. Steven Smith pulled all of the yard’s higher-graded horses, but he was happy to run two in the EI100 where he was rewarded with a win and a third-place finish.