THIS has been an extremely strange and stressful year to take on the challenge of running one-day events and much credit goes to the new Punchestown team of Kieran Connors, Tanya Doyle, Bridget Speirs and event secretary, Orla O’Neill, who staged the last of four days of Eventing Ireland action at the Co Kildare venue on Sunday.

The quartet had started the season with just two days scheduled but, like other organisers, had to split their fixtures to allow for the Covid-19 restrictions on the numbers permitted at outdoor gatherings. Their first event, over the weekend of July 25th and 26th, went off well for the main part but their second, which had been scheduled for early August, had to be postponed until last Saturday and Sunday when Co Kildare came under the Government’s Level 3 restrictions.