THE first of two Northern Region events being held this month at the Dennison family’s lovely Loughanmore Estate took place last Saturday, when local riders won the bulk of the classes.

Continuous maintenance of the Co Antrim venue is obvious as soon one turns up the road towards the entry gate, while Andrew Napier, cross-country course designer and joint builder along with Charlie Sneddon, had put in a huge amount of time and effort, slitting and watering the cross-country tracks to ensure that the going was as good as it could be. The fixed fences did cause their share of problems during the day, but not as much as the time, with many riders unwilling to beat the clock on that phase. The Aaron McCusker-built show jumping courses in front of the main house also proved problematic.