IN my review of the 2018 Eventing Ireland campaign, I wrote that the sport would have to adapt to climate change and this is even more obvious following the 2023 season, during which approximately 48% of the 40 events on the national calendar were cancelled on their original dates, with a small number being rescheduled.

In 2018, around 650 adult riding members and approximately 240 underage riders (Junior and Pony) were registered with EI, a total figure which was up 7% on that of the previous year. In the 2023 season, there were 485 senior members (including 175 with restricted status) and 260 riders under 18. There have been very few day tickets purchased since the inclusion of training classes (from EI80 (T) to EI100 (T) level) and, in the season just ended, these accounted for 12% of the total entries. Nearly 50% of the total entries were in the EI80 to EI100 level bracket.