THE sun made a welcome appearance at last Saturday’s final qualifying round of the 2026 Baileys Horse Feeds flexi eventing series at The Meadows, but not until the ground staff, officials, volunteers, riders and their support teams had dealt with a morning of frost and ice.

For some time, it has been clear that the 2026 title would be heading the way of Isaac McCarthy with Dawn Carlisle’s Suirvalley Little Monkey but, on Saturday, when they scored 78.5%, the combination had to settle for second in the 25-runner Intro A dressage judged by Lucinda Webb-Graham.