IT was surprising to see that three extra qualifying spots for the North Down Marquees Connemara section at Balmoral Show were awarded at last Saturday’s second round of qualifiers at Hazeldene.

In both working hunter classes, a seventh combination was deemed qualified, while in the ridden section, where five qualification spots were on offer in each of three classes, a sixth combination secured a qualifying ticket in the class restricted to ponies aged six and over and to riders aged 10 and over on January 1st.