FOR showgoers, the realisation that horse shows will be few and far between this extraordinary year continues to sink in, coupled with the latest news from the Irish Shows Association that their All Ireland championship series has been cancelled for this year.

“I would say no, there’ll be nothing,” Edel Curtin said regretfully about the spate of postponed and cancelled sporting fixtures. “It’s for the health of the nation and now that the Minister [Michael Ring] has ring-fenced funds for next year for shows, which is vital, I can see more being called off.”