THE Northern Ireland Festival returned to the showing schedule last weekend, following a two-year break because of Covid-19, and it attracted around 2,000 entries with 37 of those being for the new Horse Of The Year Show Connemara qualifier alone.

There were six rings in operation for the three days with four being sponsored by SVS Equine (Gold), Insec Security (Bronze), Cashelbay Pony Stud (Blue) and Pretty Ponies (Green) while the Silver and Red rings were named in memory of the late Ellie McDonnell and George Boyd. Thankfully for those competing outdoors, the weather was excellent for the duration of the Festival.

Paul Smith, chairman of the organising committee, said that they found it very difficult to run the Festival this year due to the current reluctance of insurance companies to cover one-off shows. However, KBIS in England did eventually agree to cover it due to past relationships.

There was also an issue still with the pandemic which forced the very late withdrawal of two judges and several stewards.

As usual, the three evening performances were a highlight for many riders in their showing careers.