THE first of two consecutive Northern Region events at Tullymurry was hosted by the Turley and O’Connor families last Saturday when the Co Down venue escaped the worst of the weather – although it was by no means dry all day. A second event wasn’t on the original calendar but the Co Down venue has stepped in today to replace Glenpatrick which, hopefully, will run next Saturday instead.

“The rain that fell actually helped us as the going was great,” said cross-country course designer David O’Connor who was assisted in building the fences by Jonny Hagan and Dean Salmon. “As a competitor myself, I found the track galloping and flowing, as did others. I’ll keep the same general direction for next Saturday but will bring in a different loop in the centre of the track and swap some fences around.