Hang up your number bibs for another week, folks. British springtime is happening.
And so it begins.
Eventing in Britain at the top end of the season is always a bit of a game of ‘will they or won’t they?’, except the soggy knickers are a little bit less Jilly Cooper and a little bit more ‘bugger, I fell over in the gateway puddle again.’ With the start of the season looming this weekend, one key fixture has already surrendered to what has been a 2020 defined only by its relentless storms and ongoing rainfall.
Aston-le-Walls (1) will not run on the 29th of February and 1st of March, a testament to the tenacity of these storms: Aston is something of an old faithful event, with two phases running on a surface and the ability, as per the new 2020 BE rules, to run up to half its cross-country on a surface, too.
Some hope remains for the three remaining fixtures scheduled for this weekend.
“British Eventing would like to reassure members that we are closely monitoring the weather and ground conditions at all early season events and will notify members as soon as we have any other updates relating to the forthcoming events,” reads a statement by the organisation.
Both Epworth and Isleham have undergone recent inspections and, under current conditions, are ready to run, while Moreton (1) will undergo an inspection tomorrow morning (February 25).
All three events are still accepting entries through the British Eventing website. BE has advised that members making entries online may experience some connectivity issues today.
Refunds for Aston entries will be processed within 4-5 weeks. If you need us, we’ll be crying into a Pot Noodle.
