TALKING POINTS

WALKING HOME

TWESELDOWN was the first time the new blanket elimination for a first fall rule had been used and the question arose of whether riders can ride back to their lorry after a tumble, prior to being checked by a doctor. The answer is that the rulebook says fallers can leave the course mounted or dismounted, unless otherwise instructed by an official.

BATTLING ON

RIDERS praised the Tweseldown team for managing to run Thursday and Friday’s competition after the venue was blanketed in six inches of snow the previous week and then suffered heavy rain.

“The course-builders, led by Dominic Moore of Jump 1, kept working in temperatures of -7ºC to dress the fences,” said organiser Rachael Faulkner. “I call Dominic Picasso — he’s an artist and wants them to look beautiful.”

The competition track at Tweseldown is now protected so there is no driving or cross-country schooling on these routes and the ground was remarkably good for the intermediates. The course was tweaked where it was too wet to get machinery on, removing the new water and replacing a step complex, but with two other water crossings, Eric Winter’s intermediate test was still suitable for the time of year.

The intermediate showjumping was moved out of the usual white-railed arena into a ring on the other side of the road, which unsurprisingly become quite cut up as the day progressed.

Sadly heavy rain meant the weekend’s sections could not safely run and both days were cancelled.