‘Societies need to be more proactive'

Has showing lacked clear leadership during the lockdown, asks Robert Walker

- Alex Robinson

DURING this period we’ve been using our spare time wisely. Some of the three-year-olds who would usually be started over winter are now being broken in. I have a feeling that the end of the year could be extremely busy with rescheduled shows, so it has been a welcome change to be working with the young horses in the nice weather.

While showing is on pause, it has been promising to see our sales industry has not wavered. People still want to buy for the show ring, and horses are changing hands again now lockdown has been eased.

LEADING THE WAY

SHOW cancellations, large or small, are disappointing, but I started to realize early on that the county fixtures needed to be called off. These shows rely heavily on spectators coming through the gates, and as we don’t know how long social distancing will be in place, they can’t take the risk of remaining in the calendar.