One of the key themes at the start of Britain’s showjumping season has been the lack of rain, with many trainers complaining of not being able to run their horses where they had planned and having, in certain cases, had to step back. terms of their preparations given that the outlook remains dry in the short term.

One high-profile example, Dan Skelton, withdrew four scheduled runners at Exeter last Friday because of the terrain, the same reason given for each of the 12 non-runners at the meeting. The situation is even more abnormal in Ireland, where Thurles canceled two consecutive matches and where temperatures were unseasonably warm.

The irony in Britain is that statistically the autumn as a whole has been much wetter than average.