Guernsey show gets go ahead after glass found on arena surfaces
The ground at Guernsey’s Chemin Le Roi showground has been cleaned and re-seeded in preparation for the island’s Horse of the Year Show (21-25 August) — after it was contaminated with glass.
Tainted top soil from a local green waste recycling site was spread on the venue’s arenas before the glass was found.
The problem was only discovered when it rained hard and the pieces of glass were revealed. The two-day British Showjumping (BS) show (6-7 July) had to be relocated to the Guernsey Riding and Hunt Club site at Route des Bordages in St Saviour.
Gail Simon, who is the BS chair in Guernsey, is now confident that all the glass has been removed and that the ground is ready for the show.
Gail told H&H: “All the area where the soil was and the surrounding areas have been dug out. We have then replaced it with new top soil and reseeded it.
“It took me and my husband 2 weekends working 11 hours a day, but now we are good to go.”
The Guernsey Horse of the Year show is hoping to attract more than 200 riders from both Guernsey and the rest of the British Isles.
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Gail added: “We will be asking for compensation from the waste site for the amount it cost to put it right and the cancellation of the show.
“Thankfully it has now all been rectified for the show in a couple of weeks time.”
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Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.