Wind and rain force another raft of show cancellations

Several events have fallen victim to the latest bout of unseasonal weather, including the Suffolk Show, elements of Bramham International Horse Trials and showjumping classes at South of England.

Organisers of Bramham decided to cancel the Burghley Young Event Horse class and the stallion parade this morning, but say they are doing “everything humanly possible” to keep the main competitions running.

“The course going is still pretty good,” said a statement on Bramham’s website. “The forecasters are telling us that the weekend is looking much better so if we can get through today we’re in for a good competition.”

The West Yorkshire horse trials are the last chance for Olympic hopefuls to catch the selectors’ eye, as the London 2012 squad is due to be announced next week.

In Suffolk, winds gusting up to force nine forced the cancellation of the 181st the Suffolk Show, near Ipswich, on health and safety grounds.

Show director, David Nunn, said: “If a marquee goes over and kills somebody then it’s just not worth it.”

He added it was “probably the most difficult decision” he had ever had to make. It means several Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) qualifiers have been lost. HOYS tweeted they were “very sad” to hear that another show had been lost due to “high winds and public safety concerns”.

All showjumping classes have been cancelled at the South of England Show at Ardingly, because the high winds were blowing jumps over.

And eventing at Great Tew and West Wilts has been abandoned, as has Saturday’s competition at Llanymynech. A further inspection will be taken on Saturday regarding Sunday’s classes.

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