The decision by the Fixtures Team to not permit an extra day of cross country was not taken lightly, and follows the rules set out in the Fixtures Protocol, which the event signs up to via the Affiliation Agreement.

Before we can allow an event to run an extra day of competition, we have to take into account a number of different factors.  Some of these include the event having sufficient numbers of entries to run an extra day of cross country and, most importantly, the potential impact the extra day could have on the viability of other fixtures in the calendar. The extra day was not granted in this case for the following reasons:

• Restrictions on the timetable
• There would be significant impact on other events
• There were insufficient entries to warrant an extra day
• In addition, there is still sufficient capacity at Novice level for fixtures either side of Chatsworth

The Fixtures Team have worked extremely hard with the team at Chatsworth to look at every opportunity for avoiding this outcome. A managed fixtures calendar is at the request of organisers and one of the objectives of the Strategic Fixtures Review is to avoid situations like this arising in future. BE must continuously monitor the calendar to ensure the balance of competition opportunity for riders alongside maintaining the viability of events throughout the season.

Fixtures still accepting Novice entries:

27-28 April - Bradwall

3-5 May - Richmond (1)

4-5 May – Broadway (1)

4-6 May – Keysoe (1)

3-5 May - Richmond (1), North Yorks

8-11 May – Aston Le Walls (2)

10-12 May – Floors Castle International

11-12 May - Llanymnech (1)

11-12 May - Firle Place, Sussex

17-19 May – Rockingham International

The full fixtures calendar can be found HERE.