Upwell Horse and Pony Show cancelled due to new Covid-19 legislation

Organisers of Upwell Horse and Pony Show have expressed their huge frustration at having to cancel the event with little more than a week to go.

With the Government introducing the Rule of Six from Monday (Sept 14), making it illegal for gatherings of more than half a dozen people, show organisers were left with no option to pull the plug.

The show was due to take place on Saturday, September 19.

An announcement on its Facebook page, said: "We have spent the past 24 hours trying to work out what to do for the best but unfortunately with the field being a public space we cannot work around the restrictions."

Upwell Playing Field Committee, which organises the shows, relies on fundraising events to maintain the two-and-a-half acre field as it does not receive financial support from West Norfolk Council or the parish council. It will feel the pinch of the loss of income.

Trophies and rosettes for this month's show had already been ordered.

Committee secretary Ros Shorting said: "It's really sad.

"For the first time ever we were going to have classes for heavy horses. It was going to be popular because there've been no heavy horse shows."

Ros acknowledged that the rule has been brought in for a reason but feels as though the show could have operated safely.

"I, personally, think we could," she said. "We do observe all possible social distancing, everyone is pre-booked and pre-paid, we serve drinks in disposable cups and clean the toilets as regularly as possible."

The committee did receive a £10,000 coronavirus support grant earlier this year and had managed to stage horse and pony shows in July and August.

Weekly car boot sales on Thursdays are very popular too and provided good income but these have also been postponed until further notice. They normally run until the end of October.

A fun dog show at the field planned for Sunday, September 20, has also had to be cancelled. An online event will be held instead in October.

The next horse and pony show is scheduled for April 10.