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For all those members who have not made up their minds about entries, the going at Weston Park is good and the dressage area was rolled today. The new show jumping drainage has worked a treat and the team have begun to mow the cross country tracks.
The team understand that, due to the poor weather, many of you are short of canter work so the Novice cross country track is still within the rules but has been deliberately set out at a shorter distance than usual and although still a bold course the questions are straightforward. Both the Advanced and Intermediate courses are also a little shorter than normal, with straight forward combinations plus plenty of bold up to height fences including 3 new fences on the Advanced. The courses are all out and just need flags and dressing. Weston Park understand that we are an early season event following a terrible winter and all of the team have done our best to build a fair track which recognises the fitness and welfare challenges faced by our equine friends. Ballot date is next Tuesday 17th March - please get your entries in on time HERE!
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We continue to follow government advice and are working closely with our member bodies to implement any restrictions required, including any requirements for the staff within our organisations.
Following yesterday’s Government Cobra committee meeting, the Prime Minister announced the status of the pandemic had changed from the ‘containment’ phase to a ‘delay’ phase. We advise everyone to continue to follow Government advice because this is a public health issue. Public Health England is the lead organisation and we urge our stakeholders to closely follow their guidance. The latest guidance is that anyone with flu-like symptoms should self-isolate for at least seven days, even if those symptoms are mild. If symptoms remain mild, people do not need to call 111. Further details can be found here. At this time, over England, Wales and Northern Ireland, there are no plans are in place to suspend major public events or close schools. Therefore, there are no restrictions on equestrian sport or activity. In Scotland, from Monday 16 March, all large gatherings above 500 people with the potential to impact the emergency services should be cancelled to prioritise the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, but normal, small scale activity can continue. Some general tips to remember if you’re taking part in general or equestrian activity:
UK Government and Public Health England advice Government response to the outbreak Current travel advice Current advice for employers and businesses Scotland Coronavirus in Scotland Advice from Health Protection Scotland Wales Coronavirus in Wales Statement from the Welsh Government Northern Ireland Statement from Northern Ireland Department of Health The British Horse Society has also published some useful advice for their Centres, but the recommendations are appropriate for any yard. ERA/Rider Working Group IT Meeting update from 2/3/20 with Jude Matthews.
Tara Williams has been diligently collating all website & EARS feedback so as to present this back to BE and to discuss routes forward. The key areas discussed were: - Card blocking - where members have had their cards declined and subsequently blocked due to multiple payments in quick succession - Live Scoring & the provision of results - VAT receipts and their layouts - General layout of the website and the pitfalls of the current customer journey. We have made a number of suggestions as to how we would like to see this improved. - Search functionality for future entries - Multiple emails being received, for example those receiving 4 emails with times - Streamlining of the customer journey in the e-commerce section of the platform We are encouraged to see that a number of these points are already being addressed, for example the search functionality for future entries, but acknowledge there are still further developments required. We are keen to collate further feedback to submit to the board, on behalf of the rider membership, ahead of Monday’s board meeting. Please submit these via the Feedback form on the www.eventingriders.comwebsite. In separate lines of communication, ERA have also been trying to address communication to the membership and we are working closely with organisers to effect good lines of communication between the riders body and the events.  British Eventing is privileged to launch details of the Derek Gooden Fund in memory of one of the sports most dedicated and experienced volunteers.
The new fund will support current BE fence judges with their travel to Olympic or World Equestrian Games hosted outside of Europe. Following his death in 2016, British Eventing was honoured to recently learn that BE Volunteer and Professional Adviser, Derek Gooden, generously dedicated a sum of his estate to British Eventing to set up a fund to assist fence judges with their overseas travel to events. Derek, a recipient of the BE Award, was a vital part of the sport for many years and best known for his expertise as a Health and Safety officer and was an adviser in Health and Safety for many events, as well as a Cross Country Steward and Fence Judge. BE CEO Jude Matthews commented; “All of us at British Eventing were very touched by the news and cannot think of a better way to honour Derek’s memory than through this fabulous Fund. Our sport could not run without the tireless dedication of volunteers, and to be able to help them travel to these incredible overseas events will provide some of our fence judges, who otherwise may not have been able to attend, with some fantastic opportunities and experiences. “Volunteers who have applied for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will soon find out if they have been successful in securing a place as a Olympic volunteer, so we hope that through these bursaries we can support some of our volunteers with their travel to Tokyo this year.” APPLY HERE About the Derek Gooden Fund
Please email volunteer@britisheventing.com with any questions or queries about the Fund. APPLY HERE  Saracen Horse Feeds are delighted to announce the launch of a brand new eventing series for the 2020 season. The Saracen Horse Feeds One2One Eventing Series in association with BEDE Events, is solely aimed at grass roots riders competing one horse at BE90.
BEDE Events will be running the BE90 qualifying sections at Firle Place, Shelford 1, BCA & Aske Horse Trials and will be open to single horse riders with a final being held at Shelford (2) Horse Trials. The highly competitive BE90 sections are a firm favourite with amateur and professional riders alike, this new series offers single horse riders the opportunity to compete on a level playing field against like minded competitors. Riders completing a qualifier will be invited to compete at the championships which will be held at Shelford (2) Horse Trials on 29th & 30th August. As a leading manufacturer of horse feed, Saracen Horse Feeds are dedicated to delivering high quality, research led rations to support the nutritional needs of the modern equine athlete. The Saracen Horse Feeds range is designed to support horses at all stages of life, development and activity and supported with a free of charge nutrition advice service to support riders when choosing feed. Saracen, Sales and Marketing Director Michael Bacon “We are very excited to launch this new series, it’s a great opportunity for riders competing with one horse to go head to head and aim for a high profile championship. Stuart and the team at BEDE always go the extra mile at events to support riders, with no exception this new series is set to be an excellent addition to their calendar”. Stuart Buntine, of BEDE Events, was delighted when announcing this series “we are committed to offering riders at all levels the chance to compete in this exciting series. The One 2 One series will offer a great focus for our grass roots riders in the sport” BEDE Events & Saracen Horse Feeds are excited to be launching this series which will offer riders an aim for their summer campaigns and with the championships running over the Bank Holiday weekend – what better way to finish off the summer! For more information please contact: Georgie Dickinson – georgie@bedeltd.co.uk – 01949 829061 ext 3  The British Equestrian Federation (BEF) is in constant contact with key partners such as UK Sport, the British Olympic Association, the Sport and Recreation Alliance, and the FEI to monitor the situation both in Britain and globally around the current Coronavirus outbreak.
We urge all stakeholders to follow Government advice and information, which is regularly updated on the GOV.uk website. For those with travel concerns, there is specific advice available here. The Government published their action plan on 3 March, which outlines the measures in force to contain the spread of the virus. There is presently no rationale to close or cancel equestrian events, but this may change as the situation evolves. We would strongly recommend everyone in the equestrian community to follow the NHS guidance on how to avoid catching or spreading the virus to help in the containment process.  British Eventing is excited to announce the full details of a new team competition for adult riders at BE80(T) and BE90 Open level for the 2020 season. Teams will have the opportunity to compete in any of the ten Team Challenge Qualifiers to win a place at the Team Challenge Championship at Weston Park (2) this October sponsored by Rowen Barbary.
With the Rider Working Groups, in conjunction with ERA of GB, the 2020 Team Challenge launches with some exciting changes, including the introduction of Team Challenge Qualifiers and self-selecting teams. Teams of up to four can compete in Team Challenge Qualifiers, taking place between June and August this year, and the winning team at each Qualifier takes a spot at the Team Challenge Championship. Olivia Szajna, Head of Marketing, Communications and Commercial commented; “Last year’s Regional Team competition, supported by Rowen Barbary, was brilliant and the riders that took part thoroughly enjoyed the competition at Weston Park. The overwhelming feedback last year from our eventing community was that they would love the opportunity to take part with their friends in self-selected teams, and that the eligibility criteria should be relaxed. We have taken this feedback on board with the aim of giving more members the chance to experience this new team competition opportunity. “From the feedback the most significant changes made have been to introduce BE80(T) level competition, expand the BE90 class to BE90 Open, remove the selection process and allow riders to form their own teams and introduce Qualifiers. Over the past few months we have worked with the Sport Team, Rider Working Groups, our Regional Coordinators and Event Organisers to create the new format, rules and eligibility, taking feedback along the way to make amends that best suit the needs of our members. “Our sport is all about community, so we are really excited about bringing this opportunity to our members. We hope that this will not only give riders at BE80(T) and BE90 Open level a real aim for the season and the opportunity to compete with their friends, but encourage new people into the sport with a fun, friendly and supportive competition. “We hope that the new competition will be well supported, and we are thankful to our Event Organisers for hosting the Qualifiers and the Championship. As with anything new, this pilot year will be a learning curve and we will continue to take feedback in order to evolve the competition going forwards, including looking at the introduction of BE100 sections.” How to Take Part
To help our members connect with other riders looking to become part of a team, answer any questions and generally get excited about the Team Challenge, join the official Team Challenge Facebook Group HERE. If you have any questions please contact sport@britisheventing.com.  The Organisers of the SsangYong Blenheim Palace Horse Trials 17-20 September have announced that after some changes to the site layout, class rules and timetable, their renowned Eventer Challenge classes will be even better in 2020.
The arenas in which the 90cm and 100cm Riding Club and Pony Club teams and individual challenges take place will be larger and will have a range of new fences. Additionally, the going has had a ‘makeover’ and will be much improved. As a result in changes to the rules, BE riders can now qualify with 8 Foundation Points which can be gained at any BE event during the qualifying period; can enter more than one class, and subject to availability bring more than one horse. The Eventer Challenge is a derby style competition consisting of a round of show jumps leading straight into a round of cross-country fences and a joker fence to finish. The Eventer Challenge will run on three days with sections also open to Pony Club and Riding Club teams in addition to BE members competing as individuals. The individual competition is open to combinations competing at BE90 and BE100 level and Foundation Points can be achieved at any British Eventing event between 1 August 2019 and 31 July 2020 in order to qualify. Further information including eligibility for the team competitions can be found at HERE The HTSG Committee are pleased to announce an exciting new funding donation with Team GBR’s Performance Director and Performance Manager for Eventing, Richard Waygood, MBE.
Titled “Let’s Make a Difference”, a donation of £20,000 raised through the HTSG has been made to support the training of British riders who are in the running for selection onto the British Olympic Team heading to Tokyo 2020. The two-stage programme will start with each rider receiving a training bursary to be spent on training with elite coaches between now and Long List Selection in May. Coaching plans will be discussed with Chris Bartle, the Eventing High Performance Coach and Richard Waygood. The second stage will kick in after Long List Selection and will target the funds to key individuals on the Long List on a bespoke basis. The HTSG has a well-established partnership with British Teams, having been established in 1978 with the specific aims of the aiding and funding training and development of talented riders for Britain's three-day event teams. This latest donation affirms this relationship and we look forward to seeing British riders develop further thanks to the additional training they will receive thanks the generosity of our members. Ginny Elliott, HTSG Chair said: “We all feel it is a brilliant concept and I am sure our members will wholeheartedly agree. We all wish the riders a great season and preparation for Tokyo”. Richard Waygood said:,“I would like to say a huge thank you on behalf of the riders and owners to all HTSG group members for supporting Team GBR in this very generous way. The training bursaries will be used to support riders campaigning for Tokyo to sharpen that competitive edge which will set them apart.” Find out more about the Horse Trials Support Group at: www.htsg.co.uk Find out more about Team GBR Equestrian at: www.equestrianteamgbr.co.uk  Following the Aston-Le-Walls abandonment the ERA of GB team have been in touch with Moreton, Epworth and Isleham to get the latest updates to share with riders.
Isleham
Epworth
Moreton
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