The British Eventing AGM will be held on Tuesday 24 November at 5pm (via Zoom). All members have been provided with detailed information about the AGM and with statements from the candidates standing for election to the vacant seat on the BE Board, together with instructions on how to participate, ask questions and vote. It is encouraging that so many candidates have put their names forward and we are indebted to all of them for their willingness to commit their time and expertise to support our sport. In addition to the candidates' statements, the BEOA, ERA and EHOA have jointly asked the candidates to provide further information about their expertise and Board objectives. Our questions covered how the candidates' skills would complement those of the current Board, where they believe the organisation's efforts should be focused to ensure a secure future and asked for suggestions as to how members' enjoyment of the sport could be enhanced and new members encouraged to participate. The responses to these questions are available to download, below, on behalf of: Kim Morris-Baumber, William Buck, Wendy Coney and Helen West. For British Eventing to move forward during this challenging period we believe it is essential that all of the stakeholders in the sport are represented on the Board, and that individual member's opinions and concerns are taken into account. We hope that knowing more about the Board candidates and their motivation for joining the Board will encourage you to use your vote. If you have questions for the BE Board, or for any or all of the election candidates, or questions to be raised at the AGM, they may be addressed to: company.secretary@britisheventing.com The ERA team are also happy to direct any questions or queries to the relevant channels. ![]()
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BE80(T) 2021 Championship update
Following the statement from Burghley Horse Trials today (22 October 2020) announcing that they will return to running the event over four days from 2021, British Eventing can confirm that it will no longer be possible to host the BE80(T) Championship at Burghley. Jude Matthews, BE CEO, said; “In 2019 British Eventing were thrilled to announce that the BE80(T) Championship would be moving to Burghley Horse Trials from 2020 for three years, following its successful launch at Kelsall Hill in 2018. “Sadly, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and cancellation of Burghley 2020, the BE80(T) Championship could not take place at Burghley this year and BE were very grateful to Norton Disney for stepping in to host both the 2020 and rescheduled 2019 Championships. “In what has been a very challenging time, we are very understanding of Burghley’s decision to retain their current schedule of four days of competition for 2021. We’d like to thank Elizabeth Inman and the team at the event for their efforts and work on the BE80(T) Championship up to now and for their continued support of the 5* competition. We all look forward to a great 60th anniversary event next year. “BE will now be exploring options for the 2021 BE80(T) Championship”. Entries for the Childeric Saddles Little Downham International Horse Trials opened today as the event prepares for its inaugural CCI4*-S fixture this October.
The fixture offers competition for all levels of the sport with a full range of classes from BE80(T) to CCI4*-S, showing just how inclusive both the sport and the event are. The timetable of classes has been worked to allow competitors the best level of access to classes, not only at Little Downham but taking other events running at the same time into consideration. Those looking to compete in the Intermediate, Advanced and CCI4*-S on Tuesday and concerned with a potential overlap with Thoresby trot up and dressage can be assured that the sectioning, timetabling and times will allow riders to compete at both events, without compromise. The venue’s July and August fixtures received much praise in regard to the slick and safe running of the events, management of the warmup areas and the going. Volunteers and officials also praised the event for being among the leaders in the technical revolution of the sport, embracing their own judging app development to minimise contact points and further the sustainability for the future of the sport. “Little Downham is always part of our eventing plan, it’s one of those events where you’re guaranteed good going and good courses all year round. With so many changes of plans this year and so many cancellations I’m looking forward to taking Ivar Gooden to tackle their new 4* track. I just feel that supporting our UK based events this season is incredibly important for our sport and reducing our international travel is a safer option for our team” commented 5* rider Imogen Murray. Little Downham benefits from exceptional ground conditions, all year round, with their grade 1 peat soil. All cross-country courses will be different to those used in the July and August fixtures, with the CCI4*-S being subtly different to the Advanced track to provide the correct level of difficulty. All tracks are up to height and substantial but with lots of alternatives at the more challenging fences. The event aims to provide educational and inviting courses at all levels. Riders are encouraged to enter as early as possible to enable the event to plan effectively. Ballot date is set for the 15thSeptember at 12 noon, with all entries taken via www.britisheventing.com Riders from 19 different nations will compete at the inaugural Cornbury House Horse Trials next weekend (11-13 September) for the best prize-money on offer in the sport this year.
Set in the stunning surroundings of Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire with the ancient Wychwood Forest as a backdrop, this new horse trials has received a particularly large number of very high quality entries. British stars such as Zara Tindall, William Fox-Pitt and Laura Collett will face competition from the likes of Australian Olympic gold medallist Andrew Hoy, Chinese Olympian Alex Hua Tian and the brilliant New Zealand husband-and-wife team Tim and Jonelle Price - and riders from countries such as Sweden, South Africa, the USA and Hong Kong. In a year when Covid-19 has seriously affected prize-money levels in all sports, the riders will be keen to take home the generous cheques put up by Cornbury House - £2,500 for the winner of the feature CCI3*-S class and £1,250 for the winner of the CCI2*-S class. Event President David Howden said: “Launching a brand-new horse trials in 2020 has been an extraordinary and complicated process, but we have always been utterly determined that we should not compromise our vision of a truly top-class event. We have invested considerably in producing the very best conditions for horses, riders and owners, and believe that they should be properly rewarded for winning what are going to be extremely competitive classes.” In accordance with government regulations, Cornbury House Horse Trials is not open to spectators in 2020, but the showjumping and cross-country phases of all classes will be live-streamed for free on the event website (www.cornburyhousehorsetrials.co.uk) and on its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/cornburyhouseht, alongside interviews with riders and other key figures, and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. ![]() THIS year’s Osberton International Horse Trials may be taking place at Thoresby Park this year but it’s all systems go for a packed timetable of top class competition. Run by the team at BEDE Events, Osberton International Horse Trials – October 8 to 11 - is highly regarded in the calendar and is home to the British Eventing Young Horse Championships. This year’s autumn three-day event will see three championship sections for five-year-old horses competing at national level, and six and seven-year-old horses taking on the international stage in order to be crowned the National Champions. Qualifying and competing at the British Eventing Young Horse Championships is the ultimate accolade for many young event horse owners, breeders and riders. Past stars include famous names NZB Land Vision, World Equestrian Games silver medallist Cool Mountain, Redesigned and Billy Landretti to name a few. BEDE’s Stuart Buntine said: “The Young Horse Championships have grown significantly over the years, with Olympic horses and riders coming through the ranks at Osberton.” The timetable for the five, six and seven-year-old championships will see dressage on the Friday, showjumping on the Saturday and cross-country on the Sunday. Running alongside the championships will be prestigious CCI2* long format and CCI3* long format sections. Dressage for both the 2 and 3* classes will run on the Thursday and Friday with cross-country on the Saturday and showjumping on the Sunday. Added Stuart: “The team at BEDE is working hard to put on a fantastic event for competitors and their supporters and to make this year’s ‘new look’ Osberton a fitting way to end the season on a high. “We have a number of sponsorship opportunities available and would welcome support at various levels to make this October finale and party a real celebration of the sport.” For further information please visit www.bede-events.co.uk ![]() All of the jumping at the inaugural Cornbury House Horse Trials (11-13 September) will be livestreamed and will be available for viewing on the event website and on Facebook for free. This means that, despite the horse trials not being open to spectators this year in accordance with government guidelines surrounding sporting events, members of the public, fans and connections of the horses and riders can watch both the showjumping and the cross-country of all the classes without having to pay. Organiser Richard Clapham said: “Event founder and president David Howden’s original vision for this spectacular new addition to the equestrian calendar was centred around putting on the very best event possible for horses, riders, owners, connections, fans and members of the public. We are determined still to do that, and we have therefore invested in our own livestream production in partnership with Viewpress and Lloyd Bell Productions. With top-class commentary, interviews and glimpses behind the scenes, we are very excited at the prospect of being able to show both Cornbury and the sport of eventing at its best.” Cornbury House Horse Trials takes place in the beautiful surroundings of Cornbury Park, near Charlbury in Oxfordshire, with the ancient Wychwood Forest as a backdrop. For 2020 it will run international classes at CCI3*-S and CCI2*-S - including NAF-sponsored Youth Performance sections for the country’s best under-21 riders - and national classes at novice and intermediate level. David Howden said: “It is enormously disappointing not to be able to welcome visitors to Cornbury House Horse Trials for its first running; as well as staging a top-class event with perfect conditions for horses, riders and owners, I am passionate about showing our sport to a wider audience and encouraging people to come to Cornbury for a fantastic day out. While we have big plans for the future on that front, our compromise for 2020 is still to be able to showcase the excitement of a major horse trials featuring the world’s best riders in such a superb setting.” The action from Cornbury House Horse Trials will be shown live on www.cornburyhousehorsetrials.co.uk and on the event’s Facebook page, www.facebook/cornburyhouseht. For this year only the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Series is going virtual with an online competition open to participants around the world.
The 2020 Virtual Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse class is open to four and five year olds and as in the ‘traditional’ competition judges are looking for an athletic, loose moving horse with a promising jumping technique and attitude which, with correct training and production, will develop physically and mentally into a strong three-day event horse . Riders are required to submit a combination of videos and photographs which will constitute three phases; dressage, jumping and conformation. Entries are now open and close on Friday 21st August 2020. For further information please click on: https://burghley-horse.co.uk/virtual-burghley-young-event-horse. We are very grateful to Dubarry of Ireland who have kindly agreed to donate a £1,000 Dubarry voucher to the winner of each section. Event Director, Elizabeth Inman, commented “We are delighted to provide owners and riders with a competition in this unusual year and excited to be able to extend the class to overseas participants for the first time.” The winning entrants will also feature on the Land Rover Burghley website during Burghley Weekend (September 4th- 6th) where we will be celebrating our past, present and future with a packed schedule of online and social activities including a feature programme on Sunday 6thSeptember for all Land Rover Burghley fans to savour the event in the comfort of their own homes. Please find a link below to a letter to the riders community from the British Eventing Board of Directors. The letter details:
BE, and ERA, ask that feedback is submitted via us to help funnel this back in, in the most constructive manner. Feedback can be submitted here. We would love to hear your views! The Novice to Advanced Rider Working Group is proposing a new set of championships aimed to encourage more riders in the middle of the membership pyramid. These championships would be spread across the UK and would give many more people something to aim for year on year. We have named this group of riders the "Sport Pro-Am" group. Please read the Championship document (which can be downloaded below) which outlines the proposal and then answer the short set of questions below. There is also space for you to add additional comments, we would love to hear your views. ![]()
The Rider Working Groups are passionate about eventing and we need your views so we can grow the sport together. 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! |