British eventing returns with limited calendar

At an additional meeting of the British Eventing board of directors on 9 April to further review the FMD crisis, the decision was taken to cancel the scheduled calendar until 30 June.

However, under guidelines prepared by MAFF and the British Equestrian Federation adapted from those prepared for indoor equestrian activity (subject to approval), British Eventing intend running a limited number of fixtures in late May and through June.

Fourteen dates are already confirmed with a possibility of further fixtures being added.

Confirmed venues and dates are;

• Tweseldown, Hants 18-20 May and 8 -10 June
• Burnham Market, Norfolk 19- 20 May and 26 -27May
• Northampton,Northants 26 -27 May
• Penzance , Cornwall 26- 27 May and 16 -17 June
• Longleat, Wilts 2 -3 June
• Keysoe, Beds 2 -3 June
• Great Witchingham, Norfolk 9- 10 June
• West Wilts, Wilts 13 – 14 June
• Wokingham, Berks 16 -17 June
• Milton Keynes, Bucks 22 -24 June
• Skipton, N Yorks 23 -24 JuneEntries will be on a first come, first serve basis after the opening date and ballot stickers will have noinfluence. Riders may not enter more than five horses and entries are restricted to two horses per owner per class. Day ticket holders are asked not to enter events running before 2 July.BE Events Committee chairman, Jonathan Warr said; “Provided we can meet a number of strict guidelines, we have the support of MAFF to resume competition. I expect this will be extremely limited as we are ever mindful of supporting the farming community and it will be difficult to find venues that can meet all the necessary precautions and are in an uninfected area. We hope competitors will use the new JAS Eventing indoor fixtures as a pre-cursor to returning to proper eventing.”The JAS series is BE’s new initiative for indoor eventing. The newtwo-phase competition based on jumping and style is to take place at indoor venues in areas uninfected by FMD around the country during May.The competitions are open to full members with registered horses and day ticket holders the tickets will not count towards entry.
• 4- 5 May Towerlands, Equestrian Centre Braintree, Essex
• 12- 13 May Arena UK, Grantham, Lincolnshire
• 19- 20 May Forest Edge, Swaffham, Norfolk
• 23 May Thorpe Grange, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
• 26- 27 May Medstead Grange, Alton, HantsFor further details and to make entries contact the BE Office at Stoneleigh – (tel; 02476 698850).