Fuel costs spell end for Burgie three-day event

Burgie International Horse Trials has run its final international three-day event after a second year of low entries made it financially unviable.

Organiser Polly Lochore said: “The Burgie committee decided after the last event in June that we would give up the CCIs due to two years of entries so small that it was not financially possible to carry on.

“We are all very sad about it, but a CCI with 25 entries is not viable, and the cost consumed our reserves,” she said.

Mrs Lochore thanked Burgie’s title sponsors, The Malcolm Group, for their support over the years.

She blamed the low entries on rising fuel costs – Burgie is situated in the far north of Scotland and just 16 horses made the trip for last summer’s CCI**.

“We can only assume that the lack of entries was due to the price of travel these days,” she said.

The emergence of other events at the same level, such as Houghton and Glanusk, that are within easier reach, is also thought to be a factor.

But Scotland will not lose these CCI classes – the new venue of Balcarres Castle, Fife, has stepped into the breach on Burgie’s dates (14-17 June 2012).

As well as Burgie’s CCI* and CCI** classes, Balcarres will run BE90, BE100 and

novice tracks.

Burgie will retain its CIC*, the national classes and add an intermediate. This event will be held a month later (21-22 July 2012) and there will be no change to Wee Burgie – a separate, smaller event – held at the end of September.

Frances Hay-Smith of British Eventing (BE) told H&H: “Balcarres is a new and exciting venue for eventing.”

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (27 October, 2011)

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