Mike Etherington-Smith is top man at British Eventing

Mike Etherington-Smith has been appointing director of sport at British Eventing. The role is a new one, announced earlier this year when the position of chief executive was made redundant (news, 5 April).

“I will be based at Stoneleigh, looking after the day to day running of the sport with Terry Bailey managing the business side,” said Mike. “There are many areas to look at — expansion, safety, development, marketing strategies to name just a few. It’s very exciting and there are a lot of challenges ahead.”

Mike steps down as director of Blenheim Horse Trials, which he has run since 1990, but will continue to design Chatsworth. He designed the cross-country course for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and is designing at Hong Kong next year for the Beijing Olympics. He will continue to design Rolex Kentucky.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (24 May, ’07)

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