The Agria FEI Eventing European Championships is taking place in the grounds of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Blenheim Palace on 18 to 21 September. The annual CCI4*-S for eight and nine-year-old horses, sponsored by GFS Saddles, will run alongside the Euros.
This will be the first senior eventing championship to be held in Britain since Blair Castle in 2015. Britain has previously hosted the event on 11 occasions, including at Blenheim 20 years ago when Zara Phillips (now Tindall) won individual gold and William Fox-Pitt took individual silver. The British team won gold. We hope the weather will be kinder than it was on that occasion.
Blenheim is on the edge of the market town of Woodstock, around nine miles north-west of Oxford and has held its prestigious autumn CCI4* fixture since 1990, as well as championships.
How to get to Blenheim
By plane: London Luton (58 miles-plus)
By train: Oxford, Oxford Parkway and Hanborough, after which you need to take a bus/taxi.
Parking: free in main car park; you can pay to upgrade for closer access.
Where to stay near Blenheim
There are plenty of hotels and B&Bs, from low-budget to luxury, in nearby Woodstock (one mile), Kidlington (2.5 miles) and Oxford (nine miles). Camping and glamping options are also available on site. Check out our guide to where to stay near Blenheim for more details.
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Things to do nearby
The palace, which was the birthplace of prime minister Winston Churchill and is the only palace in England not associated with the royal family, will be open during the event. It is well worth a visit, with stunning tapestries in its stately rooms, a 1.8-acre hedge maze and a butterfly house. It’s been used as a location for many films including Black Beauty, Harry Potter and Spectre 007, so see if you can spot where the scenes played out.
Woodstock, less than a mile away, is home to the Oxfordshire Museum, which details the county’s history from the Jurassic period through to the Victorian era. Plus, this Georgian market town is a stunning place to stroll around, with independent shops, cafes and galleries.
If you love to shop, make sure you visit the famous designer outlet centre at Bicester Village, 25 minutes away.
For culture-vultures, Oxford is one of the most fascinating cities in the country, with the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology (Britain’s first public museum), the world-famous Bodleian Library, a 1,000-year-old castle and former prison, botanic garden and covered market to enjoy.
How to follow the European Eventing Championships action
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Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
