Some spectators may have thought that the serious competition was taking place on the cross-country course at Burghley Horse Trials on Saturday (7 September), but actually the real contest was in the car park.
For the second year running Land Rover ran its Tailgate Picnic competition giving entrants a chance to display their perfect platters, symmetrical sandwiches and chilled champagne.
Perfect party: some of the entrants for the 2013 competition
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Television presenter Kirstie Allsopp took a tour of the dedicated picnic car park to judge the entrants’ picnics.
“I had a great time judging the Land Rover Perfect Tailgate Picnic Competition this year,” Kirstie said.
“All the participants had made such an effort and it was lovely to see everyone coming together, catching up with friends and enjoying the day — the perfect day out!”
Sitting down on the job: Kirstie makes the most of a tailgate
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Kirstie picked Sarah Clough from Maldon in Bedforshire as the winner. Sarah has been coming to Burghley for years and was inspired to enter the competition after seeing last year’s entrants.
Champagne moment: Sarah Clough celebrates winning the competition
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Runner-up was Lucy Sharpley who had made a picnic for 35 people. Her picnic even included a specially modified gun box in the back of her Discovery, which held all her picnic things in separate compartments.
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Ammunition: a gun cabinet turned into a picnic holder
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Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.
