The Event Rider Masters Series (ERM) has announced its dates for 2019 — dropping Barbury Horse Trials and Blair Castle Horse Trials from its schedule to include just one UK venue.
The six-leg series, which offers a total prize fund of £350,000, has instead expanded internationally, taking on board two new European dates.
Millstreet International Horse Trials in Ireland (24-15 Aug) will join the line-up for the first time this season as leg five, while this year’s final will be hosted at the Concours Complet International Lignieres en Berry in France (5-6 October).
The opening event, and sole UK leg, will be The Dodson & Horrell Chatsworth International Horse Trials (11-12 May).
Legs two and three and four are Belgium’s Concours Complet D’Arville (22-23 June), Germany’s Internationales Wiesbadener Pfingstturnier (7-8 June) and France’s Haras De Jardy Eventing Show (13-14 July).
In a statement released today (1 February), Barbury organisers said it would not be hosting the ERM leg following the “withdrawal of title sponsor St James’s place after 14 years of support”, also citing “changes to the balance of the ERM calendar this year”.
“Alternative options for the continuation of the 2019 event are being explored,” the statement concluded.
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ERM took over the running of Barbury in 2017, following the sale of the estate by Nigel Bunter to Chris Woodhouse.
In recent years, the ERM series has continued to expand into Europe, losing some of its original UK schedule. In last year’s series, Blenheim and Gatcombe were lost in order to take on the Belgian leg.
The ERM is the most valuable series in eventing, offering a prize pot of €57,000 for each European date and £50,000 for Chatsworth – with an additional £50,000 series prize divided between the top three riders at the end of the season. Each event is broadcast live at www.eventridermasters.tv.
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