Horse No. 39, Reserve in the Coloured Ridden Championships at The Showing Register Spring Show on the Onley EC near Rugby in Warwickshire in the UK on the 1st May 2017
The first running of a show which was planned to take place at the East of England Arena and Events Centre next month has been cancelled, as a result of “disappointing” ticket sales.
The High Flyers “exclusive” championship showing and showjumping event, at which a string of new national titles was to be on offer, was scheduled to run in the Peterborough arena for the first time this year, from 16 to 18 March.
But this week (7 February), organisers said that it was with “significant disappointment”, they had taken the decision to “postpone the High Flyers Show for 2019”.
“The decision was taken after a great deal of deliberation,” a statement from the team said.
“Unfortunately the ticket sales did not reach the level that we were anticipating, which meant it was unlikely that there would be a sufficient audience to keep our sponsors and trade stand exhibitors happy.”
The aim of the event, which was aimed at professional riders and showing producers, was to offer classes and titles to compare to those on offer at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), Olympia and the Liverpool International. Organisers hope demand for this will allow the event to run in future.
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“As High Flyers was targeted at young horses we wanted to create an event which would allow horses to get used to an electric atmosphere within a safe environment before competing at shows such as the Royal International and HOYS,” the statement said.
“We still believe that there is a demand for this event and support from the riders, sponsors and trade stands has been tremendous, so we hope to re-visit the event at some stage in the future.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
