Grandstand pulls plug on British Open Showjumping Championships
The British Open Show Jumping Championships has been dropped for failing to make a profit in eight years, organisers Grandstand Event Management announced this afternoon (23 June).
The company said the British Open will not run in 2011 and may not be reintroduced in following years.
The British Open was launched in 2003 at the Sheffield Hallam Arena and relocated to the NEC, Birmingham, in 2007.
Grandstand managing director, Helena Pettit says: “We have invested very heavily in the British Open Show Jumping Championships over the last 8 years and within this time we have not had one profitable year.
“We have therefore had to take a close look at the event and at this time we will use a break to consider options for the show.
“Although we have a loyal audience base; for the show to be successful in the long term, we need to attract a larger number of visitors and increase our sponsorship.”
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.