British Eventing has released its provisional calendar for July and August, featuring fixtures from grassroots to CCI4*.
There are also plans to replace the short- and long-format CCI4* classes lost as a result of Blenheim’s cancellation in the autumn.
The resumption plan follows the announcement last week that affiliated eventing was pencilled in to return on 4 July, providing government restrictions allow.
The early calendar is fluid and there have already been some changes. Buckminster (Lincs) alone is now scheduled to restart the season on 4 to 5 July as Barbury (Wilts) and Aske (North Yorks) have been pushed back to the same weekend as Tweseldown (Hants) (10/11 to 12 July).
Entries will not open until government guidance is updated that means the events themselves can go ahead.
A statement from BE chief executive Jude Matthews said the aim is for events to start taking entries next week (from 15 June) “at the earliest”.
“We appreciate that the impact of Covid-19 has been far-reaching and as a result some organisers have made the difficult decision not to run their events as planned this year,” added Ms Matthews.
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“We have been working closely with all organisers to confirm a new ‘sport resumption fixtures calendar’.
“We are in the process of confirming the remaining fixtures for September and October and will publish these shortly.
“For those planning campaigns for their horses at novice and above, the calendar remains largely unaltered (other than the cancellations that have previously been advised).
“We are hoping to replace the Blenheim weekend CCI4*-S and CCI 4*-L fixture, and also to insert an additional CCI3*-L at the end of October. Organisers have been asked to provide an expression of interest for these classes.”
Events have been moved in the calendar and new events added. BE is updating its website next week to include the agreed fixtures for July and August, including revised event, entry opening, decision to run and ballot dates.
There is also an amnesty on the six-month flu booster requirement, so horses competing in national classes during the 2020 season only need an up-to-date annual vaccination.
Those competing in international classes will require vaccinations in line with FEI requirements.
Ms Matthews added the abandonment insurance claim is “making good progress” and BE hopes to be able to issue further updates “shortly”.
In an in-depth interview in H&H this week, Zara Tindall discussed her desire to ride on another championship team for
Burgham is the first international fixture on the revised schedule, with short-format two-,three- and four-star classes over the new dates of 20 to 22 August.
“We are doing our absolute best to run Burgham – which is a vital part of the eventing calendar and very popular with riders,” said event director Martyn Johnson.
“As many other major events have been lost this year, particularly in the north, a later date was considered important and we hope that this will allow us to run the best event possible with the very high standards for which Burgham is known.
“We will, of course, be complying with government and sport-specific guidelines, which will impose restrictions on what we can and cannot do. Burgham is increasingly popular with spectators, who come to watch the world’s top eventing stars, and we shall miss the great atmosphere that they create, but we look forward to welcoming them back in 2021.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
