Olympia to drop final day of the show this year
Olympia will be a day shorter this year, running over six rather than seven days.
But organiser HPower says it can fit just as much into the programme as at longer shows.
“We have run a six-day show before – the last time was in 2007 – and we will have exactly the same number of performances and competitions,” said HPower spokesman Jo Peck.
The provisional dates are 18-23 December, meaning the show loses its final Monday.
The change comes because Christmas Eve falls on a Monday this year and it was not possible to move the show back a week.
Showjumping will be held alongside the dressage classes on the first two days, to fit it all into the schedule.
“When we have a longer run-up to Christmas, we have the luxury of running the dressage over two full days,” said Ms Peck.
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But the later dates could make it easier for visitors who are bringing children.
“Not all schools had broken up in time for last year’s show [13-19 December 2011],” said mother-of-two Camilla Bedford.
“I took my children on the final Monday, but it would have been nice to have gone earlier in the show.”
Tickets are scheduled to go on sale in May. Visit www.olympiahorseshow.com.
This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (19 December 2012)
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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.