Popular horse trials cancelled after strangles case
Richmond Equestrian Centre in North Yorkshire has cancelled all upcoming events, including its British Eventing fixture, after a case of strangles on its livery yard.
Richmond Horse Trials (2) was due to take place on 30 August to 1 September.
Co-owner Abigail Turner told H&H they were devastated to announce the cancellation of the BE event, but emphasised that “horse welfare comes first”.
“The vet came out to a livery’s horse on Tuesday (13 August) which had a slightly snotty nose and temperature. Because we had the BE event coming up and especially with the current equine flu situation, we had the horse tested for flu and strangles as an extra precaution. Never in a million years did we expect it would test positive for strangles,” she said.
“The horse was moved into quarantine immediately and was treated with antibiotics. It is no longer showing signs but we will be doing more blood tests and a guttural pouch wash to make sure the antibiotics have treated the infection.”
Abigail said no other horses at the centre have shown signs but all will be blood tested.
“We are very tight on biosecurity so we don’t know how strangles got on to the yard – we’re at a loss. Our vet has said we’ll never know, it could have been carried in by a horse that’s picked it up somewhere or a person,” she said.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“The bottom line is its bad luck. Everybody in the equine community needs to be tight on biosecurity. We have done our very best to keep it contained and are on full lockdown.”
Abigail said the centre was expecting record numbers for the BE event.
“We were very low on numbers and we lost money at our May event. We have thrown everything into the September event – we’ve spent thousands on the cross-country course, the ground is in amazing condition, we have 50 sponsors.
“We were so upset because we had a low entry before the ballot date and put a plea out to say if you’re going to enter to let us know and we were overwhelmed by the numbers received. Yesterday when we cancelled we had 818 entries, and 50 on the waiting list, but obviously horse welfare comes first,” she said.
Article continued below…
Former venue returns to British Eventing calendar after 47-year break
The fixture promises to be a ‘fantastic addition’ to the BE calendar
‘There is still more to do’: British Eventing appoints chief executive
‘It is exciting to be working with such a strong team, and I look forward to the opportunity to move
The centre is expected to be on lockdown until 3 September.
“We’re working with our vets and other local vets. We obviously won’t be doing anything until we get the green light, but when we do we plan to run some one-day events and show cross. We might look at doing some intermediate and novice cross-country schooling over the jumps that never got used,” said Abigail.
“We’ve had massive support from people – it’s been quite overwhelming. Everyone is behind us ready for the next event.”
All BE entries will be refunded in full and the BE100 regional final will be relocated to Alnwick Ford International on 28 to 29 September.
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.