Area festival cancelled due to strangles outbreak
A British Dressage (BD) area festival in Scotland has been put on hold following an outbreak of strangles.
Yesterday (1 May) Rockrose Equestrian Sports Centre, Haddington, told BD it had a confirmed case of the highly contagious infection at its livery yard.
Rockrose has suspended all equine movement and competition with immediate effect. This includes the area festival due to run from 11–13 May.
James Cunningham at Rockrose and BD are working to secure a date later in the year for the competition.
“The Rockrose team has acted quickly and professionally in activating crisis plans in the circumstances and we hope they can bring the outbreak to an end quickly,” said BD’s head of sport operations, Di Harvey.
“We’re looking at a few available dates to reschedule the area festival and will communicate the change via our website and social media as soon as a decision is made.
“For those in the area of Rockrose, the venue is urging you to follow its social media feeds where they are being open with the facts and giving situation updates to help with any concerns.”
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Continued below…
New vaccine successfully protects horses from strangles
The development of the vaccine is hoped to have benefits to the health of horses around the world
From horse to hoarse: how strangles has helped unravel sore throats
A technique developed by the Animal Health Trust in strangles research was used in a breakthrough by scientists looking at
Stand up to strangles: ‘bold’ campaign wins national award
Redwings aims to increase awareness of the disease and aid its prevention, with the ultimate goal being eradicating strangles in
Area Festivals
The area festivals are being held throughout the UK this year from May to September, with classes from prelim to inter II.
The top 10 combinations from each section go to one of eight area festival finals, which take place in September and October.
For more information visit www.britishdressage.co.uk/competitions/area_festivals
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday
This week’s edition features 75 years of Royal Windsor Horse Show magic, Oliver Townend’s eventing grand slam bid and debate over grass versus surfaces
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

Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.