Andrew Nicholson on hopes for 2025 and the sport’s new grassroots format
It’s the start of a new eventing season, and many of the professional riders were out competing last weekend. I always liked to get going at the very beginning of the year as March can often be a good month weather-wise, whereas the proverbial showers in April make cancellations likely.
I have three young horses starting their careers at BE100 and one intermediate, so I’ll be out and about a bit – it keeps me busy!
I’ve got a young French eventer based here who is hoping to ride at four-star; he rides very well. And my very first French rider pupil, Cedric Lyard, is now a coach for the French team. He came here for two years, then rode for France at the top level. I’m very proud of him.
Positive vibes
I was asked what I hope for in the sport this year. I think having the European Championships at Blenheim in September will be good for eventing. With Mark Phillips designing the course, it should produce a result in which cross-country will be a major factor. Blenheim is the ideal place to use the terrain to make the time difficult to get.
Mark has been the advisor to designer David Evans there for a few years – he knows it well and I imagine he will make it fair but quite difficult, which will be a good reminder for European riders of the central importance of the cross-country phase.
With the dressage and showjumping taking place on grass, it should be a proper, British-style championship. And there are enough strong European nations and good combinations to press the Brits for the gold medals.
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On the national side of things, I’d like to see something being done to halt the number of good events falling by the wayside. The desire to hold horse trials in venues that aren’t already equestrian centres needs to be reignited.
It’s good, therefore, to hear positive vibes about Scone Palace, which is replacing Blair as Scotland’s major event. I know that horse trials have been run at Scone in the past, so it has some history.
The combination of Alec Lochore as event organiser and course-designer and the marketing, infrastructure and knowledge of ground from the Perth Racecourse team on-site should combine together well.
The advantages of the racecourse facilities – permanent stabling, hospitality structures and other facilities – right next door to the big, open park bowl with the palace on one side and the River Tay on the other make it an exciting place to stage an event.
Lack of progression
British Eventing’s new idea of “XC+” where riders can choose to do two out of the three phases of eventing is, I think, absurd and just shows how frightened the organisation is of losing more of its lower-level membership.
The press release said it would “save valuable time” – will it? How? Once you’re there at an event, you’re there. In Europe, you usually do just one phase a day over three days, but in Britain we traditionally do everything in a single day. Is another hour going to make that much difference to what is nearly always a day’s commitment?
Presumably everyone doing it will skip their weakest phase. How’s that going to improve your riding, your experience, your horse’s way of going – the things that the three phases of eventing are there to test?
This won’t be a popular opinion, but I personally believe that British Eventing has put far too many of its eggs in the grassroots market and has neglected the upper levels. As far as I can tell, there are fewer advanced and intermediate horses, while the BE100 and below classes are chock-a-block.
Where’s the progression and aspiration that was once so central to the spirit of the sport? There’s no problem with anyone not wanting to jump bigger jumps – but that’s what the unaffiliated world is for, surely? Why is the national governing body of our Olympic sport so involved?
● What do you think about British Eventing’s new XC+ concept? Write to hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and country, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine
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New Zealand five-star event rider Andrew Nicholson has won Burghley five times and took top honours at Badminton in 2017. He has won two Olympic team bronze medals and a team silver and is currently cross-country coach to the Swiss eventing team.
