A £500,000 all-weather arena is being built at Windsor in time for both the May show and the European Jumping and Dressage Championships in the summer (25-30 August).
The 68x80m Ecotrack arena will make Windsor “as weather-proof as it can be”, said event director Simon Brooks-Ward.
“We want the European Jumping and Dressage Championships to be a formidable, world-class event,” he said. “We needed a new arena to achieve this goal.”
Work began earlier this month and will be complete for the Royal Windsor Show (13-17 May).
The new arena will sit next to the existing all-weather main ring, and the two will hold around 70% of competition at the show.
The ground at Windsor faced criticism in 2005 after horses appeared lame while in the ring.
Mr Brooks-Ward said: “The improvements are good news for all competitors.”
• The entries deadline for the May show has been extended until 3 April. For tickets visit: www.rwhs.co.uk
This article was first published in Horse & Hound (26 March, ’09)
