Regulated by British Eventing the national governing body for eventing in Great Britain, riders of all abilities from grassroots to international level enjoyed the ultimate equestrian challenge, combining dressage, show jumping and cross country in one event. Due to Covid restrictions and weather abandonment, the last May Bishop Burton horse trials were in 2019, so the college was delighted to welcome the return of competitors, volunteers, spectators and officials.
World champion and Olympian Ros Canter and British Under-25 champion Emily King were amongst the competitors taking on a range of new fences, thanks to significant investment from the college across all courses. The courses were designed by Joe Weller, a British Eventing Gold Course Builder and a BE Silver Course Designer.
Joe has been a member of the XC build team for Burghley CIC5* since 2005 and was part of the XC repair team for the Eventing competition at the 2012 London Olympics. With fantastic going, he made best use of the Bishop Burton parkland, with a mixture of permanent and portable fences and inviting courses over the undulating ground.
Equine Events Coordinator Catherine Sykes commented “We were thrilled to have Joe Weller and his team taking care of the fantastic course designs and they were busy for several weeks in preparation. However, this only represents an element of the effort required to host horse trials. It takes a tremendous amount of hard work and organisation from the Bishop Burton team and students, not to mention the amazing volunteers, contractors, sponsors and trade stands. We’re very grateful for all their support and it’s a real testament to the sport of eventing that people continue to devote their time and energies into supporting this remarkable event.”
The college was particularly excited to be able to welcome competitors back for a May horse trials after such a long hiatus.
Equine Centre Manager Hannah Ward, said
“We would like to give an extra thank you to the competitors who continue to show their support to British Eventing and Bishop Burton College through their membership and entries. It was wonderful to see so many fantastic riders competing again.”
Hannah also went on to thank event sponsors Bedmax, AJW Equestrian, Visit East Yorkshire and Bishop Burton College.
“We are particularly grateful to our sponsors, new and longstanding, without whom we could not hope to run the horse trials on such a large scale. Our sponsors in combination with officials, volunteers and trade stand attendees make this event such an attraction in the northern eventing calendar.”
Further horse trials are planned for October 2022 and May 2023 and Bishop Burton will also be playing host to the International Youth Championships in August 2022, plus Lincolnshire Horse Trials in March 2023. For further information on any of the events please call 01964 553087 or email equine@bishopburton.ac.uk.
