SSANGYONG BLENHEIM PALACE HORSE TRIALS: CHANGES TO EVENT TIMETABLE

Considerable changes have been made to the timetable of this year’s SsangYong Blenheim Palace Horse Trials (13th-16th September) in order to improve the experience of riders, owners and spectators during the event and to allow more competitors to take part.
 
While spectators will still be able to enjoy watching some of the world’s best riders in the cross-country and showjumping phases of their classes on both Saturday, 15th September and Sunday, 16thSeptember, the showjumping for the prestigious young horse championship for eight- and nine-year-olds will now take place first thing in the morning on Saturday, 15th September.
 
The cross-country for the feature class, Europe’s strongest CCI3* competition, will now start later than in recent years, at approximately 11am.
 
On Sunday (16th September), the young horses will go across country first, from approximately 9.30am, and all the CCI3* competitors will showjump after lunch in the main Marlborough Arena. These changes will allow more horses to take part in both three-star classes, but will also enable the event to host a new Young Rider combined training class in the Marlborough Arena on Saturday and to host a SHB (GB) stallion parade and Horse Trials Support Group scholar demonstration of training on Sunday.
 
For amateur riders, as well as the incredibly popular team and individual Eventer Challenge classes at 90cm and 100cm (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday), and the Sunday fun ride round the beautiful grounds of the estate surrounding Blenheim Palace, there will be a new RoR (Retraining of Racehorses) dressage championships in the Attractions Arena on Thursday. This will further enhance the fantastic range of opportunities for amateur riders to compete at one of the world’s major equestrian events.
 
Event Director Mandy Hervieu said: “Blenheim is a popular location for amateur and professional riders alike and we want to try to give as many people as possible the chance to take part. The changes in the schedule will make life easier for the competitors and will allow us to have more combinations, which I know will be particularly welcomed by the overseas federations.”
 
As well as the sporting action, the SsangYong Blenheim Palace Horse Trials features excellent, carefully selected, shopping opportunities. There is a full and varied programme in the Attractions Arena every day, superb children’s entertainment and great food, from locally produced outlets to a range of dining packages.
 
Visit www.blenheimhorse.co.uk to book tickets and for further information.