New venue for British Eventing national championships after loss of Gatcombe

Hartpury University and College will hold this year’s British Eventing (BE) national championships, following the cancellation of Gatcombe.

In March it was announced that the Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe (2-4 August) was off following the adverse weather experienced last year which led to the abandonment of the event, and the “ever-increasing costs associated with operating on a greenfield site”.

The championships will now run alongside the NAF Five Star International Hartpury Horse Trials on 7-11 August.

The novice, intermediate and open national championships, the Corinthian Cup restricted novice championship and the retrained racehorse championship will run alongside Hartpury’s CCI2*-L, CCI3*-L, and CCI4*-S classes, with an additional day of cross-country on 11 August.

“Britain’s national champions will then be crowned in what will be a fitting finale to a week celebrating the sport of eventing,” said a BE spokesman, adding that Hartpury is “no stranger” to holding top events, having hosted the European dressage and eventing championships for juniors and young riders in 2022.

BE chief executive Rosie Williams added that BE is “really pleased” to be working with the Hartpury team.

“We are all focused on building this back to a major event for our members of all levels to aspire to, and it is brilliant to have Hartpury on board to help us do that,” she said.

“Members attending the championships will have access to top-class facilities across all days of competition, while also being able to enjoy the atmosphere that the existing international event brings with it. Our national classes are the pinnacle in the calendar for many of our members, and we look forward to being able to watch the titles being contested within a top-class environment.”

Hartpury deputy vice-chancellor Rosie Scott-Ward said “it is our privilege to be trusted with delivering these championships in 2024”.

“Like many others, we were sad to hear of the loss of Gatcombe’s Festival of British Eventing from the calendar this year,” she said.

“While it’s not easy stepping up at relatively short notice, I’m very proud of our team here who have already got to work to ensure we deliver a superb competition and championship atmosphere for competitors.”

Ms Scott-Ward added that Hartpury has “exciting plans” for the cross-country courses.

“We are working with designer Eric Winter and [course-builders] Jump1 to create world-class tracks and exceptional going, both for the championships and also for our prestigious international classes,” she said.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone in August.”