from H&H ;
Bicton Arena is to host Britain’s only CCI5* horse trials of 2021, in a one-off top-level event on what would have been Burghley week.
The Chedington Bicton Park CCI5* Horse Trials will run from 2-5 September at the Devon venue, as a replacement event after the cancellations of Badminton and Burghley. H&H reported in May that hopes of a British five-star were high, thanks to the efforts of all involved in the sport.
The Bicton team, led by Helen West and Andrew Fell, applied to the FEI to run the one-off five-star after the venue’s successful first four-star event last month, “to meet competitor and owner demand for a competition of this level after the unprecedented cancellations of both Badminton and Burghley due to the pandemic”.
“The Chedington Bicton Park CCI5* Horse Trials should prove a great boost to the sport after two difficult seasons and will be an opportunity to see the highest level of competition in this country for the first time in two years,” a Bicton spokesman said.
“Bicton has again secured the generous sponsorship from Chedington, plus a prize fund of €125,000 [£107,400]. The event will be live-streamed by our supporting sponsor The Eventing Channel.”
