BE update following new national restrictions
On Monday 4 January, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced a new national lockdown in England, and First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, tighter restrictions in Scotland, to counter the steep rise in coronavirus (Covid-19) infections. We have every confidence that the equestrian community will pull together to play its part once more during these challenging times.
Eventing Season 2021
The team at British Eventing continue to work behind the scenes to prepare for the kick-off of the 2021 eventing season, and we are planning for resumption of sport in March. We may of course need to be flexible about the timing as guidance changes, however we anticipate at this stage that eventing could resume by mid-March.
Our Return to Sport protocols, which proved to be robust and well supported previously, will continue to be adapted and reviewed as guidance from the government is updated.
We continue to plan for sport resumption and supporting our Organisers, Officials, Volunteers, Entries Secretaries and Scorers with a schedule of online training being implemented shortly.
Training competitions
In conjunction with the Unaffiliated Market Working Group, we continue to plan the rollout of alternative competition formats to support members in the transition to a full return to competition. We aim to launch these training competitions as soon as possible and further details will be shared shortly.
Winter Series cancelled
Sadly, as a result of the new national lockdown, the remaining Baileys Horse Feeds Winter Series competitions will be cancelled. Competitors with existing entries will be refunded in full and we look forward to welcoming the series back ahead of 2022.
Changes at Head Office
In line with Government guidance that people should work from home where at all possible, the British Eventing Head Office will temporarily close as of 6 January and we ask where possible that you email your queries using the contact details here: https://www.britisheventing.com/contact-us as the phone lines will not be answered.
As you may expect, we are intending to furlough staff again at BE HQ to maximise the benefit the furlough scheme provides. This may mean that there are delays in receiving responses to correspondence and we thank you in advance for your patience.
We thank you all for your support and understanding during these extremely challenging times. We are all looking forward to welcoming you back on-event and for us to all enjoy the sport we love so much.
In the meantime, we send well wishes to you and your families during this difficult time.