The final part of the fixtures process saw four selected venues present to a Stakeholder Panel yesterday (Wednesday 26 June) and the organising team of BEDE Events allocated the fixture.

The Stakeholder Panel was made up of the following:

• Malcolm Wharton – Independent Chairman
• Paul Tapner – representing ERA
• Jan Cottam – representing BEOA
• Mark Corbett – representing EHOA
• Sarah Bullen – representing Senior Performance Team

Jude Matthews, Interim CEO, commented; “There were four incredibly good presentations on Wednesday from four very different venues, and the Stakeholder Panel had a very hard decision to make.

“The key focus has been to ensure the sport selected the best possible venue to deliver such an important early season International.  All of the final four applicants could have delivered this, but we are delighted to award this fixture to Thoresby Park and the BEDE team.

“It was a very difficult decision and we fully appreciate that Bicton, Weston Park and Frickley Park will be disappointed.  As a sport we, and our members, are incredibly lucky to have such fabulous venues that host affiliated competition and I’d like to thank all the organisers who applied for this fixture.”

Helen Eshelby, Outdoor Events Manager at Thoresby Park, commented; “Thoresby Park are thrilled to have been chosen as the new home for the spring two, three and  four star event. We look forward to welcoming the international riders in April 2020 and working with Stuart, Anna and the BEDE Events team on the horse trials for many years to come.”

Stuart Buntine, Director of BEDE, commented; “We are thrilled to have ‘Belton’ back and look forward to taking it to further heights at Thoresby. We thank British Eventing for their confidence in the BEDE team and are well into planning mode for this great new venue.”

About the process

Following the announcement in April that the National Trust at Belton Park would no longer be hosting a horse trial, all organisers were invited to express their interest in hosting the replacement fixture. Seven venues applied for the fixture and from those, four venues were selected for a site visit by a Venue Assessment Panel, made up of Yogi Breisner, Paul Graham and Bruce Haskell.  The four organisers were then invited to present to the Stakeholder Panel, who made the final decision.

Some of the key considerations which led to Thoresby Park being awarded the fixture were:

• An iconic and historic new venue
• A fixture that will be delivered by BEDE - the same team that successfully delivered Belton for many years
• Similar location to Belton; Thoresby Park is five miles south of Worksop
• The park is a greenfield site which will enable the BEDE team to create a purpose built venue layout to suit the specific requirements of the sport
• The ground at Thoresby is free draining sandy soil, which is ideal for running a fixture at this time in the calendar.

About the Stakeholder Panel

Malcolm Wharton – Independent Chairman

Malcolm has spent 39 years in the Land Based and Sports Education industry, and 22 years as principal at Hartpury College.  He was instrumental in the development of the equestrian academy and facilities at Hartpury, including the introduction of the successful International event that runs annually in August. Malcolm has been a Director of the RFU since 2013.

Paul Tapner

Paul represents the Event Riders Association. An Australian International Event Rider, Paul has been based in the UK since 1999 and competed at every level of the sport all across Great Britain and Europe. He won Badminton Horse Trials in 2010 on Inonothing and went on to represent Australia at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, USA.

Jan Cottam

Jan is the Chairman of the British Event Organisers Association, Organiser of Goring Heath Horse Trials in Oxfordshire, a BE Steward, FEI Steward and FEI Ground Jury Level 2.

Mark Corbett

Mark is on the Board of the Event Horse Owners Association. Along with competing up to 3* level, Mark is a BE Accredited Coach and Under 18 Coach for the South East and currently sits on the BE Sport Committee.  

Sarah Bullen

Senior Eventing Selector, former 5* competitor and coach, Sarah represents the Senior Performance Team.

Update on the Strategic Fixtures Process Review

The review of the Strategic Fixtures Process is ongoing and the next meeting of the Review panel is 1st July.  More information will be released about the Review, and any outcomes in due course.

- ENDS -