Lincolnshire Horse Trials welcomes Olympians and world class eventers for exciting competition
22 Mar 2024 | College
The prestigious Lincolnshire Horse Trials, hosted by Riseholme College at the Lincolnshire Showground held in week 3 of the British Eventing season saw an exciting three-days sport.
The land-based college, which specialises in equine education was delighted to welcome nearly 600 competitors to the Lincolnshire Showground, for a thrilling competition, featuring classes including BE100, Novice and Intermediate classes, including under 18 and pony classes and ran from 15 – 17 March.
Providing a challenging equestrian competition, combining the three disciplines of dressage, show jumping and cross country, the horse trials attract riders of all abilities and nationalities. Competitors and spectators were treated to a number of famous riders competing, including some of the top ten eventers in the world. Big names included gold medallist Yasmin Ingham, New Zealand rider Tim Price and Olympians Rosalind Canter, Laura Collett, Oliver Townend and Tom McEwan.
Robyn Cherry, organiser and Equestrian Director at Riseholme College said “One of the things I love most about horse trials is the way young riders can see their heroes competing live and in the flesh! Eventing has highs and lows for riders of all experience levels – even Olympians can have off days and it’s brilliant for young and upcoming riders to be able to see this first hand. Not only do they get to see some exceptional, world class riding but they can also learn from observing in close quarters. It’s exciting to think we were probably in the presence of some of tomorrow’s equestrian stars!”
The cross-country course was designed by the experienced British Eventing Platinum builder and B List Professional Designer Joe Weller. Despite some wet weather slowing some of the preparations and an incredible display of team work from our ground team particularly on the Sunday, the cross country course was a technical and exciting challenge, offering a good variety of forward galloping fences designed to give novice riders confidence, whilst proving more challenging for experienced combinations.
The competition is a highlight in the Riseholme College and national equestrian calendar and providing equine students a fantastic opportunity to be involved in such a pivotal event, supporting across the competition from stewarding to dressage writing and score collecting to course building.
Jessica Guyver, Equine Curriculum Lead at Riseholme College commented “Helping with Lincolnshire Horse Trials is a real highlight in the year for the college. It’s wonderful for equine students to be involved in such a prestigious event and gain a better understanding of how a large-scale competition of this nature runs. Being involved is a fantastic way for them to enjoy some work experience in a unique environment, which will help with their employability as they can add their participation to their CVs. Even better, they get to watch and observe some of the very best riders in the world competing, providing them with an amazing experience, that they can take away and learn from.”
Looking to the future of the sport, Riseholme College was delighted to welcome Project Pony to the horse trials; an organisation dedicated to giving young talent the opportunity to compete in eventing and support up-and-coming young riders the chance to event on elite ponies.
Robyn Cherry said “The college is committed to equal opportunities, providing young talent with opportunities to flourish and develop and so we were thrilled to have Project Pony on board. It is a fantastic initiative supporting young riders to advance in the sport. Huge congratulations to the riders who competed in the Project Pony pony trials demonstrating some tremendous riding!”
Equine Commercial and Events Coordinator Emily Cameron said “We are incredibly grateful for the backing and support of our amazing sponsors, who made such a huge contribution to making this event such a success. Our heartfelt thanks go to them and all of those engaged in this event, the officials, the showground staff, the contractors, Riseholme College staff and students and of course, the multitude of amazing volunteers that give up their precious spare time to assist with the running of this event. The number of people it takes to put on a Horse Trials is phenomenal and a real testament to the sport of eventing that people give up their time and expertise to facilitate Horse Trials up and down the country.”
Fellow organiser Catherine Sykes also commented “It is always a huge pleasure to host the Lincolnshire Horse Trials. We have seen outstanding sportsmanship and riding from all the competitors, making it a really fantastic competition. Huge thanks to all the riders who competed for their continued support and making this year’s event truly memorable. A huge thank you to all involved. ”
Further horse trials are planned for May 2024 and September 2024 at Riseholme College’s sister campus Bishop Burton in East Yorkshire. Bishop Burton will also be playing host to the International Youth Championships in July 2024.
For further information on any of the events please call 01964 553087 or email equine@bishopburton.ac.uk.
