Barbury Horse Trials

Barbury Horse Trials takes place in an area of outstanding natural beauty, overlooked by an Iron Age hill fort. It currently has a early spring date in March in the British Eventing calendar, which plays to the strengths of its well-draining chalk grassland.

Barbury Horse Trials was regarded as one of the most prestigious one-day events in Britain, hosting classes up to CCI4*-S until 2022, offering excellent viewing for spectators thanks to the natural bowl of the landscape. As well as attracting a high quality field for the CCI4*-S class, the event previously hosted a leg of the Event Rider Masters (ERM).

British Eventing’s 2023 rule which prevented events hosting FEI classes from also hosting unaffiliated competitions prompted the event to step away from the governing body, choosing to host unaffiliated events for two seasons instead. It returned to the British Eventing national calendar in 2025.

Barbury Horse Trials history

The first running of Barbury Horse Trials was in 2005 when the CIC3* (now CCI4*-S) was won by William Fox-Pitt and Ballincoola.

Andrew Nicholson has been the most successful rider at Barbury, taking the showcase class every year from 2012 to 2015 with Rosemary Barlow’s Avebury. He was crowned the “King of Barbury” for the fifth time in 2016, when he won the third leg of that year’s ERM series at Barbury, riding Nereo.

As well as the CCI4*-S, Barbury used to run CCI3*-S class and novice sections, plus a retrained racehorse championship. The main arena – which incorporates both a water jump and a slope up and down between levels – played host to various novelty classes and displays through the weekend, such as the popular jockeys versus event riders challenge in aid of charity.

In 2020, Barbury was one of the first horse trials to take place when eventing returned as the Covid-19 lockdown eased. It ran as a national fixture, with classes from BE100 to open intermediate.

Barbury Horse Trials is run by Alec Lochore’s company, Musketeer Event Management.