Blair Castle Horse Trials

The Land Rover Blair Castle Horse Trials takes place every year in August in Scotland. The event has one of the most beautiful and dramatic settings of any horse trials in the world, with the main site nestled in a natural bowl in the Perthshire mountains. The backdrop to the main arena is the shining white castle.

The cross-country course is renowned for being strong at all levels, with horses needing good fitness to climb up and down the Scottish hills. The course-designer is Alec Lochore, who is also the event director.

The 2022 dates for Blair Castle Horse Trials are 25-28 August and the event will run five international horse trials classes – a CCI4*-L, a CCI4*-S, a CCI3*-L, a CCI2*-L and a CCI*. In addition the Scottish grassroots championships take place at Blair Castle, at BE100open and BE90open levels.

The weekend at Blair is about much more than the horse trials. There is also showing and affiliated showjumping, a country fair with displays and attractions and more than 220 tradestands.

The event is famed for its Scottish hospitality with features such as whisky tasting and ceilidh dancing in the eventings for competitors.

Kitty King riding Persimmon at the 2015 European Championships at Blair Castle.

In 2015, Blair Castle hosted the European Eventing Championships. Germany won the team gold, with Britain in silver and France taking the bronze.

Michael Jung claimed the individual gold – his third in a row – on Takinou, with fellow German Sandra Auffarth landing silver on Opgun Louvo. France’s Thibaut Vallette led the French effort with individual bronze on Qing Du Briot IFCE.