The Doubleprint British Open Championships at Gatcombe (4-5 August) is the latest eventing casualty in the FMD crisis.
As June is the month when the event would start seriously investing in facilities in preparation, course-designer Mark Phillips explained that with fresh outbreaks of the disease, he could not commit the event to spending moneywith no guarantee of a run.
“Our heart says to run, for the sake of competitors and tradestands, but our head says not,” said Capt Phillips. “We are in a rural community and we have a moral responsibility not to do anything which would risk bringing the disease into the area.”
