1. Burghley Horse Trials being live streamed rather than shown on the red button
Just like Badminton earlier this year, the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is opting to livestream their competition on their own digital channel, meaning viewers will need to either attend the event or subscribe to the service for £20 in order to watch the action from this September’s competition (1-4 September). Sports fans are becoming well used to paying to watch their favourite events, an understandable move by venues given the cost of production, and this change allows fans to continue enjoying all the action even if unable to attend in person. The BBC red button will not be showing all the cross country coverage as in previous years, however the BBC2 highlights programme is scheduled to go ahead as normal on the Sunday afternoon.
Find out what you can watch where
2. An owner spray painting their horse to protect the animal from laminitis
The owner of a horse recovering from laminitis has turned out the horse in a bare paddock and spray-painted the words “Don’t feed me” on her animals’s sides. Johanna Bayliss-Fuller told H&H she was “at her wits’ end” after years of dealing with members of the public feeding her four horses, breaking her fences and trespassing in her fields. She has put up sign after sign, posted on local Facebook groups and spoken to some of those responsible, to no avail.
3. Horse-friendly pub options
A pub operator is trying to make it as easy as possible for riders to combine hacking with a refreshment stop, creating a list of horse-friendly venues. Brakspear, which runs more than 100 pubs in England, has a list on its website and also an app, which riders can use to find nearby venues that welcome horses. “In these eco-conscious times we wanted to remind people that some of our pubs can cater for those arriving on horseback,” said Brakspear marketing manager Emma Sweet. “A lot of our pubs were originally built as coach and horse inns, so it’s a great way to incorporate a pub’s history with its modern offering.” A cool lemonade after a hot ride sounds a superb idea to us.
Find out more about the horse-friendly pub initiative
You might also be interested in:
Find somewhere to stay during Burghley Horse Trials
Discounted Burghley tickets are on sale now – with new options including course walks
Burghley ‘full steam ahead’ for 2022: new course-designer shares early thoughts on cross-country track
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