Organisers of the Eventing Spring Carnival (1-3 April) at Thoresby Park have announced “with much sadness” that this year’s competition has been cancelled.
In a statement today (29 January) a spokesman said the organisers, led by BEDE Event’s Stuart Buntine, had been monitoring the situation closely but in recent days it was “becoming ever more clear” that it is unlikely Covid-19 restrictions will ease very soon.
Following BEDE’s Belton Horse Trials running for the last time in 2019, the Eventing Spring Carnival had been due to make its debut last year but was also cancelled owing to Covid restrictions. The international fixture had been due to hold classes from novice to CCI4-S, incorporating the Grantham Cup.
“Thoresby Park is a fantastic venue and we were very relieved when we were able to re-route the autumn Osberton International Horse Trials there,” said Stuart.
“We ran what quickly became known as ‘Thoresberton’ to much praise from riders, owners and sponsors thanks to the efforts Gregor Pierrepont and the team of Thoresby Park.“
Mr Buntine said to run the competition in April, work needed to start in early February, which meant the organisers had to make the difficult decision to cancel, and plan towards a “bigger and better” 2022.
“As ever at BEDE Events we are a positive team and are sure our busy calendar of fixtures will get under way before we know it, but in order for riders to plan their season we felt they needed to be kept in the loop,” he said.
“It is very sad for Gregor and the team at Thoresby Park as they have been a brilliant support and this is the second year that the virus has led to cancellation of the spring event, but let’s hope 2022 is third time lucky.
“Of course we are very aware that whilst the sport is central to our lives and those of our competitors, it is vital that we support the efforts to rid the country of this pandemic.”
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Mr Pierrepont added that over the past two years the team have done “everything that could be done” to make the inaugural Eventing Spring Carnival the best it can be, and they remain determined it will launch in 2022 “with a bang”.
“The autumn event at Thoresby really showcased our strengths as a venue, with massive potential to put on a truly international event. We are determined to get there and look forward to welcoming everyone as soon as we can,” he said.
The spokesman said the BEDE team is now continuing to work closely with British Eventing to look at alternative dates for the Oasby Horse Trials fixture, with the aim of giving competitors an early-season run with classes from BE90 to intermediate.
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