Get ready to plan your season: British Eventing 2018 fixtures confirmed

The British Eventing (BE) fixtures list for the 2018 season includes some good news for eventers in the north of England and Scotland.

A new venue added to the calendar is Frenchfield Horse Trials in Cumbria, which will run two days of competition in April, with a second fixture in September. Levels of competition at Frenchfield will range from BE80(T) to BE105.

Hopetoun Horse Trials in Scotland returns to the calendar on 30 June for two days after a one year break in 2016. Organised by Bruce Edward, the event which used to also run international classes, will now host competition ranging between BE80(T) and novice level.

Blair Castle International Horse Trials will now host the BE90 and BE100 Scottish Championships in August.

Other changes include the addition of a BE80(T) class at both runnings of Skipton in North Yorkshire in June and August, while Frickley Park (1) in July has replaced its BE100plus class with a BE105 competition.

BE chief executive David Holmes said: “Following a great season for British Eventing it is now time to look ahead to the coming year; we are delighted to release the calendar for 2018 so our members, fans, volunteers and supporters can start planning their season.

“The fixtures team and regional coordinators have been working hard to maintain the number of competition opportunities around the country to ensure a balanced and suitable fixtures calendar for organisers and competitors.

“Thank you to all organisers for your huge efforts in running British Eventing affiliated fixtures, we look forward to a great 2018.”

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Other notable changes include Belton Horse Trials in Lincolnshire running two weeks later in 2018 than it did this year. The event, which hosts classes from novice to advanced plus three-star, will take place on 13-15 April. Previously a popular pre-Badminton run, it will be interesting to see whether the date change has an impact on entries. Burnham Market Horse Trials in Norfolk, which historically hosts its event over the Easter weekend, now runs a couple of weeks earlier than it did last year around the final weekend in March.

Breckenbrough (2) in Yorkshire does not appear in the 2018 BE fixtures list, although its first event still takes place.

Finally, the FEI pony European Eventing Championships will be hosted by Bishop Burton College in Yorkshire in early August.

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Gemma Redrup

H&H features, racing and point-to-point editor

Gemma is an experienced journalist, having been part of the H&H team since 2014, who is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at in August 2018. Gemma’s reporting talents have taken her to numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.