A fifth day of competition is to be held at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials next year.
In 2020, the CCI5* event will be open to the public from the Wednesday, when the final of the British Eventing (BE) BE80(T) championships will run, as well as the first trot-up for the showpiece competition.
Event director Elizabeth Inman said: “We see this as a natural progression: for amateur riders at grassroots level to have the opportunity to ‘compete at Burghley’ alongside our elite international, Olympic-level riders.
“We are confident this ticketed event will be well supported throughout the duration.”
H&H reported last year that Burghley had been confirmed as the host of the BE80(T) championships from 2020 to 2022, with competitors riding over the same turf as the CCI5* combinations.
At the time, then-CEO David Holmes described the news as “a hugely important development for our members and the sport”, adding: “Burghley House is steeped in eventing tradition and is a stunning location for a championship event.”
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He added: “We are particularly grateful to Elizabeth Inman and her team, along with Miranda Rock, president of Burghley Horse Trials, for their enthusiastic support of this new initiative.”
A new cross-country course will be built for the championships and qualifying combinations will be decided at regional finals.
Burghley 2020 will run from from Wednesday to Sunday, 2 to 6 September. Tickets for all five days will be on sale in April 2020.
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This week (25 July), check out our natives special issue, including features on the ultra-talented native ponies competing across the disciplines, plus the breed’s potential health problems and much more. We also talk to this year’s teenage Hickstead Derby winner Mikey Pender about his landmark victory and his future goals. Plus read Mark Phillips’ exclusive comment on whether the eventing rules are pushing riders to be unsafe, and find out about the colic study aiming to save horses’ lives.
