Equestrian sport and racing will be suspended on Monday, 19 September, the date of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, to give the horse world the opportunity to pay its respects to Her Majesty.
The date has been announced as a bank holiday, and governing bodies for racing, showjumping and dressage have confirmed no sport will take place. No eventing is scheduled for 19 September.
“This will give everyone involved in British racing the opportunity to mourn Her late Majesty’s passing and offer thanks for her contribution to our sport and the nation,” said a British Horseracing Authority spokesman.
He added that more information will be shared with participants, racecourses and racegoers in the coming days, and that racing will take place as scheduled throughout the remainder of the intervening period.
The sporting world paid to Queen Elizabeth II with two-minute silences, flags at half-mast and some rescheduling of fixtures on Friday (8 September) and over the weekend. Marks of respect to Her Majesty and her enormous contribution to the horse world are expected to continue at fixtures this week.
The two biggest horse sport fixtures scheduled in the UK this week – Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials and the LeMieux National Dressage Championships (both 15 to 18 September) – are scheduled to go ahead. There will be a two minute silence held at 12pm each day at Blenheim, after which sporting soprano Laura Wright will sing the national anthem.
The British squad will compete at the World Eventing Championships in Pratoni (15 to 18 September) with horses departing Stansted Airport for Italy this morning (12 September).
“We can confirm that there is no formal obligation for organisations or venues to cancel or postpone sporting fixtures and events, at either elite or grassroots level, between now and the state funeral,” said a British Dressage (BD) spokesman, confirming all BD competition and training will be cancelled on the day of the funeral.
“Decisions will remain at the discretion of the individual organisers and venues to consider how they should proceed during the national mourning period.
“As a mark of respect, if events are held, organisers may wish to hold a period of silence and/or play the National Anthem at the start of their fixture, and competitors may wish to wear black armbands during this time.
“British Dressage will support the decision of individual organisers regarding their fixtures, but our recommendation is that they should continue as planned, with a two-minute silence scheduled at an appropriate point before or during the competition.
“Flags should be flown at half-mast for the duration of the mourning period, and where activity continues it should do so in a respectful manner, in keeping with the mood of the nation at this time, while celebrating The Queen’s immense contribution to equestrian sport over the 70 years of her reign.”
He added: “We request that the dressage community respects the wishes of any organisers or venues who wish to cancel their fixtures or training during the national mourning period. We also fully respect the decision of any rider, owner, or coach that chooses not to participate in any competition or training activity at this time.”
A BS spokesman said it hopes its members “understand the significance of this decision” for the date of the funeral and “will join in reflecting on the life of our long-standing patron”.
