A British Dressage (BD) area festival in Scotland has been put on hold following an outbreak of strangles.
Yesterday (1 May) Rockrose Equestrian Sports Centre, Haddington, told BD it had a confirmed case of the highly contagious infection at its livery yard.
Rockrose has suspended all equine movement and competition with immediate effect. This includes the area festival due to run from 11–13 May.
James Cunningham at Rockrose and BD are working to secure a date later in the year for the competition.
“The Rockrose team has acted quickly and professionally in activating crisis plans in the circumstances and we hope they can bring the outbreak to an end quickly,” said BD’s head of sport operations, Di Harvey.
“We’re looking at a few available dates to reschedule the area festival and will communicate the change via our website and social media as soon as a decision is made.
“For those in the area of Rockrose, the venue is urging you to follow its social media feeds where they are being open with the facts and giving situation updates to help with any concerns.”
Continued below…
New vaccine successfully protects horses from strangles
The development of the vaccine is hoped to have benefits to the health of horses around the world
From horse to hoarse: how strangles has helped unravel sore throats
A technique developed by the Animal Health Trust in strangles research was used in a breakthrough by scientists looking at
Stand up to strangles: ‘bold’ campaign wins national award
Redwings aims to increase awareness of the disease and aid its prevention, with the ultimate goal being eradicating strangles in
Area Festivals
The area festivals are being held throughout the UK this year from May to September, with classes from prelim to inter II.
The top 10 combinations from each section go to one of eight area festival finals, which take place in September and October.
For more information visit www.britishdressage.co.uk/competitions/area_festivals
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday
This week’s edition features 75 years of Royal Windsor Horse Show magic, Oliver Townend’s eventing grand slam bid and debate over grass versus surfaces