Five new major shows have appeared on the British show jumping calendar this summer.
The first of the new shows, Origins at Quainton Stud, Buckinghamshire (19-22 May), was a breeding show with five-, six- and seven-year-old qualifiers for the World Breeding Championships at Lanaken in September.
Later in the summer, the stud will host the Heroes Show (9-10 September), which will be run as a Derby.
“We wanted to try to bring Britain in line with the rest of Europe,” said Emma Phillips from Quainton. “We felt that as a country we could not boast shows that really compare to those abroad. Show jumping feels like the poor relation to other disciplines.”
In addition to the inaugural British Masters Invitational at Chester Racecourse in August (news, 17 April), Cheshire will also gain the Bolesworth Castle Classic (6-8 June). This show offers riders more than £40,000 in prize-money, including an £18,000 grand prix, six-bar and power and speed class.
Eventer Nina Barbour, who came up with the show, said: “We want to make it accessible to everybody — like the shows in Europe where it’s more of a spectacle for the locals — but the focus will still be the jumping.”
On 22 June the David Broome Event Centre in Crick will host the new Jump with Renault day. Two classes with a shared prize-fund of £23,000 will provide the backdrop to the day.
This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (29 May, ’08)
