What is Eventing?

Eventing is one of Britain’s most high profile and elite sports – Zara Phillips (World and European Champion) has followed her mother The Princess Royal to win the BBC’s Sports Personality of The Year, she is the latest in a host of “Brits” who have won Olympic, World and European Gold.

Eventing takes part in a host of Britain’s most lovely stately homes and parks, many of them in easy reach of London – Badminton, Blenheim, Burghley etc. Sponsors and owners are welcome and can enjoy fabulous sites and an exciting and fun day out – horse, rider and support crew can all sport their logos and colours, and of course the horsebox – in our case a 40ft Scania 280 – can also carry the livery and is not only a huge advertisement parked up at events but is a moving billboard on the road many days of the year.

Our intention is to be a force to reckon with well into the future. We would like to take our owners and sponsors with us and have a happy and successful team for many years to come.

Eventing explained

Equestrian events are held countryside from March to October Each has three different test: Dressage – Obedience, accuracy and quality of movement Cross Country – Courage, agility and stamina Show Jumping – Agility, stamina and precision Scores form each test are combined for an overall total.

The 1-day Horse Trials All tests are usually on the same day and the Cross Country completes the competition. Five levels of National competition: BE90 BE100 Novice Intermediate Advanced

Three levels of International competition, known as CIC: 1 star, 2 star, 3 star and the ultimate, 4 star.

The 3-day Event Four levels of longer format, known as CCIs Each test (phase) on a different day Day 1 - Dressage Day 2 - Cross Country Day 3 - Showjumping plus other entertainment and awards ceremony

Attendance figures Eventing certainly draws the crowds. Here are the attendance figures from some of the best known events: Badminton 200,00 - 100,000 on Saturday Gatcombe Park 35,000 Burghley 180,000 Windsor 25,000 Blenheim 50,000 Blair Castle 18,000 Bramham 40,000 Thirlestane 15,000

TV Viewing Figures Sample figures from major events: Badminton – Saturday 2.6 million and Sunday 3.2 million Burghley – Saturday 2.4 million

Who’s involved? The demographic profile of those in the sport is wide but tends towards the more affluent sections of society. Competitors & Owners AB 63% CI 37% This is the highest proportion of AB adult participants in any sport Spectators AB 52% CI 28% Drawn from: Property/land owners, prosperous country/outdoor people, professionals involved with the equestrian industry and technological business, businesses, Animal lovers, car owners, food and drink enthusiasts

A popular sport The sport sometimes known as Horse Trials, is expanding with more events to cope with the increased demand. Badminton Horse Trials, the UK’s premier event is Europe’s largest sporting event with 100,000 + spectators in one day for the Cross Country. Terrestrial TV coverage (varies in any one season) The BBC cover Badminton, Gatcombe and Burghley: Meridian up to six and Sky two or more events.

A Perfect Image Eventing enjoys..... • Family participation • A reputation for excellence • Royal patronage • World class competition • Olympic stature & success • Zero hooliganism • Equal opportunities for both sexes on level terms • World & Olympic Champions compete with grass roots • Opportunities for all ages and abilities - appeals to the young and old alike • Some of the most beautiful settings in any sport Today, the sport is governed in the UK by British Eventing, responsible for promoting and regulating more than 180 affiliated events, 10,000 registered horses and over 9,000 members.

Wide Coverage British Horse Trials is covered by more than 68% of these media 25 National Daily Papers 100 Regional Daily Papers 715 Local weekly papers 12 Equestrian Magazines 90 Regional Interest Magazine Plus TV BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky sports, Channel 5, Eurosport Plus Radio BBC Radio 5 Live, 50 BBC Regional Stations & 185 Commercial Stations

Press Cuttings in Olympic year 468 for Badminton 347 For Burghley 250 For Blenheim 400+ For Athens

On the Airways in one season 11 events generated 369 minutes of airtime, reaching 4.8 million listeners On the day reports and interviews at: Badminton, Windsor, Bramham, Gatcombe Park Blenheim and Burghley went out to 51 stations and 125 IRN servicing stations. For a total of 441 items adding up to 2,800 minutes of airtime.