The waiting is almost over as the 2023 British Eventing season finally gets underway this weekend! Fixtures at Epworth in North Lincolnshire and Poplar Park in Suffolk will be the first in a full calendar of competition, which will see champions crowned, new stars emerge and plenty of incredible moments of sport. Whatever your hopes and dreams for this year, we wish you all the very best and can’t wait to see you out competing.
Here are a few of the highlights to look out for throughout the season and some key reminders to get you started…
Begin your journey to Badminton or Bramham
The pathway to our hugely popular grassroots championships – the NAF Five Star BE80 Championship at Bramham and the Voltaire Design BE90 and BE100 Championships at Badminton – has been updated for 2024 and beyond. The main route to competing at these Finals will now be through our new Regional Championships, which will launch this year to replace the Area Festivals.
Qualification to compete at the Regional Championships is achievable for many, with two double clears required during the qualifying period. The top 10% of finishers will then pick up the highly coveted qualification tickets for the NAF Five Star BE80 Championships at Bramham and the Voltaire Design Grassroots Championships for BE90 and BE100 at Badminton.
The 2023 Regional Championships dates will be as follows:
- Glamis Castle, Angus – 5-6 August
- Port Eliot, Cornwall – 5-6 August
- Blindley Heath, Lingfield – 12-13 August
- Frickley, South Yorkshire – 18-20 August
- Chillington Hall, Staffordshire – 9-10 September
- Little Downham, Cambridgeshire – 30 September – 1 October
Find out more here
Win a share of the £10K Grassroots Leagues
Direct qualification to the NAF Five Star BE80 Championship at Bramham and the Voltaire Design BE90 and BE100 Championships is also possible through the BE Grassroots Leagues.
Launched last year, our OBP leagues are designed to reward consistency. They are based around the Equiratings concept of the Opposition Beaten Percentage (OBP) which acknowledges how competitive a combination is in a particular class – the greater the number of fellow competitors that you finish ahead of, the better the score.
To feature in the leagues, members simply need to record a minimum of three finishing scores at their level. The better their OBP, the better their chance of receiving some of the fabulous prizes on offer. An incredible prize fund of £10,000 will be paid out throughout the year across the leagues, split between:
Performance Bonuses – paid out every other month to the person at the top of each of the leagues
Bumper pay-outs – made at the end of the season to the top three combinations in each league.
Discover more here.
Top the Newcomers league
As well as the BE Grassroots Leagues, which are available to members competing at BE80, BE90 and BE100, we also offer a Newcomers league open to those in their first two seasons competing at these levels. This league also receives a share of the £10K prize pot, with the same performance bonuses and bumper pay-out as the other Grassroots Leagues.
NEW Win £1,500 worth of prizes with the Equilume PBA League
Whether you’re new to British Eventing, competing in the grassroots leagues, or at advanced level having been a member for years – everyone has a fair chance of topping the new Equilume Power Based Average League (PBA) League which carries the extremely generous prize of £1,000 in prize money, plus £500 worth of Equilume products at the end of the season!
The league will reflect the average of a horse/rider combination’s three best finishing scores from all British Eventing events in the 2023 season. Combinations will appear on the league after their third run and, with all British Eventing members being on a level playing field, the top spot could go to anyone, of any age and any level of ability! Find out more here.
NEW Develop future stars with The Howden Way Young Horse classes
We can’t wait for our Young Horse classes to get underway, enabling riders and owners to run their 6-year-old and 7-year-old horses in specific sections for horses in these age groups. The new classes will deliver an opportunity to benchmark horses against others of the same age and offer recognition for the highest performing young horses in these classes. Thanks to the support of The Howden Way, they will also provide increased prize money.
The 6YO classes get underway at Cirencester Park in Gloucestershire from 29-30 April and the 7YO classes at Aston-le-Walls in Northamptonshire and Floors Castle in Roxburghshire over the weekend of 10-14 May.
Find out more here.
Become a Master
The Novice and Intermediate Masters series return for 2023, with new title sponsors coming on board. These popular classes are available at a number of venues throughout the season and provide unique experiences for members competing at national level, such as riding a bespoke dressage test, performing in an international sized 20m x 60m arena in front of two dressage judges – plus the option to perform your test in a tailcoat, adding to the special feel of the occasion.
Click the links to find out more:
Updates to rules
There have been a number of updates to our BE rules ahead of the 2023 season, including new requirements for vaccinations, whips and boots. You can familiarise yourself with the changes here.
There have also been some updates to the FEI Rules and requirements when competing abroad – read more here.
Don’t forget, changes to hat standards mean that all hats will need to be re-tagged for the 2023 season so make sure you leave plenty of time at your first event to get any hats tagged before competing.
Train for success
If you are looking for some advice and support as the season gets underway, BE has plenty to offer. Thanks to the exciting introduction of The Howden Way last year, we’re able to provide an inspiring training programme for riders of all levels along with a young horse talent pathway programme.
Training with our Howden Way Region Academies is proving extremely popular, giving members of all ages and abilities the opportunity to access top class training and education within the heart of their local eventing community.
Find out more about training opportunities with The Howden Way here.
