British Eventing, this week, received notification that The Jockey Club wished to end its agreement to run the Blenheim Horse Trials CCI4*.  This brings the agreement to a close two years into its five-year contract at a point when the break clause could be exercised.

Ian Renton, Managing Director of The Jockey Club Racecourses West, said “The current economic climate is unfortunately going to have an impact on us all.  We have therefore made the difficult decision to end our contract with Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.”

Helen West, Chief Executive for British Eventing said “It goes without saying that we are extremely saddened that the agreement has come to an end. The Jockey Club has worked incredibly hard alongside us all and we would like to thank them for supporting the event during the past two years; the first of which would have been extremely testing as we emerged from the pandemic.  Naturally we are concerned from the sport’s perspective as Blenheim is such a key and symbolic fixture in our calendar.  The last thing we want to do is lose the event and it is my understanding that this is mirrored by the team at Blenheim Palace.

“I will be working closely with the Palace to formulate a plan as to how we best move forward in identifying an organiser that can take over the running of the event.  There are multiple options to explore and we will be doing everything we can to find a positive solution for all stakeholders involved.  There are only three CCI4*-L events in the country and this, along with the CCI4*-S 8 & 9 year-old Championships makes it crucial to our performance pathway structure.  We will all be working tirelessly to find the best solution to ensure the continuity of the event.”

Roy Cox, Managing Director at Blenheim Estate said “It has been a pleasure working with The Jockey Club and I would like to thank them, and all those connected to the event, for their hard work getting Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials back to a world-class event after the pandemic.   Whilst we are sad to say goodbye, we look forward to many more international horse trials on the estate.”

Helen West further said “I will need some time to work through things with the team at Blenheim Palace but I would like to reassure our membership and supporters that the minute I can an update I will do.”