The reigning Olympic, World and European eventing champions will all be competing in front of a British crowd at the CCI4*-L at Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials, Woodstock, Oxfordshire on September 14-17.
Newly announced world number one Rosalind Canter, who was recently crowned European champion on Lordships Graffalo, a runner-up at Blenheim in 2021 before he went onto five-star glory at Badminton, has another potential star on her hands in the shape of Izilot DHI, winner of the recent CCI4*-S at Blair Castle in Scotland, plus Rehy Royal Diamond, the runner-up.
Great Britain’s Yasmin Ingham brings her 2022 world champion and 2021 Blenheim winner Banzai du Loir, who recently won the competitive CCI4*-S at Aachen, Germany, in July and was a member of Britain’s gold medal team at the recent European Championships in France.
Germany’s Julia Krajewski, the Olympic gold medallist from Tokyo, has entered the exciting young prospect Ero de Cantraie, winner of the CCI4*-S at Luhmuhlen, Germany, earlier this summer, and she also has a ride in Blenheim’s prestigious class for eight and nine-year-old horses.Piggy March returns to Blenheim with the beautiful grey stallion Halo, winner of the young-horse CCI4*-S at Blenheim last year, and Britain’s trio of Olympic gold medallists, Laura Collett, Tom McEwen and recently crowned Burghley Champion, Oliver Townend, all have multiple rides over the weekend.Pippa Funnell, a perennially successful rider at Blenheim, is entered with Billy Walk On and the up-and-coming Billy Wonder, both horses bred by Donal Barnwell, Pippa and William Funnell’s partner in the successful Billy Stud competition-horse breeding enterprise. Former world champion Zara Tindall and world number two and nine Tim and Jonelle Price from New Zealand are entered for the CCI4*-S.Both sections have attracted 100 entries each from 11 nations: Great Britain, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.“We are thrilled that so many great names are coming to Blenheim,” said Event Organiser Katrina Midgley of the new horse trials management team, Stable Events. “It promises to be a cracking competition and, as is traditional, the place to see stars of the future—last year’s Blenheim winner, Malin Hansen-Hotopp on Carlitos Quidditch K, went on to make her German team debut and won a silver medal at the Europeans last month.”Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials, which started in 1990, has, over three decades, often been a pointer to greatness; former equine winners include the subsequent five-star victors London 52 (Badminton with Laura Collett), Faerie Dianimo (Luhmuhlen with Jonelle Price), Quimbo (Kentucky with Andrew Nicholson), Oslo (Pau with William Fox-Pitt), Parklane Hawk (Burghley and Kentucky with William Fox-Pitt), Land Vision (Badminton with Mark Todd), Headley Britannia (Badminton, Burghley and Kentucky with Lucinda Fredericks) and Winsome Adante (Kentucky three times with Kim Severson).Don’t miss a weekend of world-class eventing and fun for the whole family, admission starts from £25 with free parking and free admission for children 12 and under. Visit www.bpiht.co.uk to find out more.
