Belsay International Horse Trials (2), which runs from 28 May-1 June 2025, will be extraordinary in many ways. Not only does it run barely two weeks after the Chatsworth Replacement Fixture at Belsay International (1), but the event will also simultaneously mark both the culmination of the 2024 Northumberland Challenge and the start of the 2025 Northumberland Challenge.
The Northumberland Challenge is an accumulator prize league which runs across the CCI3*-S, CC2*-S and the BE100 competitions at Belsay, Alnwick Ford (18-22 June) and Burgham International Horse Trials (24-27 July) with a total potential prize pot of £61,000.
Due to the abandonment of Belsay last year, organisers arranged for the 2024 Northumberland Challenge to be “rolled over” and finish this year at Belsay International (2), where the new 2025 Challenge will also commence.
The Northumberland Challenge offers horse and rider combinations that enter these classes at all three venues (Belsay, Alnwick Ford and Burgham) the opportunity to win cash bonuses of up to £25,000 (CCI3*-S), £20,000 (CCI2*-S) and £6,000 (BE100), if they are victorious at all three venues. They must enter all three events to be in with a chance.
In 2024, Hambro Sport Horses headlined the CCI3*-S challenge, N.I.S Limited sponsored the CCI2*-S challenge, with InXpress Tyne & Wear supporting the BE100 challenge.
For 2025, local firm WL Straughan & Sons comes in to sponsor the CCI3*-S, with N.I.S. Limited and Encon Technical Solutions taking the CCI2*-S and InXpress Tyne & Wear once again supporting the BE100 Challenge. All the sponsors will be represented at Belsay International (2).
So what are the “scores on the doors” for the 2024 Challenge, and can anyone take a slice of that fantastic prize pot? Sadly, there are no live contenders for the 2024 Hambro Sport Horses CCI3* Challenge as none of the winners from either Alnwick Ford (Mike Jackson and Girls Gamble) or Burgham (Jenny Caras and Sommersby and Izzy Taylor and Hathaway Royale) had entered both events, so even if they come to Belsay International (2) and do well, they are not eligible.
In the 2024 NIS Limited CCI2-S* Challenge, Willa Newton and Kingsman could be in the money. They won at Alnwick Ford and came close with a fourth place at Burgham, so if they can win at Belsay (2) they will scoop a £6,000 bonus.
At the culmination of the 2024 InXpress Tyne & Wear BE100 Challenge, only Ellie McCarthy is eligible to win a bonus prize; if she can capture a BE100 section at Belsay (2) on What A Catch, she will take home £1,500.
So, as the 2025 Northumberland Challenge kicks off at Belsay International (2), it is all to play for with brand new prize pots on offer. Competitors should remember that they must enter the same competition on the same horse at all three venues to be eligible. Please also note that BE100 Competitors must be grassroots riders and should not have competed at BE Novice level. The BE100 Challenge does not include BE100 Open or BE100 Open Under 18 sections.
WL Straughan Ltd 2025 CCI3*-S Northumberland Challenge – a total potential prize pot of £25,000
- Achieve a top-three placing at all three events and win a £3,000 bonus
- Achieve two wins out of the three events and win a £7,000 bonus
- Win all three events for a further £15,000 prize
N.I.S Limited/Encon Technical Solutions 2025 CCI2*-S Northumberland Challenge – a total potential prize pot of £20,000
- Achieve a top-three placing at all three events and win a £2,000 bonus
- Achieve two wins out of the three events and win a £6,000 bonus
- Win all three events for a further £12,000
InXpress Tyne & Wear 2025 BE100 Northumberland Challenge – a total potential prize pot of £6,000
- Achieve a top-three placing in a BE100 section at all three events and win a £500 bonus
- Achieve two wins out of the three events and win a £1,500 bonus
- Win all three events for a further £3,000
“This is all about showcasing our beautiful Northumberland venues and encouraging the best riders and their horses to come and compete here. We are hugely grateful to our sponsors for 2024 and 2025 and welcome W.S. Straughan as the new sponsor of the CCI3-S* Challenge this year. Thanks also go to our creative insurance brokers McClarron Sports Ltd for enabling us to offer this fantastic accumulator prize fund,” commented Belsay Event Director Laura de Wesselow.
Craig Anderson of Alnwick Ford and Burgham Horse Trials said: “Competitors are always keen that their efforts should be rewarded and highlighted, particularly at the grass roots level. The Northumberland Challenge answers that need.”
British Eventing’s CEO Rosie Williams said: “British Eventing is delighted that these organisers and sponsors are working together to promote our sport for the good of competitors and owners. The Northumberland Challenge is a super initiative and one which should be replicated at other venues around the country.”
Image courtesy of Action Replay Photography.
Release supplied by event.
