17 May Fairfax & Favor Rockingham International Horse Trials 2023 sadly abandoned
It is with great regret that due to the prolonged adverse weather, all competition scheduled to take place at the Fairfax & Favor Rockingham International Horse Trials from 18-21 May has been abandoned.
Despite a positive drying forecast the site, including the ground for all three phases, has not dried sufficiently to allow the event to proceed in a safe manner and the decision has been made to abandon the event by the BE & FEI officials.
“We are absolutely devasted that this call had to be made,” said Horse Trials organiser, Lizzie Saunders Watson. “But the safety of horses and riders is paramount. We were conscious that the weather was against us and had been taking every precaution we could to enable the event to run.
“Tracking has been installed for vehicle access and our stabling and marquee suppliers have gone above and beyond to get the infrastructure set up on extremely challenging ground.
“Despite these best efforts, the biggest test was always going to be whether the ground was going to be safe for our competitors. A full ground inspection took place this morning with FEI and British Eventing officials. This included test runs with a horse and rider in all warmup areas, all arenas and the cross county course. Following this, we were told that it would not be safe to run.
“We are working with our insurers to establish next steps in terms of refunds and will be in touch with everyone as soon as we know more. As you can imagine, this is a huge task to undertake so please bear with us.”
