Event Rider Masters dump Barbury from their 2019 programme
ERM finale 2018: l to r - Tim Price, Chris Burton & Laura CollettThe Barbury International Horse Trials have been dropped from the 2019 programme of six venues for the Event Rider Masters televised series of competitions.
We have been told that the Barbury Horse Trials will take place this year. They are scheduled to run 4-7 July 2019 - and their new website is 'under construction'. However, after fourteen years as the main supporter for the Barbury event, St James's Place plc have withdrawn their sponsorship. A brief Barbury Horse Trials statement said today (February 1): "Options for the continuation of Barbury 2019 are being explored."
The ERM organisation have run the Barbury trials for the past two years - using them as one of the six legs of their series. One of ERM's founders still holds the rights to run the Barbury Horse Trials.
ERM are now concentrating on a Europe-wide programme - and have selected only one British venue for 2019.
Launched in 2016, ERM condenses the traditional equestrian three-day event into two days - though Barbury with a full programme of novice competitions and arena eventing, ran over four days.
At each leg, the entry of eventers selected by ERM takes part in all three disciplines - Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country. Each phase ridden by every world-class competitor is live streamed and included in a television highlights programnme shown in 101 countries.
ERM is the most valuable series in the sport of Eventing. It provides the world’s most successful event riders with an international stage on which to compete for an unprecedented total prize-money fund of £350,000.
The prize pot for the UK leg is £50,000 while each European leg offers €57,000. The riders compete for the much-coveted ERM Series Championship Title and an additional £50,000 series prize fund shared by the top three riders at the end of the season.
Reigning ERM 2018 Champion, Australia's Chris Burton will be seeking to defend his title. He won over Great Britain's Laura Collett and New Zealand's Tim Price.
The 2019 Event Rider Masters Calendar is:
Leg 1 - Dodson & Horrell Chatsworth International Horse Trials, England, 11-12 May
Leg 2 - Internationales Wiesbadener Pfingstturnier, Germany, 7-8 June
Leg 3 - Concours Complet D’Arville, Belgium, 22-23 June
Leg 4 - Les Haras de Jardy Eventing Show, France, 13-14 July
Leg 5 - Millstreet International Horse Trials, Ireland, 24-25 August
Leg 6 - The Finale at Concours Complet International Lignières en Berry, France 5-6 October.
ERM have taken a strictly commercial approach to eventing and opening up new markets. Jim O’Toole is CEO of ERM: “This new six month calendar provides a significant moment in the development of our series as we add two legs and in the case of Ireland, a brand new market."
"With events in five broadcast markets across Europe, we see our international expansion as fundamental to the continued growth of our series, both as an elite global sporting competition and as a media broadcast platform."
"2018 saw dramatic growth in the value we created for our partners and venues with 2.4 million audited television viewers and a digital community in excess of 1.3 million fans engaging with the series across multiple digital platforms."