World Class Sport
Over 1000 horse and rider combinations are poised to compete across four days of eventing competition. Within these are some of the world’s very best horse and rider combinations; including Great Britain’s Kristina Cook, Kitty King, Gemma Tattersall, William Fox-Pitt, Izzy Taylor, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen.
International Unity
The event is the equivalent of a sporting United Nations with 19 countries represented; Great Britain, America, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Sweden, South Africa, Switzerland, Zimbabwe
Rio Olympics
The Barbury International is an important pre cursor to 2016 Olympics in Rio, with numerous riders named as representing their nation at Rio, competing across the four days.
Natural Beauty
The event is situated within a Nature Improvement Area as well as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. – the majority of the 1,850 acres of the Barbury Estate is untouched and rare species of birds and raptors, insect and plant life are often spotted
History
The Horse Trials is located on the Barbury Castle Estate, near to the town of Marlborough, Wiltshire. Barbury Castle is an iron-age hill fort, and it is here in the C6th the Battle of Beranburgh, between the Saxons and the Romano-British, established the Saxon kingdom of Wessex following the Briton’s defeat at Barbury.
Valuable
The Barbury International Horse Trials features leg 3 of the inaugural Event Rider Masters with a total of £50,000 in prize money up for grabs
Craftsmanship
Barbury is renowned for its ‘painstakingly’ mown stripes. On the hill, where a lot of the cross-country can viewed there are 84 mown stripes, which have been created in thirteen cuts, at seven hours per cut with a 3×8 spearhead cutter
History makers
Locally based Andrew Nicholson and the lovely grey Avebury made history last year when winning the coveted CiC 3 star a fourth consecutive time
Horseracing
The Barbury Castle Estate is located in ‘horseracing country’, with the historic Manton Estate being one of its neighbours. Alan King trains at Barbury and is a multiple winning Cheltenham Festival winning trainer. He also recently added a Royal Ascot and the Newmarket Cesarewitch victory to his impressive stable of winners
Equestrian Heritage
Horseracing was first recorded on the Marlborough Downs in 1776. Brown Jack – Royal Ascot’s most winning horse was trained here at Barbury. Furthermore, Andrew Nicolson and The Price’s regularly use Barbury’s famous gallops as fitness work for their eventers.
Tickets for the Barbury International Horse Trials start from £12 per person per day booked in advance. Children under 12 years go free.
For information and tickets visit barburyhorsetrials.co.uk or call 01672 516125 @Barburycastle #BeautifulBarbury
