We've made great progress in the horse trials office in the weeks since my first update. It would be nice if we could see some great spring sunshine to really get the park and gardens looking magnificent but I'm sure it will come in due course. Things are hotting up as we can almost start our countdown to the event in the first week of June in days rather than weeks.

At last year's event, I earmarked a few areas for improvement; notably parking, disabled facilities, trade stands, security, the campsite and probably the most important – loos! So I've really put a concentrated effort on these recently. Over the four days of the event, we see some 18,000 cars, trailers, caravans, lorries, horse boxes and vans on the estate and organising them is like traffic management for a small town.

We obviously have peak times in the mornings and evenings when everyone is trying to arrive and depart, so I've worked with our parking officials to help reduce the strain and hopefully keep traffic moving – visitors can visit our website – www.bramham-horse.co.uk before setting off for updates on traffic news and road works. Goodyear's continued support of our parking marshals will help with these improvement plus their sponsorship of our Vanguard Medical Unit helps with peace of mind.

Those who use our camping facility to stay on-site and make a holiday of it will notice an improvement in their amenities while there will be increased security throughout the site during the event. We were inundated with trade stand applications so I've increased the area by about 20 per cent for everyone's benefit. Disabled visitors will find improved facilities, including better parking and they can hire mobility scooters courtesy of Event Mobility to help them explore the event. One noticeable thing last year was queues for the loos so the decision was made to double the number of toilet facilities – a relief for all!

I also wanted to include more for the family, so Punch and Judy will be entertaining on Saturday, plus children can have a go on our climbing wall and bungee trampoline, try archery, and new for this year – dog agility where owners can enter their dogs in their own trials. Plus a fun dog show on the Sunday hosted by Tailwagger. Why not bring a picnic and make a really family fun
day out?

Our food hall – Gourmet House – should provide a culinary delight with traders selling (and hopefully sampling!) cheeses, Mediterranean foodstuffs, cordials, wines, ready-made gourmet foods, curry sauces, fudges, olive oils and balsamic vinegars plus more – the smell should be heavenly in there. I am particularly looking forward to late-night shopping on Friday – remember entry is free after 4pm – and I hope to see a number of you office workers out for a quick shop, enjoying drinks with friends and a bite to eat and finish the evening off by walking the course – can't think of a better way to spend a summer evening.

Bramham's family of sponsors has grown again this year and we have more than 35 companies supporting over the four days. Dickinson Dees, one of the top 50 law firms providing legal services for corporate, commercial, public sector and private clients across the UK, return to the event with increased support to sponsor the cross country's prime viewing area, the water complex at fences
4 and 23.

For the competitors, our campaign of ground works is underway with a programme of slitting, aerating, sowing, mowing and watering (if required) to make sure the conditions are the best we can offer. Souters Sports, who work with many leading sporting clubs and golf courses, came a few weeks ago with their "earthquake" deep de-compaction machine to work on the ground. Not only will this help the soil but it also improves the grass root structure which in turn promotes better growth and density. Areas will also be drilled with a specialist grass seed mix designed for rugby pitches which is quick to establish so should provide the horses with a nice, springy surface.

From here on in, the Bramham Estate ground staff will continue to work on the ground to provide a beautiful green carpet for the horses to enjoy. So, although we'd love to see the sun – it would be best to have a mixture of sun and showers to make the grass grow.

Also out in the park, Sue Benson, our cross-country course designer, has finalised her plans for this year and course builder Gary Podmore and his team are well on the way to bringing her designs to "life" with the majority of the building work finished. Sue and Gary are a great team – it is amazing how he can turn a vision or drawing into a work of art. Gary
heads off to Holland for a
few weeks to work on an eventing site running later this year and then comes back to Bramham to site the
portable fences and make the finishing touches to the course. The first "public" airing the course has is on our Press day in May where representatives from the media are treated to a glimpse to write their
event previews.

Our next major milestone date is May 1 as that's when the entries open and the competition side of the events starts for real. Advanced and CIC*** (one day events at the same level as Bramham) have been
well supported in this country so far this year
with bumper entries at Burnham Market (Norfolk) and Belton House (Lincolnshire) set a record for entries at this level so here's hoping we see a fantastic entry here, too.

I've heard a rumour that veteran rider Mark Todd, who retired from eventing but decided to give the Olympics one more go, has plans
to come to Bramham to secure his Olympic selection – what an amazing story that would be.

Debora Homewood is the event director of Bramham International Horse Trials which take place June 5 to 8.