Nicola Wilson and Oliver Townend out to deny HRH Zara Tindall at Bramham

Nicola Wilson with her mount One Two Many at the inspection trot up at the Bramham Horse Trials earlier this week. (Picture: Tony Johnson)

Zara Tindall, the Queen’s grand-daughter, returns to the event for the first time since 2014 with the 36-year-old riding Fernhill Facetime in the CIC three-star.

This year’s Bramham also falls ten weeks short of the European Eventing Championships in Strzegom, Poland, with six riders set to represent Team GB in August.

Among the likely contenders hoping to book a ticket to Poland are Yorkshire’s world no 7 Oliver Townend and world no 10 Nicola Wilson who are among nine riders representing the White Rose at Bramham 2017.

A star-studded cast also features New Zealand’s world no 2 Andrew Nicholson and world no 8 Tim Price – both of whom have won the event’s flagship CCI three-star before.

And even the week’s unseasonably wet weather has been unable to dampen the enthusiasm for an event which begins today and concludes on Sunday afternoon.

“The weather is never really a concern here,” said event director Nick Pritchard.

“Tuesday’s rain actually really helped the cross-country course and the going for the horses is brilliant.

“The forecast is fairly good for the rest of the week so I am not concerned about the weather at all.

“Bramham is always a good event and it’s always good for people coming through the  ranks and everything like that as well.

“We’ve got a really strong under-25s entry as well which is nice for the young riders too.”

Yorkshire’s nine-pronged charge will be led by Huddersfield rider Townend who has five horses entered for duty across the event’s three separate classes. Northallerton’s Wilson has One Two Many in the CCI three-star while Kings Advocate II is the rider’s entry in the CIC three-star.

Northallerton’s James Sommerville has stable star Talent all set for the CCI three-star in which York rider Nicola Rooke is represented by Foreign Encounter.

Harrogate’s Hazel Towers will have two shots at glory in the CIC three-star with both Simply Clover and Simply Smart, an event in which Bedale rider Sara Bowe will make her Bramham debut on Seaworthy.

Womersley’s Sophie Platt has Be Be III entered for the CCI three-star under-25s event in which York’s Charlie Dennis has DHI Hot Chip.

They are joined in the event by Hector Payne who is from Saffron Waldon but is now based with Heidi and Ian Woodhead near York.

Payne was third in the event on Blue Moonshine upon his last visit in 2014 and has both Dynasty and Ironstein entered this year in a bid to go two places better in 2017.

The dressage place today and tomorrow with the cross-country and show jumping disciplines on Saturday and Sunday.