Bramham Horse Trials will be back "beter than ever" after cancellation

Nick Pritchard said the three day horse trials, a highlight in the northern equestrian calendar, will not go ahead in June due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

“We have to respect the government public health restrictions in order to help halt the spread. The health and safety of our competitors, officials, volunteers, sponsors, trade stand holders and event staff is our top priority," Mr Pritchard said.

He said the whole team wanted to thank everyone for their "continued support" during these challenging and unprecedented times for us all.

"We’ll be back bigger and better than ever next year in true Bramham style,” he added.

And it is not just the riders at Bramham who have seen one of their key events put on hold. The seven Yorkshire amateur riders due to take part in the prestigious Ernest Cooper Macmillan Race of Their Lives at York Racecourse will be putting training on hold as organisers confirm the charity horse event has been postponed.

The race, which featured 12 riders in all, was due to run as the last on the card for the Macmillan Charity Raceday on June 13.

This year’s event was particularly special as it marked the 50th anniversary of the collaboration between Macmillan Cancer Support and York Racecourse.

But the two organisers said they had taken the “difficult decision” to postpone this year’s race and other fundraising activity attributed to the Raceday.

They said they had made the decision now as they wanted to give a “degree of clarity” to their participants and supporters.

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