Royal seal as eventing begins at Bramham

BRAMHAM PARK near Wetherby will echo to the sound of thundering hooves, an expected crowd of around 60,000 and a royal competitor, as one of Europe's leading three-day events gets underway on Thursday.
Oliver Townend with his mount Note Worthy at the inspection trot up at the Bramham Horse Trails.   Picture: Tony Johnson.Oliver Townend with his mount Note Worthy at the inspection trot up at the Bramham Horse Trails.   Picture: Tony Johnson.
Oliver Townend with his mount Note Worthy at the inspection trot up at the Bramham Horse Trails. Picture: Tony Johnson.

The week’s unseasonably wet and windy weather has failed to dampen the enthusiasm for an event which has run with only one interruption since 1974.

“The weather is never really a concern here,” said event director Nick Pritchard. “Tuesday’s rain actually helped the cross country course and the going for the horses is brilliant.”

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

Yorkshire’s nine-pronged charge will be led by Huddersfield rider Oliver Townend, the world number seven, who has five horses entered for duty across the event’s three separate classes.

This year’s Bramham falls ten weeks short of the European Eventing Championships in Poland, with six riders set to represent Team GB. Dressage takes place on Thursday and Friday with the cross country and show jumping disciplines on Saturday and Sunday.

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