Gatcombe festival: Event will be back 'in full strength' in 2024

An eventing festival founded by the Princess Royal will be back again next year "in full strength" after its final day was rained off.

Washout conditions at Gatcombe Festival meant it was unsafe for competitors to attempt Sunday's cross-country element.

The cancellation had a "massive impact" on both the event itself and traders, Festival Director Peter Phillips said.

Seven thousand people were due to attend the last day on the event's 40th anniversary.

Mr Phillips, son of Princess Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips, told BBC West the cancellation had "put a dampener" on the anniversary celebrations.

The festival - which takes place on the HRH Princess Royal's estate near Stroud - includes the Magic Millions British Open, which decides the national champion of eventing.

"When my parents started it 40 years ago, I don't think they had envisaged it still going 40 years later," he said.

"They started it to put something back into the sport that had given them so much and its sort of grown, morphed into a real celebration of (eventing).

"We will be back again next year in full strength and with all the work we did this year to try and accommodate as many people as possible, from the public to the traders, hopefully everyone else will be back too."

He added: "It is an event that has become very well established in the calendar and one that is very well supported by the sport and by everyone locally and it is a great source of pride that we are a significant event and one which I hope we will be for many years to come."

Mr Phillips said traders would be partially refunded, but said that because turnout had been poor on Saturday they had effectively lost two days trade.

He said the heavy weather would likely drive up insurance premiums, and that the cost implications would linger "for many years".

Marcus Smith, of luxury belt company Estribos, had been hoping to make sales of £2,500 to £3,000 per day.

But the company trades at around 85 sporting events each year, and Mr Smith said that he and his staff anticipated the odd washout.

He praised the team at Gatcombe organising tractors to get traders back on the churned up site to break down their stalls, and getting them off site again with no damage to stock.

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