Festival of British eventing at Gatcombe Park cancelled

The Festival of British eventing at Gatcombe Park has been cancelled due to the cost of running the event.

The Gloucestershire event, which started as the Gatcombe Horse Trials, has been declared "unfeasible to run" by organisers.

Gatcombe Park began hosting the festival in the 1980s, after Princess Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips "first had the dream".

The couple's son Peter Phillips said it was a huge part of his family's lives.

"Despite great determination from the organising team, the current economic climate has made it unviable for the event to go ahead," the team behind the event said in a statement on Monday.

It added: "Following the adverse weather experienced at Gatcombe last year, which led to the abandonment of the event, and due to the ever-increasing costs associated with operating on a green field site, it has made the event unfeasible to run."

Peter Phillips, event director, celebrated the community that the event created as he offered his thanks to supporters.

"It is with a heavy heart that the festival, which has played a significant part in the British Eventing calendar since 1983, cannot run this year," he said.

"The event has also been a huge part of my family's lives and those of many others for 40 years.

"It has built up a large community that has enjoyed and celebrated the festival each year.

"I would like to thank everyone who has been involved over the past four decades; our sponsors for their unwavering support, the large selection of trade stands and arena entertainment and our spectators who have loved coming to Gatcombe to watch the world-class equestrian sport from the famous Park Bowl."

Speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Mr Phillips said it would not be the same event if they did make the changes necessary in order to run the festival this summer.

"What we did talk through is if we were able to get the costs down to where our income was, even on a budgetary basis, we would have to rip the heart out of the event.

"It wouldn't be the same event that people have come to know and support over the last 40 years," he explained.

Captain Mark Phillips said that, since the pandemic, costs, particularly insurance, have risen so much that the numbers no longer add up"

He added: "It is an end of an era, the next 40 years of the sport will be different, let's hope it can be equally special."

This year's Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing was due to take place at Gatcombe Park between 2-4 August.

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