Bicton Arena is voted top of the of the UK’s competition venues

Devon’s Bicton Arena is officially Britain’s very best show centre.

A recent online poll conducted by Horse and Hound magazine asked readers to vote for their favourite venue and Bicton Arena was voted number one.

Its stunning parkland setting together with friendly, well-informed staff and a full schedule of events, from unaffiliated dressage to CIC2* eventing put the arena at the top of the influential poll ahead of other long-established centres like Hickstead, Aintree EC and Arena UK.

Arena manager Helen West said: “It’s a wonderful accolade to receive and we are all delighted. We are so fortunate here as we have a great team, from our groundstaff, who keep the ground in perfect condition, to everyone in the office who make sure everything works like clockwork, to our team of volunteers, without whom we would not be able to run the number of competitions that we do. We’re a dynamic team that is always pushing forward so that we can host top level competitions alongside those for grass roots competitors.”

Facilities include a grass main arena, four all-weather arenas and a warm up arena, 116 permanent and 300 temporary stables, lorry park, 45 hook ups, permanent toilet/shower block, on-site catering and licensed bar and Wi-Fi.

Its sponsors include TopSpec, Everys, Kastner Volvo, Western Counties Equine Clinic and Empire Coachbuilders who provide invaluable support year-round support.

Helen said: “Its an ever evolving project here whereby we continually invest and improve in our offering. In the pipeline we have a new water complex for our BE and unaffiliated horse trials competitions, a CSI*/CSI2*/YH* showjumping show in 2019 and we are hosting the British Dressage regional Championships for the next three years. We are also pushing for a CIC3* competition. All of these are great for the arena and for the Westcountry and are very much helping to put the south-west on the map for all levels of competitors.”