Bicton Arena to host international events

Bicton Arena in East Devon, part of Clinton Estates, has been awarded international status for its April Horse Trials next year which means the venue will now host two CIC competitions in 2015 with the second taking place in August. A new competition has also been added to the calendar with an affiliated event (BE80 – 100) now running in July.

With opportunities rare for riders in the Westcountry to compete at one or two star level, and thus gain qualification the next level of international competitions, the events are seen as valuable additions to the British Eventing calendar.

International event rider Lucy Wiegersma, who has ridden for Great Britain, including the European World Championships in 2013, said: “It’s fantastic for the Westcountry to have another prestigious FEI competition and I think Bicton is the perfect venue as it has fabulous courses and a super main ring. I feel they will put on a really top class event.”

Explaining the importance of hosting CIC events, arena manager Helen West said: “Basically CIC events are the short format international competitions. In order to ride at a CCI competition, which is the next level up, such as Bramham, Osberton, Houghton and Hartpury, you have to jump clear across country at a CIC competition with a maximum of four fences down showjumping.

"The difference between the two is that cross country at a CIC competition are much longer and take eight to nine minutes to ride.

“Having two CIC competitions in the Westcountry provides great opportunities for riders in the region, who don’t want to travel miles, to continue their progress up the ladder.”

The benefits the additional classes will bring to Bicton are multifold and include an increase in sponsorship and more famous names heading to the Devon venue.

Helen said: “Bicton Arena has so much potential. It is a stunning venue and everything is here to create a leading competition centre in the South-West. Sponsorship is an essential part of that and we hope that more businesses will seize the opportunities.

“I am now very excited about moving plans forward, designing cross country tracks and getting local firms on board, to help make it the success I want it to be.”