Welcome to Bramham: Social Media Highlights from Day One at the World’s Toughest Four-Star
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Defender Bramham Horse Trials (@defenderbramhamhorse) It’s a busy week for eventing: on Canadian soil, we’ve got the MARS Bromont International unfolding in all its
It’s a busy week for eventing: on Canadian soil, we’ve got the MARS Bromont International unfolding in all its glory, and plenty of coverage coming out of it from Sally and Veronica, who are EN’s boots on the ground this week. But on UK turf, too, there’s a big one – it’s Defender Bramham Horse Trials week, and a return to the course that’s often heralded as being the biggest, boldest, toughest track at the CCI4*-L level.
We’ll see three classes play out this week: the surprisingly compact CCI4*-L feature class, which has 31 horses and riders in it this year; the under-25 CCI4*-L, which has nine in it, and the CCI4*-S, which has over 80 competitors in it, including no shortage of Olympic hopefuls from several nations. We’ll see the likes of Lordships Graffalo and Ros Canter go up against the Dutch contingent, who have rerouted from Bicton.
Bicton, of course, won’t be far from anyone’s minds this week. We’ll be heading up to Bramham for the weekend to bring you wall-to-wall coverage of the jumping phases, and we’ll do so with purple and white ribbons in situ in memory of Georgie Campbell – a bit of accessorising that we suspect many competitors, grooms, and attendees will share in this week.
For now, though, we’ll be sharing in the fun from afar. Today sees all three classes begin their trajectory with day one of dressage, while the BE80 National Championships are also well underway with cross-country taking place throughout the day. You can keep an eye on all the scores from the FEI classes here, and the BE80 here, and while there’s no live-stream until the weekend, you’ll be able to watch all the cross-country action play out on Horse&Country TV on Saturday, June 8.
In the meantime, though? Check out some of these social media recaps of yesterday’s first horse inspection, which saw one withdrawal – that of Izzy Taylor and Ringwood Madras, who were sent to the CCI4*-L holding box and the opted to bow out of the competition from there – and plenty of best-dressed and best-turned-out prizes, won, respectively, by Jack Mantel and Emma Thomas, and Saffron Cresswell’s Vivendi Hero, groomed by Ellie Henry.
Defender Bramham: Website | Entries and Live Scores | Cross-Country Preview | Live Stream | EN’s Coverage
