Forty-five years of eventing competitions at Burgie comes to an end
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
AFTER almost half-a-century of national and international eventing competitions, the final ever horse trials have been held at Burgie.
On Saturday, July 3, the final British Eventing horse trials took place at Burgie after 45 years of action.
After starting in 1977, Burgie grew to become one of the largest competitive three-day events in the world.
Many equine champions, such as Zara Phillips, cut their three-day event teeth at Burgie, with many greats from the eventing world competing on the hills.
Polly and Hamish, or the Lochore family, who have run the trials for 45 years, explained the decision to take a step back.
“This has been a very difficult family decision,” a statement said.
“All of us at Burgie are well aware of the enormous contributions that have been made over the years to make Burgie so internationally synonymous with the sport – and the significant community which has embraced the venue from around Scotland.
“It is testament to this community that there were still key team members and volunteers from the original event in 1977 that were active for the final running on the July 3.
“We would like to pay tribute to the hard-working Horse Trials Committee and the many volunteers who have made this event so
great over so many years and who have given so much time, energy, and hard work into the running of eventing at Burgie over the past 45 years.
“We are also sincerely grateful for the years of commitment made by the riders, owners, sponsors and so many more who have embraced Burgie Horse Trials and embodied all that is good about the sport of eventing.”
The final event saw wins for local riders Avril Johnson, Emily Kerr and Neve Smith.
Avril won in the Novice section, while Neve Smith won her 100 section and Emily Kerr won the 80 section.
“The committee were shocked when we were told this would be our final event just over three weeks ago, but we hope we have done Burgie proud,” a statement on Burgie Eventing’s Facebook added.
“We can all be grateful for the many memories made at this special venue.”
