PRESS

Once again, Symm is delighted to be sponsoring the 14th Symm International Horse Trials at Hambleden. Now in its second year as an internationally recognised event, 2011 promises to be even more exciting as it builds upon its success of last year.

CEO, Aidan Mortimer said, “When we sponsored the Symm International Horse Trials for the first time, in May 2010, it was a new and exploratory event for us, and one of our key objectives has been to increase awareness of these trials, and particularly to support younger riders. The Hambleden estate is one of the most beautiful areas that I know, with its glorious woodlands and rolling parkland – it’s a wonderful day out”.

A new initiative for 2011 is the provision of an Organisers’ Hospitality Marquee for the Event Horse Owners Association (EHOA). Situated by the first water jump adjacent to the spectacular bluebell woods, Aidan Mortimer added “Without the owners, the sport of eventing simply would not exist. Therefore we wanted to ensure that owners and members of the EHOA are well looked after at our event, by providing complimentary refreshments and the opportunity to meet with friends and catch up on the day’s events”.

Organiser Lisa Hughes commented, “In our first year with Symm, their sponsorship allowed us to make a number of significant additions, which we will continue to build upon this year. This includes our programme of 5 training bursaries with a particular focus on youth development, increased prize money, start fees at the level they’ve been for many years, and a 100% refund policy. In addition to the new marquee, we are also building further new feature fences on the cross-country courses. There will be more stands offering `retail therapy’, as well as delicious food and drinks on offer. Try Symm’s speciality tea `No ordinary builder’s tea", and sausages from the estate!

 

What is Eventing?

Eventing was previously known as Horse Trials which were originally devised as a military competition, to be a test of a horse’s obedience, courage and stamina. As such, they are made up of three different phases - Dressage, Show Jumping and Speed and Cross Country.

Eventing is one of the very few sports where men and women compete on an equal basis, and British riders have an enviable record of success. We are known in Britain to have some of the best facilities in the world, and in order to take advantage of them, many top riders from overseas move over here to compete and progress in their sport.
 
Horses, not riders, are graded and start their Eventing careers in classes where the fences are 80cm (BE80) and progress on to BE100 and thereafter to Novice, Intermediate and Advanced events such as Badminton and Burghley.
 
In the competition the same rider must complete each of the three phases, and the scoring is done on a penalty system - in other words, marks are deducted for less than perfect movements in the Dressage test (and a calculation is done by the team of scorers to convert that so that the lowest score is the best), for knocking down or refusing a Show Jump, or for similar problems incurred on the Cross Country course where the rider strives to achieve the optimum time. The rider who finishes with the lowest score in each section - competitors are divided into sections to make the logistics of running the competition a little easier - is the winner.
 
In the Dressage phase the horse and rider are required to perform a simple set test which demonstrates the suppleness and obedience of the horse, and its willingness to execute its rider’s commands - even to the untrained eye it is often apparent which competitors are unlikely to score highly in this part of the competition !
 
The Show Jumping phase is also a demonstration of a horse’s obedience and the disciplined relationship that is so important between horse and rider. At the same time it is an opportunity for the horse to show its athleticism and ability to jump.
 
The Cross Country phase exerts most influence on the competition since it requires that horses have an ability to jump, that they are fit, supple and obedient, and that they have courage and stamina. The Cross Country course is designed to really test the relationship that exists between horse and rider, as not only are competitors trying to jump clear over a demanding set of fences, but they are also trying to achieve the optimum time.