Cornbury House Horse Trials came to a thrilling finish when world champion Yasmin Ingham, who had led the seven-year-old class of The Howden Way Young Horse Championships throughout the weekend, tipped the very last showjump to hand victory to Tom Jackson.

Tom, who made his senior British squad debut this summer, finished on his dressage score of 30.7 on Hugh and Pam Jarvis’s mare Midnight Endeavour. She was bred in Ireland by James Nash, and is by Future Trend out of a Ricardo mare.

“She’s called Little Miss Perfect at home, because whenever the girls in the yard ask how she was when I’ve been riding her, I say, ‘Perfect’,” said Tom. “She’s a little dinger across country – she just flies round. The showjumping wouldn’t necessarily be her strongest phase – she jumps well, but she can sometimes have four-fault-itis. Not today, though, and it is lovely to win on her.”

Yasmin Ingham had to settle for second on another mare, Gypsie Du Loir. Like Yasmin’s individual gold medallist at the 2022 World Championships, Banzai Du Loir, she is owned by Janette Chin and the Sue Davies Fund and came from the same stud – Elevage Du Loir – in France.

New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson took third and fifth places on Filipo and Fenizio, a pair of grey geldings, both bred in Spain by Ramon Beca and both by the stallion Meneusekal.

This was the first time that Cornbury House Horse Trials has hosted the prestigious Young Horse Championships, and Yasmin said: “The cross-country track was beautifully built and designed and had a really good flow to it, I think it was super educational; young horses need to have a positive experience, and I felt my mare wanting to attack it and increasing in confidence all the time.”

Kitty King won The Howden Way-sponsored national six-year-old title for the third time in career, this time on Kantango, owned by Penelope Holley, Joanna Jones, Kitty’s mother Jane Boggis and Jane Tolley. By Tangelo out of a Winningmood mare, Kantango showjumped with Megan James, and Kitty bought him from Harry Horgan last winter.

“He’s a really smart young horse – this is his first season eventing and he’s taken to it like a duck to water,” said Kitty. “I’m very proud of him. This is a brilliant class and has been a great stepping-stone for my top horses in the past, so I’ve got high hopes for Kantango.”

The pair led the dressage with a mark of 22.7, and only added 0.4 of a time-penalty in the showjumping to that.

Kitty’s previous winners of this national championship were Ceylor LAN, whom she rode at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and Persimmon, with whom she won team silver at the 2015 European Championships at Blair Castle.

Second was Ireland’s Sian Coleman on the Diarado mare Diamond Mistress, and Sara Squires and Van Kaunitz – last year’s five-year-old champions – were third. Both combinations finished on their dressage scores of 26 and 26.8.

Olympic team gold medallist Laura Collett won Cornbury’s Leading Rider prize, taking home a cheque for £2,500 and a magnificent silver trophy. Laura laid down her challenge for this title early on in the event, having won CCI3*-S section A and two British Eventing Open Intermediate sections on Thursday.

There were three classes for under-21 riders, all sponsored by The Howden Way. Ella Howard won the Pony Trial on Colemanstown Rocket, whom her parents bought six years ago when he was four and Ella was nine. Ella has produced him all the way through to this level, and today’s victory was an emotional one for the Howard family as he survived a colic operation last year.

Elizabeth Barrett took the young rider CCI3*-S on Dargun, while Ireland’s Alex Connors won the junior CCI2*-S with her family’s homebred OLS King Aragon.

Australia’s Kevin McNab took the remaining CCI2*-S section on Francesca Pollara’s Dance Monkey 7.

David Howden, founder and president of Cornbury House Horse Trials, said: “We have had the most brilliant event and I have to thank all our fantastic volunteers, officials, sponsors, riders, owners, grooms and supporters for all their very hard work. The weather has been hot, but so has the competition – it has been a real joy to see so many talented horses and riders at Cornbury this weekend.

“This is our fourth year, and it has grown so much since our first event in the Covid year of 2020. Every year we have worked hard to improve every aspect of the event, and I think the additions this time of Field Food – a showcase of delicious locally produced food and drink – Wildings, the very popular area offering lots of interactive activities for children – and the superb hospitality put on by The Pelican have allowed us to step up a level once again.”

Jayne McGivern and Cornbury House Horse Trials today announce an exciting new class for ex-racehorses that will be run at Cornbury House Horse Trials in 2025, worth a phenomenal £50,000.

The introduction of this new ex-racehorse class is the initiative of Jayne McGivern of Dash Grange Stud and owner of top event horses, with the support of David Howden, Group CEO and Founder of Howden and Founder and President of the Cornbury House Horse Trials.

The initiative has been in McGivern’s thoughts for a long time, wanting to make training ex-racehorses financially viable for riders. Her aim is to also raise the profile of the adaptable nature of thoroughbreds, especially in terms of their suitability for Eventing.

McGivern is generously donating £50,000 in prize money, making it one of the largest prize funds within the Eventing calendar, and the class will be run alongside the other classes at Cornbury House Horse Trials.

The class will showcase thoroughbreds and their abilities, aiming to encourage riders to take on and retrain ex-racehorses and incentivise riders to work towards the 2025 class. It will also provide an additional opportunity for ex-racehorses, building on the existing resource and guidance provided by Retraining of Racehorses (RoR).

Jayne McGivern of Dash Grange Stud said: “I am thrilled to be able to launch a new ex-racehorse class that will run in 2025, and thank David Howden for his support in allowing my idea to come to fruition. Racing and Eventing are both my passions and through this class we will be able to showcase the talent that thoroughbreds have in their second careers.”

The class will begin at CCI2*/Novice level with further details around the class to be announced in due course.

Gloucestershire-based Canadian Olympic rider Michael Winter won the British Eventing Five-Year-Old Championship – sponsored by The Howden Way – on Happy Time today at Cornbury House Horse Trials.

Michael finished on the same score – 26.1 – as second-placed Gemma Gurvidi (Nistel O), but Michael was closer to the optimum time of 4min 48sec on the cross-country and therefore took top spot.

Michael and his wife Emma own the Dibadu L-sired Happy Time with Hazel Thompson and her son Josh. The Winters usually produce horses to sell, but after the Thompsons – long-time owners with Michael and Emma – bought a half-share, they plan to keep this exciting youngster, whom they bought from Belgium during Covid after seeing a video of him.

“He was super,” said Michael. “I thought he would back off a little at the more decorated fences, but he’s really brave – he’s really, really good.”

Only a fraction behind Michael and Gemma in third on a score of 26.8 was Max Warburton, riding Norway Van De Haar, owned by Miranda Lucey, Hazel Livesey and Sue Ruddock.

The Howden Way Young Horse Championships for six- and seven-year-olds conclude tomorrow (Sunday, 10 September). World champion Yasmin Ingham is in the lead in the seven-year-old class on Gypsie Du Loir, owned by Janette Chinn and the Sue Davies Fund. The pair added a few cross-country time faults to their dressage mark of 21.9, but their overnight score of 26.7 keeps them at the top of the leaderboard.

Yasmin said: “I think the cross-country track was super-educational. Young horses are learning all the time and they need to have a positive experience, which is the most important thing. I was especially pleased with Gypsie Du Loir – this was quite a decent step up for her. I didn’t really know how she was going to cope with it, but she took it all on and fought like a lion the whole way round. There were times where she got a little bit too keen, but it was so nice – she felt like she was attacking everything and building in confidence the whole way round.”

The mare, by Herald, has come from the same stud in France (Elevage du Loir) as Yasmin’s world champion Banzai Du Loir – as does Goliath Du Loir, who is in 13th place currently with Yasmin.

Kitty King and Kantango are in first place after cross-country in the six-year-old final. The pair stormed round David Evans’ track to stay on their dressage mark of 22.7.

Kitty, who won team gold and individual silver at the European Championships last month on her top horse Vendredi Biats, bought the Tangelo gelding last winter from Harry Horgan. He is now owned by Penelope Holley, Joanna Jones, Kitty’s mother Jane Boggis and Jane Tolley.

“He’s quite cocky – his dam is by Winningmood, who is Vendredi Biats’ sire, and they do have a certain amount of cheekiness and cockiness about them!” she said. “He’s always naturally a very jolly, happy chap; he got a bit feisty today across country and was very full of himself.”

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the final day of Cornbury 2023. All the cross-country action will be livestreamed for free on the event website and on Horse & Country TV.

Tickets for Cornbury House Horse Trials, which features far more than “just” the international horse sport, can be bought online via the website or on the gate. “Field Food” celebrates a wide variety of delicious, locally-produced food and drink, including from the Cornbury estate, while at the weekend “Wildings” is a shaded, interactive area full of children’s activities.

Visit www.cornburyhousehorsetrials to buy tickets, watch the livestream and for more information.

ENDS

Gloucestershire’s Saskia Davies pulled off her first ever international victory today at Cornbury House Horse Trials (6-10 September 2023), winning CCI2*-S section G on her own 18-year-old Singing Usk.

Saskia, who finished on her dressage score of 26.1, said: “This little horse has done so much for me. The [cross-country] course was definitely a challenge and a lot of riding such different terrain – up and down – comes down to timing and so there were a few moments where I had to kick on, but he was absolutely fantastic and answered every question.”

Sam Jennings was second on Monbeg Iguassu, whom she owns with Lucy Cunliffe and Diana Osmond. Phoebe Locke took third with Lara Chapple’s Slaneyside Cooley.

The Netherlands’ Nina de Haas had an excellent day at Cornbury House, winning CCI2*-S section H on Martin and Kerry Richards’ JVK Maguire on an impressive score of 23.8. She also finished third in CCI2*-S section I with David Scholfield’s Ballylaffin Juno.

Nina was dropping eight-year-old JVK Maguire down a level for a confidence-giving run, and said: “He’s quite cheeky, but he’s so talented and I am happy that I can show it off this time. I really hope that to get him back out at three-star and at four-star in the future – he definitely has the ability.”

She is based with her compatriot Andrew Heffernan – who is the Dutch national coach as well as a championship team member himself – at Somerford Park in Cheshire. Andrew joined David Evans this year in designing the cross-country courses at Cornbury.

Nina said: “It’s been really good having him here to walk the course with me and to help me warm up. Cornbury is such a beautiful event and has a lovely atmosphere as well.”

Kaitlyn Freeman was second for New Zealand on Joe and Alex Giannmore’s Zazu, and Tom McEwen was third on Alison Swinburn and John and Chloe Perry’s Brookfield Quality Time.

Another New Zealander, Jesse Campbell, celebrated his win on Wendy and Johnnie Watherston’s Gracie De La Rose in CCI2*-S section I by heading straight to the golf course afterwards.

Jesse has the seven-year-old Jaguar Mail mare since she was four – and she hasn’t always been easy.

“Gracie has been a bit of a project,” he explained. “She was started quite late as a four-year-old and was quite big and strong. It has taken a bit of managing and persuading to get her on-side and I feel like we are starting to get there. She internalises things a lot which maybe comes across as confidence, but then she’s actually a bit nervous and overthinks things a little. We have put in the work, so it’s nice to reap those rewards.”

Jesse was quick to praise course-designer David Evans: “The track is great. We always bring a lot of horses to Cornbury as we know that David Evans puts a huge amount of work into the ground, and it’s a fun course to ride as well.”

Gemma Stevens was second with the Rex Syndicate’s Cooley Park Muze.

Tomorrow (Saturday, 9 September) is time for The Howden Way Young Horse Championships to take centre stage. The current world champion Yasmin Ingham is in the lead after dressage in the seven-year-old finals on Janette Chinn and the Sue Davies Fund’s Gypsie Du Loir with a score of 21.9.

Kitty King is in pole position in the six-year-old championship with 22.7 aboard Kantango, owned by Penelope Holley, Joanna Jones, Jane Boggis and Jane Tolley.

And Gemma Gurvidi heads the five-year-old section on her own Nistel O (26.1).

All of the cross-country from Cornbury House Horse Trials is being livestreamed for free via the event website and also on Horse & Country TV. On Saturday cross-country starts at 8.30am.

For more information, to buy tickets and to watch the livestream, visit www.cornburyhousehorsetrials.co.uk.

The sun shone on everybody at Cornbury House Horse Trials today, but brightest on Olympic gold medallist Laura Collett. The Gloucestershire-based rider not only won CCI3*-S section A on the Ace of Spades Syndicate’s Calahari, but also took two of the three British Eventing Open Intermediate classes (on Dacapo and Sportsfield Freelance) as well.

Laura is riding 10-year-old Calahari while Irish eventer Aoife Clark recovers from a broken arm, and the pair finished on their dressage score of 23.2.

“I’d love to keep him for longer,” admitted Laura. “He’s been quite tricky to try to find the buttons for – he’s quite a nervy type of horse and he was unsettled by having a new rider. But it felt like here we understood each other from the get-go in all three phases. He’s an amazing galloper; he’s very ‘blood’ and that’s taken a bit of getting used to. He’s a really fun horse.”

Calahari’s end-of-season goal is the CCI4*-L at Blenheim next week, and Cornbury has provided the perfect preparation.

“The cross-country course here is really good, and I thought the changes this year made it flow nicely. It’s a galloping, attacking track, which was exactly what I wanted.”

Laura is also full of praise for the superb hospitality her owners are receiving here at Cornbury House Horse Trials.

“My owners have commented on how incredible it has been for them, which I personally think it’s the most important part of our sport. They have been blown away by the hospitality. At the end of the day we cannot do our sport without owners, so for David Howden [event president and founder] to provide something like this hopefully will make every other event up their game. I hope this will trickle back to other events and other organisers will follow suit.”

Laura’s three victories so far give her a fighting chance of winning Cornbury’s coveted Leading Rider Award – a cheque for £2,500 and a magnificent silver trophy.

Second in CCI3*-S section A was Douglas Edward, riding his own and Amanda Edwards’ Email De Jarsay, with a score of 29.6. Samantha Brown and Spirit LSS took third on 26.3.

Two Wills won CCI3*-S section B: Will Rawlin on his own and Miranda Rawlin’s Ballycoog Breaker Boy, whose stable name is William. They finished on their dressage score of 26.7 in hot conditions.

It wasn’t Will’s intention to push on for victory, but as he set off around the undulating track he felt the 11-year-old needed some positive riding.

Will said: “He started off just a bit spooky and a bit sticky and I thought we need to go up a gear or two and get into that rhythm. He is so big that he just eats up the ground effortlessly – he just skipped around it like it was nothing, which is always a nice feeling. He has an effortless gallop and I don’t need to do much setting up for the fences, which is where you can save a few seconds.”

Will is also planning on heading to Blenheim CCI-L 4*.

Second was Rose Nesbitt, who added nothing to her dressage score of 27.6 on the family-owned EG Michealangelo.Georgie Campbell finished third on Global Quest, owned by Lance and Diana Morrish, with a score of 28.8.

The remaining Open Intermediate section went to New Zealand’s Clarke Johnstone and Menlo Park, while Pippa Taylor won the Intermediate class on Tequila Sunrise.

Cornbury House Horse Trials continues until Sunday (10 September) with The Howden Way National Young Horse Championships, under-21 classes at CCI3*-S, CCI*-S and a Pony Trial under The Howden Way banner, CCI2*-S sections and more national intermediate classes. All the cross-country is being livestreamed for free via the event website and on Horse & Country TV.

Tickets for Cornbury House Horse Trials, which features far more than “just” the international horse sport, can be bought online via the website or on the gate. “Field Food” celebrates a wide variety of delicious, locally-produced food and drink, including from the Cornbury estate, while at the weekend “Wildings” is a shaded, interactive area full of children’s activities.

Visit www.cornburyhousehorsetrials to buy tickets, watch the livestream and for more information.

An exciting new addition to The Howden Way programme is announced today. A bespoke, Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme, will join the existing areas of The Howden Way, designed to give expert tuition and training to riders that take on former racehorses.

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme will be run by British Eventing and sit alongside the existing areas of The Howden Way; The Howden Regional Training Academy, The Howden Talent Academy, The Howden Young Horse Academy and The Howden Way Young Horse Leagues.

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme, within The Howden Way structure, will be specifically designed to assist riders from the initial point of taking on a horse leaving racing and transitioning to a riding horse. The programme will both encourage and assist those taking on a former racehorse by giving them the security of knowing they will have a comprehensive care programme wrapped around them. The programme will encompass everything that riders will need to know from both caring for ex-racehorses in terms of their nutrition, routine and welfare needs through to their ridden retraining. It will sit alongside the existing resource and guidance provided by Retraining of Racehorses (RoR).

Coaching will be delivered by British Eventing Level 3 and above coaches who have gone through the Thoroughbred Aftercare standardisation programme and further supported with knowledge sharing from experts within their chosen field.
Further details about the Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme and how riders can sign up to the programme will follow.

Established by David Howden at his home in Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, in 2020, this event has taken the equestrian world by storm in just three years – and there are many innovations for 2023.

For the first time, Cornbury House Horse Trials (CHHT) will host the highly prestigious British Eventing Young Horse Championships for five-, six- and seven-year-olds. These will run alongside the well-established international classes at CCI3*-S and CCI2*-S level.

In keeping with David Howden’s passion for helping and promoting young talent, there will also be a new Pony Trial at 1.05m level. This means that CHHT 2023 has three classes for under-21 riders: the Youth Performance CCI3*-S and CCI2*-S sections, and a Pony Trial, all supported by The Howden Way, the development and coaching pathways set up by David Howden in conjunction with British Eventing.

Once again, CHHT’s prize-money will be the highest in the UK at each level, with a total prize-fund for the open sections of the CCI3*-S and seven-year-old championships in excess of £7,000. The five- and six-year-old championships, open sections of the CCI2*-S and under-21 CCI3*-S and CCI2*-S will have a prize-fund of more than £3,000 per class.

The Leading Rider throughout the event will receive a perpetual trophy and a cheque for £2,500.

There will also be British Eventing national intermediate and open intermediate classes.

The cross-country course, designed by David Evans, will have a new look for 2023 with a re-sited start and finish area, and there will be a new track at 1.05m for the five-year-old championship class and the Pony Trial. Dutch international event rider Andrew Heffernan is assisting David Evans and course-builder Adrian Ditcham in the production of CHHT’s courses and is responsible for designing the CCI3*-S track..

For the first time, the 2023 Cornbury House Horse Trials will offer competitors the chance to stable on-site in the high-quality Woodhouse barn-style stabling available at premium events such as Burghley. Stabling should be booked when entries are made.

David Howden said: “We have an incredibly exciting week to look forward to. I am absolutely delighted that Cornbury House is hosting the hugely important Young Horse Championships, as well as a full range of opportunities for our best young riders. Since Cornbury House Horse Trials inception in 2020, I have made no secret of the fact that I am passionate about supporting the best British-based talent and that we are utterly committed to helping the stars of our sport – present and future – to reach their goals.

“We have made considerable investments in the site once again this year, which I hope will be appreciated by riders, owners, grooms and supporters, as well as visitors.

“And, possibly most excitingly, this year’s event will also have the feel of a woodland festival. ‘Field Food’ will showcase the best local produce and Wildwood kids’ activities will involve immersive woodland crafts for children to enjoy over the weekend. 

“We are delighted to be teaming up with Phil Winser and his brilliant team at The Pelican in Notting Hill and now The Bull in Charlbury to create a superb new feasting style hospitality experience.

“Regenerative farming has been a huge passion of mine for 20 years now and our focus is on producing the best flavoured meat from traditional breeds raised here at Cornbury on slow-growing grass, where biodiversity and soil health are key to achieving this.” 

“It has long been my vision to merge the traditional world of eventing with sustainably sourced food and drink and working together we believe the newly created ‘Pelican in the Field’ will be a fantastic addition to this year’s event.”

The Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) has been announced as Cornbury House Horse Trials’ official charity for 2023. 

Enriching lives through horses, Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) benefits the lives of over 17,000 disabled children and adults across the UK. Activities including riding and carriage driving. The charity provides therapy, fitness, skills development and opportunities for achievement, all of which is supported by 13,000 amazing volunteers and qualified coaches at nearly 500 RDA centres all over the UK.

The RDA will have a range of activities taking place across the site at Cornbury House Horse Trials this year, which runs from 6-10 September, and the partnership is designed as both a fundraising and awareness-boosting opportunity for the RDA.

Spectators can find a designated RDA stand on Saturday 9-Sunday 10 September, featuring the local New Yatt RDA group along with the RDA’s riding simulator, a mechanical horse fondly known as Charley. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience the motion of riding a horse. Adults and children are welcome and donations encouraged. 

Additionally, across the weekend, there will be some furry faces from Cotswold RDA visiting, showcasing the unique RDA nationwide initiative, Tea with a Pony. Tea with a Pony is a non-riding session that provides emotional wellbeing with notable therapeutic benefits. Meet some RDA ponies and find out about the benefits of Tea with a Pony and how you can become involved.

David Howden, Founder and President of Cornbury House Horse Trials said: “This is a very important and worthwhile charity which is close to my heart given my love of horses. I am very aware of the positive impact of horse therapy and the work that this charity and their team of volunteers do each year. We look forward to working with the RDA and their team to create a meaningful partnership which raises worthwhile funds.”

Lisa Davies, Head of Communications and Insight added: “RDA are delighted and proud to be a charity partner of Cornbury House Horse Trials and we look forward to introducing RDA to visitors at this prestigious event. Weekend visitors will be able to meet real RDA therapy ponies, or support our life changing work and ride mechanical dressage horse Charley! Local RDA Groups, New Yatt and Cotswold RDA, will be on hand to answer questions about our work providing opportunity, inclusion and fun for disabled people through equestrian activities. It looks set to be a fantastic event and we can’t wait!”

The world number one, the current world and European champions, Olympic gold medallists, competitors from 19 different nations, and nearly 1,000 horses – the stage is set for an eventing bonanza at Cornbury House Horse Trials (6-10 September).

Famous names such as Zara Tindall, William Fox-Pitt, Ros Canter, Tim and Jonelle Price, Andrew Hoy, Tom McEwen, Andrew Nicholson, Piggy March and Laura Collett are bringing horses to Cornbury ranging from the stars of their stables to their most promising young talent. Alongside these top professionals will be the best of the next generation, competing in the weekend’s under-21 and Pony classes under the banner of The Howden Way.

The Oxfordshire event, founded by David Howden at his home, Cornbury Park, in 2020, has quickly become a smash hit with riders and owners, who appreciate the exceptional efforts David and his team go to to provide the best possible conditions, courses and facilities – and prize-money..

Tom McEwen, individual silver and team gold medallist from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the inaugural winner of Cornbury’s Leading Rider Award (£2,500 and a magnificent silver perpetual trophy), said: “Cornbury is a fantastic event and gets better and better each year. It’s a great place for young horses to gain experience of the atmosphere of a top-class event, with its spectacular main arena and educational but imposing cross-country courses. And owners love it – it’s a very special place and I’m very much looking forward to the week.”

This year Cornbury hosts the prestigious British Eventing Young Horse Championships for the first time. A year on from David Howden’s instigation of training and talent pathway system The Howden Way in partnership with British Eventing, several members of The Howden Way’s Young Horse Academy are entered in the seven-year-old championship: Zorro B (Lucy Sugden), Carpo Vivendi (Jack Pinkney) and Harthill Samba (Charlotte Rowe).

Alongside the equestrian sport at Cornbury House Horse Trials, new for 2023 is ‘Field Food’ – a celebration of local food and drink, including produce from the Cornbury estate, a range of interactive children’s activities (Wildings) across the weekend, excellent hospitality in partnership with The Pelican, W11 and sister pub, The Bull in neighbouring Charlbury and finally some post-event entertainment following the competition to create a woodland festival feel.

Cornbury House Horse Trials is possibly the only event now in the UK to provide a totally free livestream of all the cross-country action from Thursday, 7 September to Sunday, 10 September. This will be shown on the event’s website, cornburyhousehorsetrials.co.uk.

To buy tickets, see timetables of each competition and for more information, visit cornburyhousehorsetrials.co.uk.

Cornbury House Horse Trials (6-10 September) is delighted to announce an exciting partnership with The Pelican, All Saints Road, W11 to launch a new hospitality experience at the international horse trials introducing, ‘The Pelican in the Field.’

Re-defining the traditional hospitality experience, guests can expect a fantastic feasting style menu, set in a relaxed space overlooking the main show-jumping arena. On arrival, guests will be greeted by an Oyster station followed by The Pelican’s signature open-fire cooking style, using neighbouring Cornbury Farm meat as well as an array of delicious salads using  locally grown produce, with a cheese table and dessert options for later in the afternoon. 

The Pelican, located in the heart of Notting Hill is renowned for its interactive style of cooking and has also recently opened a sister pub, The Bull which is located next to the Cornbury Estate in the local town of Charlbury. 

Commenting on the new partnership, David Howden, Founder and President of Cornbury House Horse Trials said: “We are delighted to be teaming up with Phil Winser and his brilliant team at The Pelican and now The Bull to create an exciting new experience here at Cornbury this year. 

“Regenerative farming has been a huge passion of mine for 20 years now and our focus is on producing the best flavoured meat from traditional breeds raised here at Cornbury on slow-growing grass, where biodiversity and soil health are key to achieving this.” 

“It has long been my vision to merge the traditional world of eventing with sustainably sourced food and drink and working together we believe the newly created ‘Pelican in the Field’ will be a fantastic addition to this year’s event.”

Phil Winser at The Pelican added: “We are really excited about this partnership with Cornbury House Horse Trials and to introduce a new interactive hospitality experience. With thanks to David Howden and his team, we will be cooking on open fires and offering Cornbury Farm raised meat for the best possible flavour. ”

Cornbury House Horse Trials takes place across five days in September in the heart of the Cotswolds. With its visually stunning backdrops of Cornbury House and the Wychwood Forest, this year’s event promises a boutique experience for attendees, where the world of traditional eventing collides with a woodland festival atmosphere. 

Away from the equestrian action and new for 2023, a celebration of all things food and drink with the introduction of “Field Food” offering a showcase of delicious locally-produced artisan options for attendees to enjoy. This will include a range of offerings from local farms along with local beers, ales and cocktails to enjoy from the new on-site public bar, the aptly named “Wychwood Inn”.

Immersive woodland kids activities will be on offer over the weekend (9-10 September) along with some ‘apres’ style entertainment featuring live music after the competition has finished.  

Tickets for ‘The Pelican in the Field’ are available to purchase for £125pp and includes admission to the Horse Trials.

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