With just a week before the first trot up at Houghton International, the finishing touches are being put to the cross country courses, stables are being erected and arenas strung in preparation for the 700 horses heading to Norfolk on the bank holiday weekend.
Affiliated eventing entries are up on last year, with past Olympians including William Fox-Pitt, Zara Phillips, Andrew Hoy, Sir Mark Todd and Blyth Tait all entering the fray.
Houghton International also hosts the British leg of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup competition – a global team event run over seven legs in seven nations. Teams from Great Britain, Germany, France, Australia and New Zealand will battle for supremacy: Germany currently top the rankings, ahead of France and Italy.
The old Houghton favourites still feature in the programme: the popular Sema Lease Eventers Grand Prix, Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse qualifiers, Pony Club and unaffiliated showjumping, and unaffiliated dressage all make for an action packed four days.
