Photo Credits: Kit Houghton
The Olympia Horse Show, now known as the London International Horse Show, is a festive favourite with lots of people and an absolute Christmas tradition for many but in fact, the show is not quite as old as some people might think.
There was a horse show held at Olympia as early as 1907 and it gained huge popularity, pausing only for the two World Wars. However, after the Second World War, the show declined in popularity partly due to increasing mechanisation; in 1907 almost everyone who attended the show would have had an equine connection as life revolved around horses. By the early 1950s, the picture had changed considerably and the show fell out of favour and stopped running. Resurrected in 1972, the organisers had to resort to handing out free tickets in the roads around the venue in order to fill the seats, hard to imagine that now.
Traditionally the main show has run from Thursday through to Monday just prior to Christmas. A few years ago, two days dedicated solely to international dressage were added on Tuesday and Wednesday just before the main show making the entire event now seven days rather than five. The last five days feature largely show jumping and have two performances per day for the duration - a matinee and an evening performance – whereas the dressage days only have evening performance.
Photo Credits: Kit Houghton
The main format for the show is the largely the same for each performance; two international show jumping classes interspersed with other events and displays. Each day the show jumping classes will be different and the timetable for the dressage days is similar, with just dressage instead of jumping.
The organising committee strives to bring the best equestrian entertainment to Olympia and so the displays and performances in between the main competitive classes are usually a real treat. Previous years have seen the Metropolitan Police Activity Ride, the world-famous Russian Cossacks, the Musical Ride of the Household Cavalry, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and the now infamous Shetland Pony Grand National (pictured above).
Olympia always tries to showcase top equine entertainment from around the world and finishes with a finale which always involves Father Christmas and his sleigh except naturally, it is pulled by white ponies.
There is a huge shopping village, about two hundred stands, around the main arena which opens from 9.30 every morning, everything equestrian imaginable plus other lovely gift ideas for the festive season, perfect for some last minute Christmas shopping. There are food outlets in abundance although it is wise to take small snacks and water with you as the prices are expensive.
Each performance has a scheduled interval to allow time for comfort breaks and shopping but the stands will be busy at this time. Savvy shoppers arrive earlier than their performance so they can have plenty of time looking around before the show starts.
Tickets go on sale in May and popular nights sell out very quickly. These tend to be the Saturday and Sunday nights which have the feature show jumping classes – the World Cup and the Grand Prix – and also the puissance where the big red wall just gets bigger and bigger.
If you really want to treat yourself, you could club together with friends and get yourself a private box. Suitable for a group of 12, these spacious boxes have premium views of the arena and are fully catered, a buffet or light meal for the matinee performance and a formal dinner for the evening show. They are a lovely relaxed way to spend time with friends and fellow enthusiasts.
There is no official dress code for Olympia unless you have a private box in which case it is smart casual for the matinee performance and black tie for the evening. For those sitting down in the main arena, there is no dress code but it is as well to remember that this is the week before Christmas and for those travelling some distance, the weather can make its presence felt. Ladies' tweed coats (click here to view our selection) and warm waistcoats for the gentlemen (our selection of waistcoats for men) with flat caps (click here to view our flat caps) will keep out the winter weather on the journey to and from Olympia.
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The show is held in West London at an exhibition centre which is easily accessible by public transport and car. There are several tube stations nearby which take you to within walking distance and it is also possible to drive into the show. There is an NCP car park right next door to Olympia and you can book a ticket for the car park when you book your seats. The car park is always full so it is not possible to turn up on the day and hope for a space. Some people who live further afield will drive to the edge of the capital, park and then take the tube into central London.
For those travelling a greater distance and people do come from all over the country, there is a hotel nearby, the London Hilton, which is a stone’s throw from the show. This is a great location if you are attending more than one performance over a couple of days and popular with the riders too so you could expect to be sharing your breakfast with some famous names. The Hilton always books up very far in advance so if you are planning on staying overnight then you should book this when you reserve your tickets.
People travel to Olympia from all over the country and many local riding clubs and equestrian groups will arrange coach trips; this makes a long journey a little more bearable if you don’t have to drive yourself. And it is magical going through central London in the week before Christmas and looking at all the lights. The evening performance generally does not finish until 11 pm so this can make for a very late bedtime. Often the matinee which finishes at 5 pm is a better option for those with long journeys and young children in the party. You can always stay on after the matinee and either shop or head into the West End for dinner.
The London International Horse Show is a one-off, there are no other horse shows in the capital anymore and it is made even more special by its timing – the week before Christmas. Olympia is festive and fun and offers great entertainment and spectacle for the horsey with some really serious international riders and competition, and the not so horsey. Christmas, shopping, and horses all in one place, what could be better than that!
The Cheltenham Festival is the ultimate jump racing date on the calendar and the most thrilling event imaginable. Even if you don’t know very much about horses, it is impossible not to be caught up in the atmosphere and excitement of this iconic sporting fixture known to many as simply, “The Festival”.
The Cheltenham Festival runs for four days in the middle of March, starting on a Tuesday and finishing on Friday of the same week with the highlight for many of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the feature race, on the last day. The festival is an opportunity to see some of the finest jump horses in the world and it has the most incredible buzz and atmosphere with fantastic hospitality on offer. It is hugely well supported by the Irish who flock across the Irish Sea with their horses and supporters; we all know how much the Irish enjoy a good craic and if the Festival coincides with St. Patrick’s Day then that just adds to the mix.
The Festival is run on a rural racecourse in March so whilst it is a world-class event, you will be standing essentially in an English field in early spring so you will need to be prepared for everything the elements can throw at you. So how can you be stylish as well as warm and comfortable? Read on as our handy guide will inform you on just what to wear for Cheltenham.
The most iconic and appropriate look for Cheltenham is tweed which is just as well as tweed is warm and waterproof and you are likely to need it. Comfortable and breathable, tweed, as a fabric, has no equal and was designed for long days out in the British countryside in all weathers so is the perfect choice for Cheltenham.
A tweed suit or plain trousers with a tweed jacket or coat and waistcoat will not only look the part but be warm and practical as well. A suit or certainly jacket and tie will be required for the enclosure and some of the restaurants and hospitality areas. Brown brogues fit the bill well and a hat or flat cap completes the outfit so you will look the part but be essentially warmly and practically dressed for whatever the weather throws at you.
There is no doubt that Cheltenham attracts the crème de la crème of the smart country set so fashion may be more of a priority for some than practicality. However, Cheltenham is about having fun and being frozen to death is not enjoyable, but it is possible to combine stylish design with comfort.
Happily, for the ladies, tweed has long since lost its rather old-fashioned and frumpy cachet and it is possible to find some fabulous jackets in really striking colours, in a style and design that is right on trend and will really cut a dash. Team a tweed blazer with a polo neck (for warmth) which you can dress up if you wish with a statement silk or vibrant wool Panama or a faux fur wrap. For extra warmth, a gilet is always an option and this can look smart inside in the bar where it may be hot enough to require shedding some layers. A long skirt with full-length boots will keep you warm and cosy all day or a shorter skirt length with some brightly coloured tights, can really add a splash of colour.
Good footwear is essential as you will be standing for most of the time on grass and two-thirds of the car parks are also grass so high heels are not really an option. There are some lovely country boots available, choose one with a low squarer heel which will remain comfortable all day without any compromise on fashion.
A hat is essential and no outfit is complete without one as the fashion pundits will tell you although Cheltenham does not insist one as part of any dress code. So choose from either a tweed flat cap if you are opting for a jaunty, boyish look or a stylish country hat perhaps in a fedora style, worn at a rakish angle and with an added feather for decoration. This is great for keeping the rain off without necessarily having to resort to an umbrella although it would be wise to take one, colour co-ordinated of course.
A roomy but stylish handbag will complete the look, with plenty of space for racecards and betting slips and a slim fitting pair of dark leather gloves, very warm and practical without spoiling the outfit.
Cheltenham is essentially jump racing in a field but it isn’t the local point to point. With royalty in attendance plus usually some other famous names, the challenge is combining fashion with practicality, particularly bearing in mind the time of year. With a little planning, it is quite possible to do this, thanks to traditional and iconic tweed which combines colour, style and look with good old-fashioned comfort.
Gatcombe Horse Trials is held in the grounds of Gatcombe House, home to HRH, The Princess Royal and her family. Gatcombe is in Gloucestershire, the same county as its bigger neighbour, the Badminton Horse Trials, both located in the heart of the Cotswolds. However, unlike the Badminton Horse Trials, Gatcombe brings quite a different offering to the sporting calendar.
Home for 34 years to the Festival of British Eventing, Gatcombe is a smaller, more intimate event than its famous neighbour but nevertheless, a real smorgasbord of top-class riding in a beautiful location. The estate was offered by The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips as a way of putting something back into the sport they had both derived so much enjoyment from.
Located near Minchinhampton in a part of Gloucestershire designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the naturally hilly terrain has a huge influence on the cross country course at Gatcombe as well as offering spectacular viewing opportunities for the spectators.
The Festival of Eventing offers the chance to see top riders and some lesser known names at the three main levels of the sport of eventing, novice, intermediate and advanced. Gatcombe offers prestigious championships for all three sections and runs for three days over a weekend in early August. All disciplines run on all the days apart from the cross country which does not start until Saturday, but does carry on all weekend. This is a chance to see some top names with their up and coming horses and also some lesser known faces experiencing the big time.
Well, the usual beautiful backdrop which British Eventing courses seem to excel at and the tempting shopping village without which no large horse trials would be complete. There is an eclectic mix of exhibitors in the shopping village catering for every equine whim, plus other themes such as gardening and crafts are well represented. The Rural Crafts Association always has a selection of stands at Gatcombe.
Apart from the main competitions, there is also plenty going in the smaller rings including Pony Club team show jumping and Burghley Young Event Horse classes.
Gatcombe does not have a dress code, so most visitors opt for the smart/casual country look. Tweed is always a staple favourite, smart enough for the rural vibe, but easy to wear and ultimately breathable and practical for whatever the weather may do. A tweed coat is ideal, smart, functional, full of useful pockets, comfortable and practical. Both men and women favour tweed coats and waistcoats, they are simply stylish, long lasting and very comfortable.
It is possible to buy tickets on the day at the gate but the park can only take a certain number of visitors – the usual footfall is around 40,000. So there is always a risk that the ticket allocation will be full and you may not be able to gain entry on the day. Always better, therefore, to buy in advance and it is usually cheaper as well.
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There are lots to choose from in this beautiful part of the Cotswolds – Gatcombe is located near Minchinhampton – so plenty of pretty self-catering cottages and farmhouse B&B in abundance. But Gatcombe supporters book from year to year so you need to plan well ahead and because Gatcombe runs in early August, you are also competing with the school summer holidays, so nice accommodation may be hard to find if you leave it too late. Gatcombe is also well located for the Cotswold towns of Stroud, Tetbury and Cirencester which offer plenty of hotels and coaching inns if you are looking for accommodation that is more town-based. The Festival does not offer any overnight camping or facilities for caravans.
Road links are excellent as Gatcombe is within striking distance of the M5 and the M4 motorways.
Gatcombe is a smaller, cosier event perhaps than some of its famous neighbours. It has a feel much more redolent of a normal BE event that many of the spectators might actually compete at with a liberal dash of local country fair thrown in for good measure. The topography of the estate makes for some challenging riding but strangely seems to create quite a low key, serene and peaceful atmosphere, well for the spectators anyway. Gatcombe is well worth a visit for those that want to perhaps see a different dimension to the sport; it is accessible and welcoming with the key ingredients of top-class sport, quality retail and the most stunning location.
Badminton Horse Trials runs in early May every year and is the opening spring four-star Horse Trials that marks the start of the eventing year in the UK. There are only six four-star horse trials in the world; this is the highest and toughest pinnacle of this demanding sport.
Badminton is run at the beautiful home of the Duke of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, Badminton House. The house dates back to the 1660s and the family connections with it are just as historic, although, the house that you see today is largely the result of rebuilding and improvement which took place in the 17th and 18th centuries. The first horse trials were held in the sumptuous parkland of Badminton House in 1949. It was instigated by the then 10th Duke of Beaufort who wished to help British riders prepare for the fledgling international sport of eventing. Television arrived in 1956 and the rest, as they say, is history.
Badminton is a three-day event, but because of the number of competitors, dressage is allocated to two days, so there are actually four days of competition in total, starting on a Thursday, running through to cross-country on Saturday and the last day of show jumping on Sunday. Enthusiasts arrive on Wednesday to watch the famous trot up in front of Badminton House. This is to check that all the horses are fit and well before they start the competition. The check is conducted in front of a panel of vets. Just as eye-catching are the rider’s outfits; this is a very smart occasion.
The most popular day is cross-country day on Saturday, so you should expect very large crowds; somewhere in the region of a quarter of a million people will come to Badminton on that day to watch the thrills and spills!
The event has a shopping village which is to die for, every equestrian item you can think of and lots of stalls selling country clothing, gifts, fine art, and food. Some people come just for the shopping! Because Saturday is the busiest day of the event with regard to footfall, the trade stands are always packed. The best days to shop are the dressage days, which traditionally, are quieter.
It would be safe to say that the dress code is ‘smart country’ but you will need to wear something practical as the weather can be very unpredictable. Early May in Britain can bring all four seasons in a day so layering is the best option for comfort, and this means you can shed garments if it gets hot. Something waterproof, but breathable is a must and a wax coat for men or women with plenty of pockets is the ideal garment; this also makes the perfect blanket for wet grass for a seat around the cross country fences. Team this up with a wax gilet and you won’t go far wrong.
A hat is essential to ward off rain and also burning sun – May can be very hot – probably both. A waxed Bushman’s hat for ladies and a flat tweed cap for the gentlemen. And waterproof, comfortable footwear as you will be on your feet for a lot of the day and the cross country course is four miles long, so plenty of walking if you want to see a horse and rider over each fence.
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Badminton House is situated in the heart of the Cotswolds which is an idyllic location in the heart of England and a popular holiday destination in its own right. Good accommodation is booked from year to year over the horse trials weekend, so you will have to be quick off the mark to find some. This is a very rural area - one of the best and closest options is farmhouse Bed and Breakfast or renting a self-catering cottage. There are also some lovely village pubs which offer accommodation and dinner but again, these get booked up pretty far in advance.
There is a campsite at the horse trials and keen annual enthusiasts will book from year to year, either pitching a tent or bringing a caravan. This is a great way to stay on site and removes the need for driving backwards and forwards to a pub or other accommodation, but take note, spaces for the campsite sell out months ahead.
You will need to buy a ticket and pay for parking on each day of the horse trials. Buying tickets and parking in advance makes it cheaper and if you are attending more than one day of the horse trials, it can be more economical to buy a special pass. A season ticket for the whole four days makes a lovely present for someone. But you can also just turn up and pay on the day.
There is no ticket required for the cross country which is accessible to all. There are viewing stands at certain fences such as the water and some people camp there for the day, seats are usually bagged quite quickly as this is one of the most popular fences. The dressage arenas and show jumping arena are surrounded by stands and there is usually one stand which is free to sit in, although it may not have the best view of the action. The free stands get very busy, particularly on the last day but you can buy a ticket for seating in the other stands and these have a better view for the dressage and show jumping.
If Badminton Horse Trials kick starts the international eventing season in the UK, then Burghley Horse Trials brings it to a close. Held over the first weekend in September, Burghley is the autumn mirror to Badminton in the spring.
Burghley Horse Trials is held at Burghley House which is near Stamford in Lincolnshire. Burghley House is one of the finest Elizabethan houses in Europe and is open to the public (closed during the horse trials). The horse trials run, just like Badminton, over four days, Thursday through to Sunday so, if you are making a week of it, then you can visit this spectacular house and gardens on days either side of the event as it will be open.
Burghley Horse Trials is a four-star event of which there are only six worldwide, the other British event being Badminton in the spring. Burghley is a newer event to Badminton, running for the first time in 1961, but hosting the European championships in only its second year of competition in 1962. The event came to Burghley House by accident, following the cancellation of a competition at Harewood. The British Horse Society, who ran horse trials in those days, were invited to re-route to Burghley House.
Coming at the end of the summer, Burghley often enjoys something of an Indian summer weather wise so it can be warm. However, it can also be cool first thing in the morning and in the evenings, and sometimes cold and wet, so as with all long days out in the English countryside, you need to go prepared for all seasons in one day.
Burghley is quite a stylish event and whilst it does not have a dress code, a waxed jacket will never look out of place and will be one of the most useful things you can take. Fitted with plenty of pockets, a ladies' or gentleman’s waxed coat is practical and multi-functional as well as looking stylish and staying waterproof but breathable when it is raining. Comfortable walking boots or short boots are ideal for a long day on your feet; they will keep your feet dry if it is wet and is more comfortable to walk in for long periods than Wellington boots. A good hat is a must, flat caps for the gentleman protecting heads from sun and rain and even now for the ladies who are borrowing this look to create something stylish and feminine.
Apart from the international competition over the four days, there are plenty of other things to watch in the rings around the main arena.
There is a Pony Club show jumping competition and also a series called Burghley Young Event Horse which are classes showcasing up and coming young event horses. There are informative displays and course walks with some top names ahead of the cross country on Saturday.
There is a huge shopping village with well-known names from both the fashion and the equestrian world and trade stands selling all sorts of things from jewellery to riding safaris. The shopping area is always at its busiest on Saturday when the crowds arrive for cross country day so a smart move is to come for two days and shop on one of the quieter days which are Thursday and Friday. Burghley is the perfect place to pick up some early Christmas presents to put away for later in the year. It’s also a chance to have a sneak preview of some of the cross country fences.
Spend the whole of Saturday on the cross country course. Seeing one horse over each fence will take you most of the afternoon, the horses starting this phase usually late morning.
Tickets for all the four days plus parking can be bought at the gate or in advance if you know your plans and they are cheaper if bought ahead. It is possible to buy a season ticket for all four days. There is some free seating available in the stands on the two dressage days but pre-booked tickets will get you a better view of the competition and are essential on the last day to see the conclusion of the competition.
There is a campsite within the parkland for those who want to pitch a tent or bring a caravan. This is very popular amongst spectators who want to stay for the entire event and pitches sell out months in advance so you need to think ahead on this. It’s a great way to stay on site and have a handy base to retreat to during the day. The shopping village and food stands stay open throughout the evening and there is a real party atmosphere often complemented with some late summer sunshine.
Burghley House sits right next to the pretty town of Stamford which offers plenty of places to eat and stay. Accommodation is booked from year to year so you need to be organised with your plans if you want to dine in Stamford or find a hotel during horse trials weekend. Burghley is located next to the A1M and offers very good road access from all parts of the country. It is also conveniently close to Peterborough which does offer a range of other accommodation options and has a mainline train station.
Burghley Horse Trials is the end of summer eventing party and traditionally enjoys fine weather. It is quite distinct from its counterpart, Badminton Horse Trials, not least because the terrain in this part of Lincolnshire makes for a very different cross country experience compared to Gloucestershire. However, it shares much with Badminton in that the location is simply breathtaking and the quality of competition world class, not to forget, of course, the fabulous shopping.