The End of an Era…

This August was the last time we hosted the horse trials, we have been hosting the event since 1977 and it became an international event in 1989. 35 years at the top of the game in terms of Scottish equestrian events and what a journey it’s been. We are delighted that the event in its essence has been taken on by Scone Palace so the event will remain in Perthshire and with many of the same players behind the scenes.

As it was our final year we were determined to go out in style and it ended up being the one of the biggest events we have ever had; the numbers were: 2,200 horses over 4 days, 60,000 attendants, 200 trade stands and a bar bill in excess of a hundred grand. It was quite wet though and the ground is fairly hammered and will take a lot of investment to get it back into quality pasture land.

The 4 star long was won by local hero Wills Oakden and rather wonderfully his aunt Frances Hay-Smith won the first international in ’89. So we were very pleased that we ended with a local winner competing amongst quite a few Olympians. On the last night of the event the staff, volunteers and the farm all had an emotional get together and farewell, exhausted but full of a sense of achievement we said goodbye to the event.

A special thanks to Nicky Townshend for her 12 years at the top of the event, always resilient and good fun. We are all going to miss her presence.

Bertie Troughton

Scone Palace International Horse Trials

Scone Palace, in partnership with British Eventing, will host a new CCI4*-L horse trials event from August 2025 – the Scone Palace International Horse Trials. We wish them the best of luck, and we can’t wait to come to the event next summer. To find out more, head to their website below.