Sponsors jump on board at Devon’s leading competition venue
Bicton Arena in East Devon has announced a roster of new sponsors for the 2018 season with April’s International competition and its July grassroots– both run under the British Eventing banner – already full. Long term partners have agreed to carry on their support and new sponsors coming on board.
Plans are afoot to double prize money in some BE classes, and increase it to 15th place in April’s open intermediate, in order to draw more competitors to the Westcountry.
Sponsorship manager Beccy Barrett said: “We’re delighted that Bicton Arena is attracting a range of different types of sponsors which helps as we continue to build the venue as a premier competition arena for the Westcountry.
"We’re constantly raising the bar to encourage people to travel to Devon to compete and we offer good incentives like increased prize money in some classes for our competitors and additional prizes for owners and grooms. We also include party nights for those staying here, and we’re looking into offering a much improved food offering for next spring.”
But Beccy is hoping more sponsors will come forward to supports its prestigious five-day British Showjumping show in May when a host of stars head to the venue to take part in an array of classes.
“We’ve had a terrific response to our British Eventing competitions, and we now need to get this same enthusiasm behind our British Showjumping shows that run from April until November. We have some fantastic classes including Horse of the Year qualifiers, a prestigious Area Trial and numerous Grand Prix.”
Bicton Arena hosts unaffiliated and affiliated competitions every weekend throughout the year with training and clinics also taking place regularly at the venue.
This year it staged the prestigious Petplan Area Final for first time dressage and stepped in at the last minute to hold British Showjumping second round qualifiers.
Its busy winter season is in full swing with unaffiliated dressage and its first Arena Eventing competition on Sunday, January 28. The Everys Arena is available for schooling over showjumps, and the Western Counties Arena for cross country.
