Venue to focus on ‘world-class’ training offering as it steps away from British Eventing

Keysoe International will concentrate on being a “world-class” training venue, as it steps away from hosting British Eventing (BE) competitions.

Yesterday (26 October) BE said it had been told Keysoe will no longer be in the BE calendar from 2022 onwards, adding BE will be looking at alternative options for replacement fixtures. This year Keysoe held three events; in May, August, and an international in July. Before the pandemic, when the venue was under its previous owner, it also hosted BE arena eventing competitions.

In a statement a spokesman for Keysoe International said whatever the venue does, it wants to do “really well”.

“Of all the events we run, eventing does not make any money, and food and drink sales are also poor, plus very high overheads. We often use food and drink sales to subsidise our costs to keep the equine community able to use this facility,” she said.

“Keysoe has never been a venue to attract substantial footfall numbers and this won’t change either, so it’s not a matter of more marketing. We are therefore left with reserving 80% of our total land for what equates to eight days of competitions a year at a financial loss. We cannot run competitions and training on the same ground due to being clay based. We are therefore now concentrating on Keysoe International being a world-class training venue for eventing, rather than for eventing competitions.”

The spokesman added that all jumps will have all-weather take-off and landing pads, and many new fences have been commissioned.

“We also now have four large water complexes. We will be running all levels of cross-country clinics and camps, as well as schooling sessions,” she said.

“We will be offering the opportunity to train with professional and Olympic riders when the season starts again. This may not be a popular decision with all but the important focus is to make sure Keysoe International stays as an equestrian elite centre with good financial management and top-level upkeep.”

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