Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials is delighted to announce that Agria, provider of the UK’s only lifetime equine insurance, will become title sponsor of Blenheim for three years from 2025.
Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials is a CCI4*-L and 8 and 9 year old CCI4*-S event involving dressage, cross country and show jumping. The event runs over four days (this year from 19 to 22 September) and began in 1990. Previous winners read as a who’s who of eventing, including many of the greatest names in the sport. This line up includes Pippa Funnell, William Fox-Pitt, Yasmin Ingham and last year, Paris Olympic Team gold medallist, and now Burghley winner Ros Canter.
The Horse Trials runs each September in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, and hosts around 200 competitors across its four-star competitions. In 2005 Blenheim also hosted the European Eventing Championships won by Britain’s Zara Tindall née Phillips. Alongside the elite sport, more than 800 grassroots riders contest the well-established Riding and Pony Club Eventer Challenges, and Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Southern Regional Championships.
“I have been impressed with Agria’s game-changing policies and how horse owners have embraced Agria and its unique lifetime equine insurance since it was launched in the UK two years ago. So, we could not be more delighted to welcome the company as our title sponsor next year,” says Katrina Midgley, Event Organiser of Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials on behalf of Stable Events. “Agria’s three-year sponsorship commitment demonstrates its strong support for Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials and the wider sport of eventing. We look forward to working closely with a partner that has horse welfare at its core.”
Vicki Wentworth, Chief Executive of Agria UK — herself a keen amateur event rider — added: “As a Swedish-born company which insured its first animal, a horse, over 130 years ago, we’re very proud to be joining Blenheim as the title sponsor in what will be the 35th anniversary of its first event.
“We are a company that believes in giving every horse access to the best possible protection and veterinary care. So, we’re delighted to be supporting an event which hosts horses ranging from Olympians to family fun horses and former racehorses — and we are already a partner of RoR,” she added. “We very much look forward to helping Blenheim thrive over the coming years.”
Agria’s passion and support for eventing is already well-established, as series sponsor of the BE100 League, fence sponsors at Burghley and Badminton, and of riders Ros Canter and Kirsty Chabert.
Ros Canter said of the news: “As the most recent winner of Blenheim, and a big fan of Agria’s lifetime equine insurance already, I am really thrilled that Agria is becoming title sponsor of Blenheim. It is an event that we riders really value as we produce our top horses. I hope that Blenheim thrives in partnership with Agria.”
Find out more about Agria here.