In August 2023, Coate PR set up a two-part feature with ITV News West Country presenter Sabet Choudhury that focused on celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing which took place at Gatcombe Park. The series was a light hearted interview with Captain Mark Phillips and his children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips who reminisced on the memories they had of the famous Gatcombe Park horse trials.
Coate PR began the initial inception of the interview at the beginning of the year with our established contacts at ITV.
Pre recorded at Gatcombe, Gloucestershire in the infamous park bowl overlooking Gatcombe House, the focus of the two part series discussed how it evolved over the past four decades and how it became such an intrinsic part of the Phillips’ family.
The event took place in the beautiful parkland at Gatcombe House and was started by HRH The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips in 1983 ‘to give something back’ to the sport they loved and soon became one of the most popular events in the equestrian calendar.
The Festival always was a family event. Peter Phillips took over the role of Event Director in the events fourth decade and his father, Captain Mark Phillips was the Chairman and Cross Country Course Designer.
The first weekend in August saw competitors of the highest calibre contesting no less than five National Eventing Championship titles: The Magic Millions British Open, the Evelyn Partners British Intermediate Championship, the Dodson & Horrell British Novice Championship, the TopSpec Challenge for The Corinthian Cup and the RoR/NTF Retrained Racehorse Event Championship. With so many Championship titles on offer, The Festival was a true showcase for all levels of eventing.
During the interview, Captain Mark Phillips, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall look back over some images from across the years, that you can see below.
You can watch the full interview with Captain Mark Phillips, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall here:
In early 2024 the event announced that, due to the current economic climate, it was unviable for it to go ahead. We hope reflecting on this special event will bring back many memories that the loyal spectators, volunteers and organising team had over the four decades.