There will be no CSIO5* Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ at Hickstead this year either, the organisers have announced today. Due to the ongoing Covid situation and restrictions on international travel, the organisers have made the decision to run the traditional Royal International Horse Show under a new format for this season. 

The Royal International Horse Show – which normally attract crowds of up to 50.000 across six days – was supposed to host several CSIO5* classes, including the Longines King George V Gold Cup and the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Great Britain. The Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Great Britain was scheduled as one of seven legs in Europe Division 1 this year. 

A statement from the organisers reads: 

"For this year only, the Royal International Horse Show (20-25 July) will run as a two-star international event, with showjumping classes aimed at British-based riders. The national classes at this show, such as the British Showjumping Winter Finals, will remain part of the fixture, and the Science Supplements BHS Queen Elizabeth II Cup moves to the premier position of Sunday afternoon to form the feature class of the show.

The showing classes will run as normal, with a range of different sections and classes concluding in Sunday’s supreme championships."

“We had so hoped to return to normality for this season, but the ongoing uncertainty combined with restrictions on travel made it impossible to run the Royal International in its usual format,” said Hickstead Director Lizzie Bunn in the statement. “Having already made the decision to run the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting as a national show, it’s so disappointing to also have to cancel our showcase classes from our July fixture – however the cost implications of staging a five-star international event under restricted conditions made it unviable. In addition, we normally welcome athletes from the leading showjumping nations around the world to compete at this event, but this was not going to be possible without seriously affecting all the other rings and classes.”