Member Article

Record Visitor Figures and International Success at Bolesworth

The world’s leading riders gathered in the glorious sunshine last weekend at Bolesworth International, the international showjumping event held at Bolesworth Castle in the heart of Cheshire. Over 30,000 visitors, the highest number in the show’s 7 year history enjoyed the now world-renowned equestrian competition. There were 13 nations competing including major names of the sport such as British Olympic gold medallist Nick Skelton, former World Champion Dermot Lennon, and eight members of the famous showjumping family, The Whitakers.

The international riders were not the only famous faces at the show over the weekend. The opening ceremony included a performance from ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ finalists MD Dance troupe, a parade of all 13 nations involved and a display of Olympians on horseback in the International Arena; with London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist Nick Skelton taking the reins for a quick lesson in four in hand carriage driving from World Champion Boyd Exell. Finally footballer Michael Owen took a break from World Cup action cut the ribbon to open the show, attending with his wife Louise, a keen horsewoman.

The School’s Out marquee was a big success on the first day of the event with organised groups of school children gaining free entry into the show learning forestry skills, building a sustainable village in the grounds of the Bolesworth Estate over the show period and enjoying activities with the Wildlife Trust and getting the chance to ride the mechanical horse with Cheshire Racing Hub.

Families flocked to the show over the four days to experience the excitement of the equestrian spectacle and to have some hands-on fun with over 30 different animal species including camels, reptiles, parrots and there were even a few famous faces involved in the much-loved dog show.

Riders and visitors also competed with screaming fans on the Friday evening, to be thoroughly entertained with a live concert from boy band Blue as they performed in the grounds of Bolesworth Castle.

Duncan from Blue commented:

‘We had such an amazing time at Bolesworth International this weekend, what a setting and what a place, we saw the best of Cheshire and the crowd were incredible’

As the sun shone for a fourth day the competition was fierce on the final day as the much anticipated Redrow Grand Prix got underway on Sunday; this was the event with the largest prize fund of £30,000. It was won by William Whitaker, a member of the famous show jumping family. He and his horse, Upperclass, a 13-year-old landed the top prize, with Olympian Nick Skelton and his stallion Aristio finishing in 2nd, and local rider Robert Bevis (Pebbles IV) claiming 3rd.

Bolesworth International also supported two children’s’ charities during the event, Caudwell Children and Claire House, and raised over £25,000 over the four days for terminally ill children in the North West.

Trudi Beswick, Chief Executive at Caudwell Children, said:

“The response to our presence on site was fantastic. We not only raised awareness of the services that we provide, but also secured an incredible amount of money to help us provide equipment, therapies, treatments, holidays, short breaks and advice to children and their families. We can’t thank Bolesworth International enough for giving us this opportunity and, hopefully, this is just the start of a fantastic relationship.”

Hundreds of guests from the business community were entertained by Malcolm Walker, Chief Executive of Iceland Foods and star of TV reality show ‘Life in the Freezer’, during the business lunch on Friday.

Malcolm Walker said of the event:

“The Bolesworth International event exceeded my expectations in almost every respect, and it was a huge pleasure to talk to such a distinguished and attentive audience at Friday’s Business Lunch. I enjoyed it immensely, and many people were kind enough to say that they did, too. The fact that the event takes place literally next door to where I live was an added bonus! I’d like to congratulate Nina Barbour and her team on their great success to date and wish them much more of it in the future.”

The event has been hailed a huge success not only in Cheshire but around the world and the team is already planning an even more ambitious event for 2015.

Nina Barbour, Show President and Owner of Bolesworth International said:

“My family and the team behind the Bolesworth International want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came to Bolesworth over the four days including competitors, both national and international and of course our wonderful sponsors, all of whom helped create this spectacular, world-class event.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Laura Young .