‘There’s More Terrain Than Any 5* in the World’: Take a Tour of Bicton’s One-Off Track with Captain Mark Phillips

We’re now just a scant fortnight away from the start of the Chedington Bicton International CCI5* (2-5 September), and already, the event has made history: it’s the only one-off five-star that’s ever been held. That also makes it one of the few positive legacies left by the pandemic, which has forced the hand of many established events and put them on the shelf until normalcy is returned. After the sad cancellation of both Badminton and Burghley for the second consecutive year, Britain faced the unwelcome prospect of an achingly long 32-month stretch without a five-star on home turf — but Bicton Arena’s forward-thinking team, helmed by new British Eventing CEO Helen West, had other ideas. They’d already managed to turn their popular venue, which is based on the Devon coast and hosts competitions across the disciplines, into a CCI4*-L so they could step in to fill the void left by Bramham back in June. Taking the next step would take significant resources — as well as some seriously savvy use of the space available — but they were determined to get the job done.

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*Article written by: Tilly Berendt *