Best Area in UK for Eventing?

atropa

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Just a bit of a musing thread really..at some point in the future I'd like to buy a horse to start some low level BE with, but don't want to start looking for anything yet as there is a high possibility I might have to move before the end of the year. This got me thinking, if you could choose to live anywhere in the UK, money no object (in my dreams :D), based on facilities for eventing training, where would you move to?
I'm thinking somewhere near to decent gallops/cross country courses for hire, good hilly hacking, proximity to decent trainers and events. Anything else you would look for?

I'm currently in Central Scotland, and find that there doesn't really seem to me as much opportunity to train in BE as there is in England, is that generally the case or am I just not looking in the right places? Would love to hear everyone's thoughts. :)
 

Golden_Match_II

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I always feel a bit annoyed as events aren't necessarily the perfect distance, but we are on the Oxon/Berks border and to be honest tick most of those boxes! We live next to the ridgeway, so hilly hacking, near Lambourn so LOTS of gallops, 20mins from Boomerang and an hour from Lyneham so lots of facilities to XC school, and an hour from Addington and just over an hour from Summerhouse and West Wilts. And there are lots of trainers near us too. So I guess Oxfordshire and Berkshire really aren't that bad!
 

RachelFerd

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Gloucestershire is great for having events, plenty of SJ and dressage competition centres... however, it is missing a decent place to go XC schooling.

Where I am in east anglia probably actually has better XC schooling opportunities... just worse for everything else!!
 

glamourpuss

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I'd say that where I am (just outside Bury St Eds) is pretty spot on. I've previously lived/competed in Staffordshire & Lancashire.
Plenty of gallops (the home of horse racing is in Newmarket) loads of XC training facilities (Herringswell, Ely, Poplar, Stratford Hills, Gt Witch, Waresley - then there's also Keysoe & Milton Keynes)
There are also plenty of good show jumping/dressage places (forest Edge, The Jays, Topthorn)
Trainer wise again absolutely plenty including Sharon Hunt, Caroline Powell, Tiny Clapham, Phoebe Buckley.
Not forgetting that there are 3 excellent huge vet centres, rumour has it that for many years Newmarket Equine Hospital had a better MRI scanner than BSE hospital :D
Within a 2 hours drive you can enter a minimum of 1 event a month.
The only thing it's missing is hills :(
 

LEC

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I have amazing facilities and I am totally spoilt on M5 corridor in Somerset.
3 competition centres with indoors within 20 mins.
5 competition centres excluding above with large outdoors within an hour.
2 specialist places which run BS outdoors on grass within 45 mins.
4 Xc courses within 45 mins and another to open in the summer.
Tonnes of BE events within 2 hours, loads of BD and BE.
If I could be bothered to travel for BD or BS further then a lot more are thrown.
I have a great location and pretty much something on every weekend if I wanted, picking what to attend can be tough. Also access to good training.
15 mins from the beach.
15 mins from lots of hills.
Downside my hacking is not great but tolerable.
 
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PolarSkye

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Hampshire/Surrey border ;). You are on the doorstep of everything l.

This. We have several great affiliated competition venues within a 90-minute drive (Mattingley, Tweseldown, Ascot under Wychwood, Smiths Lawn, Borde Hill, BCA, Larkhill, Stratfield Saye/Heckfield, etc.), great XC schooling, decent indoor dressage and SJ venues for training in the off season (Oldencraig, Crofton Manor, Wellington Riding, etc.), and racehorse gallops to do fast work. Lovely off-road hacking too :).

P
 

Charmin

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Cheshire/Shropshire area without a doubt! So many venues. Somerford, kelsall, Stafford, berriewood, llanymynech etc etc.
 

FireFly29

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If you look on the BE fixtures map quite a few events seem to be around Gloucestershire and the midlands, there's also quite a few professional riders based in those areas so I'd chose to be there if I could.
 

DollyPentreath

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Depends if you weigh up perfect location based on facilities, events etc, then added house prices into the mix!! Where I live in East Anglia we can afford about 7-10 acres, in Gloucestershire I think we'd be looking at 1! I feel a spreadsheet matrix coming on.. ;)

(I know, I know; money no object!)
 

noname

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Depends if you weigh up perfect location based on facilities, events etc, then added house prices into the mix!! Where I live in East Anglia we can afford about 7-10 acres, in Gloucestershire I think we'd be looking at 1! I feel a spreadsheet matrix coming on.. ;)

(I know, I know; money no object!)
Haha, so true. I'm on the gloucs border and always feel skint, not to mention envy of the rich and famous! 😜
 

atropa

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This is great guys, really interesting! Although it is conforming my thoughts that eventing facilities in England are ten times better than Scotland.
Dolly definitely a spreadsheet could be interesting as obviously if I ever did move money would most certainly be an object :p was also thinking of printing a map of the UK, and using colour coded dots to mark different things i.e. yellow for gallops, green for XC courses..I lead a very sad life! :p
 

armchair_rider

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Haha, so true. I'm on the gloucs border and always feel skint, not to mention envy of the rich and famous! ��

Same problem in Berks/Ox. And I reckon the cost of living is probably higher here than in Gloucstershire.

One thing nobody seems to have mentioned yet is the ease of travelling if one does need to go further afield, I think Berkshire ish score quite highly there too whereas East Anglia probably wouldn't.
 
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