Chatsworth will host the only UK leg of ERM in the UK in 2019
The Event Rider Masters (ERM) has confirmed its 2019 Calendar which will see six competitions taking place with new legs in France and Ireland and just one leg in the UK
Leg 1 - The Dodson & Horrell Chatsworth International Horse Trials GBR 11th – 12th May
Leg 2 - Internationales Wiesbadener Pfingstturnier GER 7th – 8th June
Leg 3 - Concours Complet D’Arville BEL 22nd – 23rd June
Leg 4 - Les Haras de Jardy Eventing Show FRA 13th – 14th July
Leg 5 - Millstreet International Horse Trials IRL 24th – 25th August
Leg 6 The Finale - Concours Complet International Lignières en Berry FRA 5th – 6th October
Two of the legs previously contested in the UK are not included this year with the premium Scottish event, the Land Rover Blair Castle International Horse Trials, which hosted last year’s final, and the popular Barbury International not appearing on the ERM schedule.
The organisers of Barbury have advised on social media that the event, which takes place in July, is not on the ERM list due to “the withdrawal of Barbury’s title sponsor St James’s Place after 14 years of support and changes to the balance of the ERM calendar this year. Options for the continuation of Barbury 2019 are being explored”
Launched in 2016, ERM condenses the traditional equestrian three-day event into two days and provides the world’s eventing riders with an enticing total prize-money fund of £350,000; £50,000 for the sole UK event at Chatsworth while each European leg offers €57,000.
The riders compete for the much-coveted ERM Series Championship Title and an additional £50,000 series prize fund shared by the top three riders at the end of the season. Australia's Chris Burton will be seeking to defend the title he won in 2018, edging out Great Britain's Laura Collett and New Zealand's Tim Price.
Jim O’Toole, CEO of Event Rider Masters, sees that “… our international expansion is fundamental to the continued growth of our series, both as an elite global sporting competition and as a media broadcast platform”
“2018 saw dramatic growth in the value we created for our partners and venues with 2.4 million audited television viewers and a digital community in excess of 1.3 million fans engaging with the series across multiple digital platforms. We anticipate further growth in 2019 as our world class riders compete for the unprecedented prize fund and ERM Podium glory."
