An Eventful Life is filming all competitors on cross country at
Kelsall Hill International (1) 2021 - order or view videos here
Kelsall Hill in Cheshire should have run its first International class in April 2020 but, like so many other events it fell victim to Covid-19, so this week celebrates their first International eventing fixture with both a CCI3*-S and CCI2*-S being run
Sadly, it is being run without spectators, so the general public won’t get to see this amazing facility that the Lathams have created in the past two years.
Kelsall Hill Equestrian Centre has always been an excellent venue with courses designed by Captain Mark Phillips and built by Dominic Lawrence, good going due to the sandy soil and undulating land that offers great gallops and viewing, but the recent addition of large and outdoor indoor arenas has made this a premier venue in the north of England
As well as the International classes, this week’s event, which starts on Thursday with the first of the 3* dressage, will host Advanced Intermediate, Open Intermediate, Novice and Open Novice, BE100 and Open classes and BE90 and Open classes
Oliver Townend is a regular competitor here as it is his ‘local’ event but obviously he is busy at a little event across the water. However there are still some very big names and our pick of the ones to watch in the CCI3*-S have to be Piggy March riding I Diablo Joe, hot off a win at Burnham Market International, and Ros Canter on Izilot DHI - both ladies also have various other very good horses across the classes
Tom Jackson is also on very good form and will be bringing the 2020 British Eventing 7-Year-Old Champion HH Moonwalk as well as South of England Open Intermediate winner, Forest Gump 124. Ben Hobday, Bubby Upton and Hayden Hankey are others to keep an eye out for too plus Carl Hester’s ex-dressage, now eventing, horse Goldfinger ridden by New Zealand’s James Avery
In the CCI2*, some of our favourites are Willa Newton riding Just Soda No Ice, another British Eventing Champion who won the 4-Year-Old class in 2017, Emily King on Imposant and Bubby Upton on the gorgeous Cooley As Ice, who finished third in the British Eventing 6-Year-Old Championship last year.
