New Venue For Horse Of The Year Show

Grandstand Media Ltd, organisers of Horse of the Year Show announced today that, from 2002, this annual prestigious equestrian event will be staged at a new venue.

An initial two year agreement has been signed between Grandstand Media and the National Exhibition Centre (N.E.C) in Birmingham with the first event at the new venue taking place from Wednesday 9th to Sunday 13th October 2002.

The Horse of the Year Show was established at Harringay Arena in 1949 and due to lack of space, moved to Wembley Arena ten years later. Now once again the lack of guaranteed space at the Wembley Complex, coupled with the impending redevelopment of the stadium, has forced the organisers to secure the future of the event at the N.E.C.

Mark Wein, a director of Grandstand Media commented:
"Unfortunately the venue management at Wembley were unable to give us the necessary guarantees that sufficient space would be available to accommodate Horse of the Year Show. We were therefore left with no alternative other than to find a new home for the show and we were delighted that the N.E.C were extremely keen to host the event. The move to Birmingham not only secures the event for 2002 and beyond, but also gives us the welcome opportunity to continue to develop this national sporting icon."

Horse of the Year Show is an event to which all horse owners and riders aspire. It is the pinnacle of equestrianism in this country and is renowned worldwide for its unique blend of showing, show jumping and innovative equestrian entertainment.

The decision to change the venue for Horse of the Year Show was recently endorsed by the British Show Jumping Association, who licence the event to Grandstand Media.

Grandstand Media took over the management of the event in 1997 and have been successful in developing all areas of the show to such an extent that audiences have doubled over the last four years. Grandstand Media recently took up an option to manage the event for a further ten years commencing with the 2002 show.

"With the extended seating capacity, increased trade stand space and the N.E.C's central location we feel that this move will not only be successful but will prove popular with both the competitors and visitors alike" commented Mark Wein.

www.hoys.co.uk.