An Eventful Life is filming all competitors at Alnwick Ford International Horse Trials – order or view cross country videos here
19-year-old Jago Jackson is in the hunt for the Northumberland Challenge CCI3* prize pot at Alnwick Ford (1) International Horse Trials this week (24th – 26th June 2026) but he is going to face some stiff competition.
Jago and Barrington Highlight K, winners of the CCI3*-S at Belsay International, the first leg of the Northumberland Challenge, return to try and take their second win of the series at Alnwick Ford but Tom McEwen has also returned to Northumberland with not one but four horses in the Houghton Country CCI3*-S – Brookfield Future News, Isa, CHF Cooliser and Brookfield In The Spotlight.
Tom won the first CCI2* leg of the Northumberland Challenge at Belsay with Brookfield In The Spotlight but will be contesting the N.I.S Ltd CCI2*-S at Alnwick Ford with GHS Diamantina, which keeps him in the running for the series win, as it can be won on any horse. Jago is also competing in this class on Cooley Top Boy, winner of the 2* class here last year and both riders will be up against top northern riders Katie Magee, Wills Oakden and Jack Mantel.
With prize-pots of £5,000 (CCI3*-S, sponsored by An Eventful Life) and £4,000 (CCI2*-S, supported by N.I.S Ltd) up for grabs for the athlete who can win each of these classes at the three Northumbrian international horse trials - Belsay, Alnwick Ford and Burgham (30 July-2 August) - it is well worth Gloucestershire-based Tom and Oxfordshire-based Jago bringing a lorryful of horses apiece to Alnwick Ford.
The event starts on Thursday with dressage for the CCI3* and CCI2* sections, with both classes completing with showjumping and cross country on Friday 25th.
The CCI1*-S takes place on Saturday and Sunday and there are a raft of national level BE classes taking place from Friday to Sunday, plus Pony Club sections with several four- and five-star horses featuring in the Open Intermediate section. Former world number one and nine-times CCI5* winner Oliver Townend is bringing 10 young horses to compete in the Novice and BE100 classes, taking advantage of the excellent facilities, ground preparation and educational David Evans-designed cross-country courses at Alnwick Ford.
Event organiser Craig Anderson said: “We’ve got brilliant entries, and it’s exciting that both of the live contenders in the Northumberland Challenge are coming to Alnwick Ford, alongside many other top riders and a large number of local competitors at all levels. We are working very hard to produce the best possible footing - we will be using the appropriate machines to work on the ground and are watering all field of play areas. We have excellent grass cover and have had rain in the past few days, including on Monday.”
We’ll be on the ground filming all competitors at Alnwick Ford so keep an eye on our socials for video snippets and check back for updates from across the classes!
