Eventing Spring Carnival at Thoresby Park 2026 – order or view Cross Country Videos here
The Eventing Spring Carnival at Thoresby Park (2nd – 5th April 2026) is the first international event on the British eventing calendar and it is always chock-a-block with top riders and horses.
It is a great chance to see combinations from many countries kicking off a season during which the Spring CCI5*’s and selection for multiple Championships will be front of mind.
The CCI4*-S usually runs across two sections with one featuring the Lycett’s Grantham Cup; last year’s winners were Tom McEwen riding JL Dublin and Laura Collett on Dacapo while Gemma Stevens had to settle for being the bridesmaid – in both classes! Gemma finished second in the Grantham Cup class on Jalapeno III, who retired later in the year after a very successful career, and second on Chilli King in the other CCI4* class.
Tom won the Leading Rider bonus prize, which makes a return this year at both Thoresby and Osberton (1). Through a partnership with Succeed, a new Leading Rider prize is being created at both fixtures, offering leading riders, a bonus £1,000. Placing points will be awarded to each rider, with the riders accumulating the post points at the event being awarded the cash bonus.
Continuing the theme of leading riders, Lycetts will once again be awarding a £1,000 bonus to the highest placed Lycetts insured rider in the Grantham Cup.
As well as a CCI3*-S and CCI2*-S at international level, the event is very popular at national level, with the Advanced, Intermediate and Novice sections also drawing huge entries and big names. This year there is also an Advanced U25, perfect for those aiming for the inaugural FEI Eventing World U25 Championship later in the year.
As course designer Stuart Buntine told us recently, the cross country will run in the same direction as last year with a few tweaks and there are plans for a new 4* track next year.
Entries are now open with a Ballot Date of March 3rd. Get those entries in!
