Posted: 30th July 2015 | Back to news feed
Olympic gold medallist Peter Charles believes that the inaugural Liverpool International Horse Show will provide a showcase for the sport.
A glittering, star-studded launch to the 2016 Olympic year is guaranteed when the world's top showjumpers converge on the Liverpool Echo Arena from January 1-3 - and Liverpool-born Charles believes it will be an event and an occasion to savour.
It is barely a month since the curtain fell on a spectacularly-successful Ashford Farm CSI**** Bolesworth International, the brainchild of show president and owner Nina Barbour, whose visionary direction now turns to Liverpool, where Barbour and her team will focus on trademark meticulous preparation and masterful delivery of a major new event on the world showjumping calendar.
And it has also been confirmed that the Liverpool spectacular will run at prestigious four-star level, including six world-ranking classes, across six sessions of world-class sport and entertainment.
"It's brilliant," said Charles, who was a member of Great Britain's London 2012 Olympic champion showjumping team at Greenwich Park alongside Scott Brash, Ben Maher and Nick Skelton.
"I didn't think something like this would happen in my lifetime in Liverpool. I would never have dreamt it.
"I was there for the launch event in June, and when you are there, you see the venue and what it can be, then for sure it is very impressive.
"We need shows like this one in the cities - we need showcases for the sport. Nina has a vision, and with this show and Bolesworth she has shown what can be done."
Acts like Duran Duran, Status Quo, Jimmy Carr and Michael McIntyre will headline the venue later this year, but it will all be about horsepower on New Year's Day, which follows a glittering New Year's Eve party on the Liverpool waterfront.
Nina Barbour said: "Liverpool is world-famous for its sporting and entertainment heritage, and we want to put the city on the map as a centre of excellence for showjumping.
"We are really proud to be working with such a go-ahead city, and we hope we will become a key feature of Liverpool's sporting and entertainment calendar."
Scheduled two weeks after the London International Horse Show ends at Olympia, and taking place before many riders head off to America for the Florida Winter Festival, Liverpool promises to attract a host of the world's leading performers.
Each session at Liverpool will also feature performances from the Bootleg Beatles, stunt rider Clemence Faivre and a Shetland Pony Grand National, in addition to a magnificent on-site shopping village, fine dining and much more.
Tickets for the hottest New Year's show around are available online at www.liverpoolhorseshow.com/
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