THE Princess Royal's daughter Zara Phillips the two most recent Badminton winners will be at Stockland Lovell, near Fiddington, next weekend. This year's Badminton winner Pippa Funnell, William Fox-Pitt, who won in 2004, and Miss Phillips are all members of the squad representing Great Britain at the European Championships in September. Pippa will be riding Primmore's Pride, the only horse in the world to have won the horse trials 'grand slam' - Burghley, Kentucky and Badminton. The horse was bred at North Newton, near Bridgwater, by Roger and Joanna Day. Olympic gold medallist, Matt Ryan, along with his wife Marie, will be present, and another well-known husband and wife team - Andrew, who won Burghley last year, and Bettina Hoy will be there, as will Ireland's Austin O'Connor and Rodney Powell. Stockland Lovell Horse Trials - dressage, show jumping and cross country - will be taking place over Friday and Saturday, July 15 and 16. The intermediate classes, in which many of the top riders will be taking part, will be on Friday, and on Saturday they will be riding their more novice horses. Also on Friday, British eventing's selectors will be on hand to choose the junior squad for 2006. This year's under 21s squad will be competing at intermediate level as a practice run for the Junior European Championships in August. For dressage buffs, they will be doing an FEI* test, which features some intricate and advanced movements. The show jumping course will be surrounded by trade stands and catering outlets, and the prizes will be awarded by John Horgon, of Tincknell Mitsubishi, who are the major sponsors of this event. Admission is free. Call 01278 652224 for directions or further details.
