CHESTER arrives on the international showjumping scene this summer.

The Charles Stanley British Masters at Chester Racecourse is to become one of only five international showjumping competitions within the UK, and will be the first new international competition to hit UK turf in the last 10 years.

Following the success of last year’s British Masters Showjumping, this year’s event has been raised to category FEI3* international status, to attract even more international and British riders to jump for the £120,000 prize money.

As Chester Racecourse has one of the best surfaces on the international showjumping circuit, it has become the only city, and competition, chosen by British Showjumping to use as the official destination for the Great Britain team in their preparation for the 2012 Olympics.Š

To cement this agreement, an official Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by British Showjumping, the North West Development Agency (NWDA) and Chester Race Company to use the Charles Stanley British Masters as their venue of choice for their Olympic training ground.

The Charles Stanley British Masters Showjumping has been three years in the making and has been the passion and vision of Chester Racecourse who wanted to create a world class showjumping event in the North of England. Richard Thomas, Chief Executive of Chester Racecourse said: “Chester Race Company is proud to have created the British Masters and is delighted that in just its third year, the event has achieved International status. Our partners shared our vision to create World Class Showjumping in Chester and the 2010 event is indeed exciting as we see those dreams come to fruition.”

Peter Mearns, executive director of marketing and communications at the North West Development Agency added: “We have been working with Chester Race Company to build the British Masters into a full international event and I am delighted this has come to fruition.”

Maria Clayton, head of communications at British Showjumping, added: “Our partners Northwest Development Agency, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Chester Racecourse have understood to sport’s needs and understanding how they can be integrated into their own.”