British three-day-eventers got a boost from an unlikely source this year and there will be plenty of “cheers” going around. Former British motoring TV series Top Gear presenter and controversial figure Jeremy Clarkson, creator of Hawkstone, a premium lager and cider brand, is sponsoring the 2023 BEDE Events season. The Nottingham-based BEDE Events company manages 15 horse trials and shows in the UK from March through October.
As a show of good sport, Clarkson addressed the riders entered at an event earlier in the month, writing in a letter to competitors, “As a compensation for your bravery – or is it lunacy? – should things not go to plan this weekend and you get eliminated or fall off I will offer you a free case of beer, cider, or vodka to drown your sorrows.”
According to a release, Hawkstone will provide the official “watering hole” at all BEDE events this year. Clarkson also added in his letter, “What I do recognize is that all you eventers do indeed share a great passion of mine, that is the British countryside, preserving it, nurturing it and making the most of it.” Clarkson grows the ingredients for his brews at his own property, known as Didley Squat Farms, in Oxfordshire.
Unfortunately, due to an unusual snowfall the first event on the calendar, Oasby 1, had to be abandoned on the grounds of safety, so the free booze offer will have to wait for another day.
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