We expect owners and trainers to make their own arrangements toward their own travel and accommodation.
For horses, travel expenses are discretionary, and we will do our utmost to ameliorate these through contributions, especially where you are travelling outside your own country. Please contact Peter McNeile (+44 7850 091523 or petermcneile@gmail.com) to discuss.
First of all, we welcome every owner warmly to every event. On the Continent in particular, an appreciation of good food is an essential prerequisite for viewing your horse run, so expect the best specialités de la region.
Accommodation is not provided, but for Jumping enthusiasts weary of hotel prices around Cheltenham or Punchestown, travelling on the Continent will be a welcome surprise. Each local racecourse will advise, and likely have travel and hotel partners. Equally, our own official tour operator, Venatour, provides bespoke tours.
Prize money is paid back through your own Turf Authority account.
In France, there are over 200 cross country races each year spread across many of the provincial tracks.
In the other European countries that make up the Crystal Cup, more often than not, the racecourse is the only one in its country practising the sport. The last racecourse to create a cross country track was Cheltenham, which launched the new track in 1995.
In eastern Europe, where Jump racing is rare, there is little differentiation between cross country and orthodox steeplechasing. Pardubice has 3-4 steeplechases over the Pardubicka course in preparation for its big race each autumn, whilst the number of steeplechasers in training in Poland is less than 100, accentuating the importance of being part of the Crystal Cup challenge.
Cross country racing is a genre of the sport harking back to its origins: a match race between the two Tipperary villages of Doneraile and Buttevant, around which the entire Steeplechasing sport was created. Natural obstacles, ditches, hedges, banks and timber create a more varied race and appeal to horses for whom speed is less important than agility.
Hospitality can be purchased at each racecourse, often on the day itself. Check out the racecourse contact numbers and make a call.
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