During September, October and the beginning of November, eligible horse and rider combinations have been competing for the chance to qualify for the forthcoming Dodson & Horrell National Amateur Championships, which take place at Aintree International Equestrian Centre this week (15th – 18th November 2012).

A total of 72 Dodson & Horrell National Amateur Second Rounds took place at venues all over the country and riders will now be counting down the days until the Championships start. The National Amateur Championships give amateur combinations the opportunity to contest an end of year final over four different heights of class – 90cm, 1.00m, 1.10m and 1.15m and the National Veteran Riders Championships are spilt into minor and major categories.

The Second Rounds were well attended, attracting 1,450 starters in total and all of the starting combinations were hoping to secure one of the twelve direct qualifying tickets on offer for the Championships. The National Amateur Championships promise to be hotly contested, with a total of 573 combinations having qualified across the four different heights of class.

Competition starts at 8.00am on Thursday 15th November 2012 and continues right through until the afternoon of Sunday 18th November 2012, with the Championship Finals taking place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is also evening entertainment provided on Friday and Saturday.

Sam Horrell, Marketing Director at Dodson & Horrell, said “We are looking forward to the forthcoming Dodson & Horrell National Amateur & Veteran Championships and we would like to wish all of those contesting the Championships the very best of luck.

“The Championships promise to be exciting and we are eager to see who the National Amateur & Veteran Champions of 2012 will be.”

For the full schedule and further information about the Dodson & Horrell National Amateur & Veteran Championships, please visit www.aintreeequestriancentre.co.uk