Bolesworth celebrates another summer of world-class showjumping

Few sporting settings in the North West can rival the view at Bolesworth. With the castle rising above the parkland near Tattenhall, the Al Shira'aa Bolesworth International once again brought international showjumping to the Cheshire countryside this summer, staged across two long weekends at the turn of June and July.

The showpiece moment came under the lights on a Saturday night, when Jack Whitaker produced what British Showjumping described as a masterclass in jump-off riding to win the Al Shira'aa CSI4* Grand Prix aboard D&H Valmy De La Lande. Forty-four horse-and-rider combinations from seven nations tackled a testing 1.55m track designed by Raf Suarez, and thirteen went clear. Whitaker's tight turns and bold gallop to the final vertical stopped the clock in 41.64 seconds, a narrow 0.62-second margin ahead of Annie Salthouse on Elati, with Evie Toombes third on If Evers Boy.

Earlier in the show, the Al Shira'aa CSI3* Grand Prix turned into a family affair as Trevor Breen denied his brother Shane to take the title.

Bolesworth has always been about more than the sport alone. This year's programme also featured the puissance, the ever-popular Shetland Pony Grand National, liberty displays from horseman Ben Atkinson, live music, ringside hospitality and automotive displays ranging from classic car parades to supercars. In a generous gesture to neighbours, the estate offered free entry and parking to residents with CH3 9 postcodes on weekdays and Sundays.

The event is the most visible face of an estate with deep Cheshire roots. Bolesworth Castle was bought in 1856 by Robert Barbour, a Scottish businessman whose cotton textile firm was based in Manchester, and it has remained in the Barbour family ever since. Anthony Barbour, who inherited the 6,000-acre estate in 1989, transformed it into a home for small businesses while modernising its farms, and equestrian events took root at Bolesworth around the time of his death in 2007.

Today the estate is cared for by his widow, Diana, and their daughter Nina Barbour, who is director of the estate. Under the family's stewardship, Bolesworth has grown into a varied rural business, with residential homes, commercial units and the Chowley Oak Business Park at Tattenhall sitting alongside a calendar of equestrian, fashion and family events.

For Cheshire's horse-loving community, the International has become a fixture of the summer, a chance to watch some of the best riders in the sport at close quarters without leaving the county.

Details of future events at the estate can be found at bolesworth.com.