CIAT BEAMISH 18-19 JULY 2026
Report by Sarah Dance
A visit to the Beamish Open Air Museum in County Durham means stepping back in time and entering another world.
Beamish is the ‘other’ northern event in the British AIAT calendar and like Glamis in Scotland, it’s organised by the Lanni family. It also benefits from being supported by the Ross family and the management at Beamish who help in organising the stabling and much of the infrastructure. For Beamish’s CEO, Rhiannon Hiles CBE, whose partner Chris Thompson is vital to the smooth running of the event, the CIAT weekend complements the summer programme of activities and is a spectacle for visitors to enjoy.
The showfield where much of the event is based is adjacent to the Fun Fair, and not far from the home of the steam trains. It gives the steady stream of onlookers who stop by and watch the driving another interesting element to their day out. Richard Lanni provided an informative commentary so that those watching understood what was going on.
Due to the space available, the entry at Beamish tends to be capped and from 11 who were due to come, 10 came forward. Drivers, horses, ponies and supporters travelled from as far afield as Essex, Bedfordshire and various parts of Scotland and set up their camps on Friday afternoon.
Furthest travelled was Belgian judge Stephan Lecluyse, an AIAT specialist who has also been a successful competitor. The other judges were Sharon Wootton, who was President of the Jury, and Sarah Dance.
The informal Friday night gathering was in the ‘period pub’, and the museum staff looked after the guests, serving Pimms then fish and chips, finishing with ice cream.
The Presentation
As POJ Sharon was the first to cast her eye over each turnout, before they moved round the showfield to Stephan then Sarah. It was a little overcast but then the drizzle started, which hadn’t been forecast, so took everyone by surprise. It’s always a shame when a turnout gets wet, after the many hours of work in preparing. But the spirits weren’t dampened and the judging progressed apace.
The standard, as is typical of British events, was high overall. Once the scores were totted up and averaged by scorer Andrew Tilley, there was a new name as presentation winner – Martin Wilkinson driving Sebastian, a 25-year-old Welsh Section C, to a Pickering Float, using a set of harness he made himself.
The results were announced at the Gala Dinner on Saturday night, and Martin’s surprise and delight were a highlight of the weekend. His score of 6.42 was just ahead of Gilly Chippendale’s 6.92; Joyce Simpson was third with 9.17.
The Routier
For the Routier on Saturday afternoon, the rain had stopped and some blue sky even peaked through the clouds. The conditions were ideal for the horses, with a cooling breeze. The route around the parkland gave competitors a wonderful perspective of the working museum, and visitors another chance to watch the varied turnouts as they processed. There were five ‘challenges’ (PCs); the straight rail, the corridor with sheep, the one-handed circle, the corridor with smoke and the drinking glass.
All except experienced AIAT competitor Gilly gained some penalty points, so she went into the overall lead ahead of Sunday’s cones. Brenda Laing with her wonderful Shetland was second on 3.80 penalties and Susan Don was third with 10 penalties.
The Gala Dinner
The evening started with drinks on the lawn by the village and a brass band playing in the bandstand. Stories from the day were exchanged before a delicious three course meal in the tea rooms, accompanied by three talented lady musicians who provided a varied musical repertoire.
The prize giving from the Presentation was followed by some fund raising to support the event. An abundance of raffle prizes generously donated meant that nearly everyone left with something luxurious or useful, then Richard took to the floor to auction a selection of more valuable lots.
The Maniabilité
Technical delegate Alan Ross had put a lot of thought into the cones course and even set it up at home to see how well it flowed. Like the course at Glamis, ten pairs of cones were used, and each pair was driven twice, firstly anticlockwise, then clockwise providing very different courses, so they doubled up to give a total of 20 obstacles. Although the course looked quite spaced out, it provided enough of a challenge to be significant in the final placings.
Gilly was first in as the pathfinder which meant that those who followed her could see what pace they needed to be within the time, which was instrumental across the classes. Competitors came forward in catalogue order, rather than wheel-width order, so Alan and his team were busy altering the cones between rounds and making sure that the balls were swiftly placed back on top if they rolled, especially over the first half of the course.
There were four double clears and one retirement before the course was cleared and preparations were made for the prizegiving.
The Prizegiving
Gilly Chippendale with her Welsh Section B pony Bunbury Sandringham were pony single winners and overall champions on 13.72. Susan Don from Fife with her Welsh Section D Berti was second and reserve overall champion on 22.08. Crowd favourite Brenda Laing, winner of the VSE class, was third overall on 24.23.
The judges and sponsors John and Marianne Stephenson were joined by Rhiannon to present the prizes. Then the turnouts processed around the park to give visitors one last look, and the curtain closed on a delightful AIAT weekend.