Showjumping and Racing join forces
Chester Racecourse are bringing top class showjumping to the Roodee and are hoping to make it as exciting as Twenty20 cricket.
The British Masters Invitational takes place on 31 July and 1 August and will feature riders hoping to qualify for the London Olympics in 2012.
"We're looking at changing the events image," Ed Gretton, clerk to Chester Racecourse told BBC Radio Merseyside.
"We're bringing more colour to the event, more Razzmatazz."
The festival will see the traditional red jackets usually worn by the riders replaced with polo shirts and betting introduced on the course.
Gretton added: "These developments here in Chester have been tipped to change the sport dramatically - in the same way as Twenty20 has transformed cricket."
He was keen to stress that while the hope is to capture the atmosphere of Twenty20 cricket, the safety of the horses has to be the main consideration.
"There is going to be music and a certain amount of flashing lights but I wouldn't go too far with that as we don't want to frighten the horses."
On the event's opening day the Horse of the Year Show qualifier will take place, with day two featuring a host of big names including John and Michael Whitaker, Robert Smith and Tim Stockdale.
(As reported by the BBC news)
