The organizers of the Red Hills International Horse Trials (Fla.) announced the launch of two major initiatives in preparation for their March 10-13, 2016, event.

Improvement to footing for all three phases is underway, including aeration, addition of lime to the soil, top dressing and seed-drilling on the new cross-country courses, as well as the addition of fiber to the crushed stone arenas for dressage and show jumping.

For the 2016 competition, Michael Etherington-Smith will design the CIC*** cross-country course, and he’ll collaborate with David O’Connor to design the one- and two-star courses. Jane Barron, co-organizer of the event with Marvin Mayer, contacted Etherington-Smith about designing the courses this spring.

About three years ago, Red Hills moved its cross-country track from Colin Phipp’s private property to a nearby piece of land in Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park, which is a state-owned park in Tallahassee, and an adjacent Northwest Water Management District property.  

“It not only was a big move, but there are some physical limitations over there,” said Barron. “This is a property that’s under conservation easement, and it’s meant to be kept natural. I don’t want to put this in a negative light because water management’s been extremely generous with us, but we had a footprint that we were allowed to work with, and it’s tight—given that we have spectators, and that there’s a lot going on in a small space.”

Hugh Lochore designed the tracks for the 2015 event.

“We made the move; we had two very successful years, and there just comes a point in time that you need a new set of eyes to look at something, and I think we reached that point,” Barron said. “Hugh is heavily involved at Chattahoochee Hills [Ga.] and running his own event now, and we just felt that it was time to have a new set of eyes to look at what really had become a pretty tight footprint for us. Michael Etherington-Smith had done a wonderful job at Rolex for nearly 20 years, and I heard that he was interested in getting going again.”

Red Hills offers preliminary through the CIC*** levels, with a budget point of at least 200 riders to host the event.

“I have a special spot in my heart for people who are coming along, and I’d like for them to find courses that encourage their horses and encourage them to keep on working,” said Barron. “[Etherington-Smith] just has such a wonderful perspective on the sport as a whole that working with him just sounded intriguing.”

Etherington-Smith and O’Connor are scheduled to spend several days at the end of the July at Red Hills to kick off the new course developments.