Disappointment, relief and determination after huge fire shuts down Liverpool Horse Show

The fire began in a multi-storey car park near the city’s Echo Arena, where the competition was being held. According to the publication Horse & Hound, Sunday afternoon’s CSI4* 1.45m speed class was drawing to a close when the decision was made to cancel the rest of the competition: “[Great Britain’s] Louise Saywell had just come into the arena for her round when she was asked to return to the gate. Then all the horses from the collecting ring were brought into the arena. Some horses were stabled on the lower level of the multi-storey car park, where the fire was on the upper floors, and these were evacuated into the main arena or into the stables on the dock side.”

“I would like to express my immense thanks and gratitude to the emergency services, the Echo Arena staff, riders, grooms and support staff, the general public and the City of Liverpool following Sunday night’s events,” said the show’s president Nina Barbour in a statement. “We are not going to let go of what we achieved in the first five sessions of the show, and we will be back to do it again next December.”

“All people and horses are safe and secure,” she added, “and I thank spectators, riders and support teams for their understanding and co-operation during what was a difficult situation.” Barbour and her team described how “all horses were kept 100% calm throughout the whole process”, and they paid particular tribute to the Merseyside Fire Service, which battled the blaze through the night and saved a lot of equipment in the stables area. They also thanked the Aintree racecourse, which took in some horses stranded by the fire: “Our hearts go out to all of you who have lost vehicles & possessions, however we still are in a huge state of relief that no people or horses were injured or killed in the incident.”

In a report in The Guardian, Liverpool International Horse Show attendees described the ferocity and extent of the blaze: 

“Kevin Booth, 44, from Manchester, had left his Fiat 500X in the car park as he took his wife, Julie, and 16-year-old daughter, Holly, to see the horse show as a treat. ‘The flames and the smoke were unbelievable,’ he said. ‘People were saying that they would just wait and get their cars back. I thought: ‘Have you seen the fire? Are you joking?’ It was frightening, we could hear the bangs of car windows exploding.””

The following details were posted about refunds for the Sunday evening session: “TICKETQUARTER Refund information FOR SUNDAY 7.30pm performance: Card purchases – Your refund will be automatically refunded to the card to which the initial purchase was made – within 3-5 working days dependant on your card provider. Cash purchases – Please return to your point of purchase with photo ID and the event tickets if you have them, to collect a full refund. Please check Box Office opening times below. Box Office Information: The on-site Box Office is open on Fridays from 9am-6pm. On event days, the on-site Box Office opens at midday and remains open until the main act is on stage. TICKETMASTER, SEETICKETS, and WOWCHER PURCHASES for SUNDAY 7.30pm performance. Please see relevant websites for information.”