An equestrian events centre in Monmouthshire has unveiled two new all-weather show rings, which it is hoped will increase its turnover by 20 per cent.

The new show rings at the David Broome Event Centre, near Caldicot, have been made possible following a £210,000 funding package from Barclays.

Set in 110 acres, the centre is based at the family home of David Broome, a former world champion and Olympic medalist show jumper, at Mount Ballan Manor, Crick near Caldicot.

The venue delivers more than 150 equestrian events attracting more than 50,000 visitors a year.

Set up more than 50 years ago by Mr Broome, who is also a former Sports Personality of the Year, it employs 22 full time staff and up to 70 part time during the busy show season. The showground has the capacity to stable more than 880 horses and brings vital tourism income to the local community.

James Broome, general manager at the centre, said: “The new all-weather show rings demonstrate our investment in the site and our constant drive to deliver top quality equestrian events. We attract riders from all over the UK and we now have facilities among the best in the UK.

"We are seeing more and more demand for all-weather show rings and we anticipate turnover to increase by 20 per cent as a result of this investment.”

Moira Wearing, Barclays business development manager, said: “Barclays is committed to using our industry expertise and specialists to support such propositions, which are vital to a prosperous economy. By understanding, the business Barclays has been able to provide a finance package to support this fantastic venture, which will provide real benefits to the local and wider community.”

James Broome said: “The future looks bright and we plan to continue our investment into the site. We continue to attract huge numbers of visitors to the area and want to work with local businesses to generate bespoke sponsorship packages to ensure we maximise the tourism spend in the area. Recently one of our videos from a show attracted more than 60,000 views and we have more than 15,000 regular Facebook followers.”