By Daily Mail Reporter
Published: 02:41 BST, 3 May 2019 | Updated: 02:41 BST, 3 May 2019
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The National Trust has scrapped a prestigious horse trials event in which the royals have competed for decades amid concerns for earthworms.
The Belton Horse Trials is looking for a new home after the Trust said horse hooves and the cars of spectators and participants are compacting the soil in the grounds of one of its stately homes.
This risks the ground becoming waterlogged – which can have an impact on the worms living in it. They play a vital role in aerating the soil and encouraging plant growth.
The National Trust said the ‘size and scale’ of the trials at Belton House near Grantham, Lincolnshire, is ‘now at odds’ with conservation of a Grade I listed site.
Compacting the soil risks the ground (pictured) becoming waterlogged – which can have an impact on the worms living in it
The international event is a key fixture on the three-day eventing sporting calendar and was to celebrate its 40th