THE 2008 British eventing season gets underway this weekend, with Lechlade-based Chris King among those eager to get started.

The 31-year-old, who won both the Barbury Castle and the Blenheim three-day event titles in 2007 on The Secret Weapon, is taking a trio of promising young horses to the Stilemans one-day event, in Surrey this weekend.

He has entered the eight-year-old mare Miss Caruso and the year younger The Red Lion in the Open Novice section, where his rivals include Australian international Sam Griffiths and British Olympic rider William Fox-Pitt.

"Miss Caruso is owned by Chippenham's Jane James and had three novice wins in 2007, and headed the Intermediate Novice at Charlton Park," said Chris.

"She'll have a few more runs at Open Novice level and will then move up to Intermediate."

Chris will also ride the rising seven-year-old Imperial Colours, a novice winner at Urchinwood Manor last season and owned locally by JO Jones and Esther Lewis, in the Novice sections.

The Secret Weapon is being prepared for a tilt at Badminton in 2009 and will run at a three star international this year, possibly at Saumur in France.

"If Badminton had been later he may have done it this year but I'm not going to push him," Chris concluded.

"I'm back on the lottery funded World Class Start and Potential Programme this time and have been training regularly with Yogi Breisner and Spencer Wilton over the winter."

Georgie Spence, 19, of Foxham, who won team gold at the Young Rider Europeans in 2007, will be taking five rides to Stilemans.

She has four horses entered in the Open Novice - Skylight, Tom, Ternary and Song for Gull - and also has new ride Downloading, an eight-year-old mare by Walton Crackerjack, in the novice sections.