11 May 2017
Badminton Horse Trials
Not just for the ‘horsey’ crowd.
By Lynda Goetz
Really, you do not have to be an aspiring 3-day eventer or even a rider to enjoy Badminton. Of course it helps, as with any sport at which you are spectating, if you have some understanding of the rules and the challenges. It probably adds to your understanding if you have ever sat on the back of a horse, but there is a lot to enjoy even with the shallowest of knowledge and experience, particularly when it comes to the cross-country day. Eventing is about teamwork, teamwork between horse and rider, and although dressage is a beautiful demonstration of this, cross-country evidences the trust necessary.
There are only six four-star eventing competitions in the world, of which Badminton* is the oldest and most prestigious. It is the one all top riders aspire, not necessarily to win, just to be able to compete in. It was first held on the Duke of Beaufort’s estate in 1949 and has been held annually since (although cancelled on several occasions, mainly owing to bad weather and waterlogged ground) and has been sponsored for the last twenty-three years by Mitsubishi Motors. Eventing is a sport in three distinct parts – dressage, cross-country and show-jumping – and although at the lower levels all three can take place in one day, the four-star events (Badminton and Burghley in the U.K, Rolex in the USA, Luhmϋhlen in Germany, Pau in France and Adelaide in Australia) are staged over 3 or (more usually) 4 days.
Dressage takes up the first two days. The FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale) based in Lausanne, Switzerland and the governing body for equestrian sports, defines dressage as the ‘highest expression of horse training’ where ‘horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a pre-determined set of movements’. With over 80 horses and riders participating in this year’s event, the judges were kept busy from 9 a.m until 5 p.m on Thursday and Friday last week with a brief lunch break, during which the crowds in the arena were treated to a freestyle dressage display. At the end of the first day last Thursday, the Frenchman Thibaut Vallette and his horse Quing du Briot were in the lead with Bettina Hoy and Designer 10 of Germany in second place. Both riders knew only too well that they could not count on keeping those positions. With the elite of the horse-riding world competing in this event, they could only cross their fingers and hope. Unfortunately for them, it was not enough. By 5pm on Friday and time for the Stallion Display, the results board told a totally different story; M. Vallette was in 7th place, Ms Hoy in 8th and in first place was the Australian Christopher Burton with his horse Graf Liberty. The New Zealander who was to win overall on Sunday was at this point only placed fifth equal.
Saturday dawned bright and clear. With little rain throughout April, the ground was firm and the grass dry. However, those easterly winds from Siberia were to ensure that the sunshine was not warming. We left our hotel outside Swindon by 7.30 and arrived just after 8a.m, having encountered little traffic down the very narrow lanes you are obliged to use once the M4 has been left behind. Many of the trade stands do not open before 9 and the Cross-country itself does not start until 11.30, but leave it too late and in spite of the impressive traffic management system in place you can spend a frustrating time queuing.
After a bacon sandwich and coffee (indispensable fare on such occasions) we were briefly seduced by the shopping, which incidentally is brilliant, before finding some seats in the arena for the Shetland Pony Grand National. This is a light-hearted event with two heats and a final, ridden by girls and boys aged between 9 and 14, some of whom have in the past gone on to become well-known jockeys. Their stocky little ponies seem to love the occasion and race round the arena jumping a series of small Grand National-style fences. This is, however, not simply fun and games for riders and ponies. The Shetland Pony Grand National is a non-profit organization raising awareness and funds for the Bob Champion Cancer Trust (Bob Champion won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti). Last Saturday, Bob Champion himself was also there to speak briefly about his charity.
Part of the appeal of events like Badminton is the sheer beauty of the surroundings. The part of the estate where the horse trials are held is the deer park, which covers some 6 square kilometres (1500 acres). The arena, trade stands, car parks and the cross-country course are all within this area – plenty of space for the crowds of up to a quarter of a million people who attend, although at some of the fences the crowd can be five or six deep, making it somewhat difficult at times to see. Fortunately, because there are 30 jumps and most people like to see as many as possible, there is constant movement around the viewing points for the jumps, so if you are patient it is usually easy enough to get a good look. Certainly last Saturday it was also preferable to keep moving – as that made it less likely you would freeze. Four layers, including a heavy alpaca jumper, and a scarf and hat were not too much; indeed I was grateful I had been forewarned not to ‘go for elegance’! I was impressed by those who were trying to enjoy picnics on rugs at various points around the course. A very English response to weather, I know, but surely not really enjoyable!
Show jumps in the arena can be knocked down, although penalties are, of course, incurred for doing so. The cross-country requires the horse and rider to tackle solid, immoveable, ‘rustic’ jumps (e.g. walls and logs) as well as covering a good deal of ground. On Saturday, anything over 11 minutes 45 seconds to get round the course incurred a time penalty – increased with every second over. There are also penalties for ‘refusals’: 20 points for the first, 40 for the second and elimination for a third. A fall by either horse or rider also results in elimination at this level. This year’s course was designed by a new designer, Eric Winter. Winter, an experienced course designer, has designed the course at the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials for 10 years and was Technical Delegate at Badminton 2011-14. He was a competitor in 1991 and considers that cross-country should be about the relationship between horse and rider. With this in mind, his course has a number of fences where there are alternative routes, not much longer, but which might better suit some horse and rider combinations.
This year’s course ran clockwise, the opposite direction to last year. To the uninitiated and even to most experienced riders, the course looks difficult and this year’s was regarded as ‘challenging’. Some of the drops are massive – for example, the one at the Lake complex – and few of the jumps are straightforward; although if they are, they are simply enormous. The riders competing are the best in the world. Even so, out of 80 starters, only 32 went clear on Saturday and 32 retired or were eliminated. One British rider, Emily Gilruth, sadly suffered a traumatic brain injury when she fell early on at the third fence. The event is clearly not without its potential for danger and drama. Only two riders, Tim Price and Michael Jung, got round within the allotted time – which Eric Winter said was what he wanted; “The time showed the best of the best,” he said.
Chris Burton, in the lead after the dressage, lost his place after Graf Liberty had a stop at the Hildon Water feature, a jump which caused problems for a number of riders. Ingrid Klimke of Germany, placed second after the dressage, was in first place after Saturday’s cross-country, but as is often the way in this sport, things changed again the following day. Andrew Nicholson and his horse Nereo, the final team to complete the cross-country on Saturday evening and lying third as a result of that effort, picked up further in the show-jumping to become the overall winner. The 55-year-old New Zealander, based in Wiltshire, was, in his own words, ‘lucky not to have been paralysed’ in a fall at Gatcombe in August 2015. After extensive surgery at the time and the rest of the season off, he made a complete recovery. This is his 36th Badminton and he has finally proved he is ‘the best of the best’.
Even for those who have no aspirations or, as I said earlier, limited knowledge of the ‘horsey’ world, this is a great day out. It is worth remembering that May in England can throw up a massive variety of weather and be prepared accordingly. For those who don’t fancy picnics in Arctic conditions, there are all sorts of options from Champagne and Pimms tents and the stylish Nyetimber (English sparkling wine) converted bus to beer tents, bacon butties and fish ’n chips vans. If the worst comes to the worst you could always picnic in your car, a good old British solution to our perennial weather problems.
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