Monday, 01 May 2023
This year’s Badminton Horse Trials is fast approaching and we could not be more excited. To help get you in the mood for one of the biggest fixtures in the eventing calendar, which takes place at The Duke of Beaufort’s estate in Gloucestershire, we’ve rounded up everything you need to enjoy the show – whether you’re there in person or following along from home.
This year’s field is packed with World Class Programme combinations, and includes last year’s runners up, Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, and third-placed combination Oliver Townend and Swallow Springs. Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift, who were second at Burghley Horse Trials last year, are also on the start list, along with double Olympic medallist pairing Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser. Burghley’s dressage leaders, Kitty King and Vendredi Biats, will also be a combination to watch. The full list of entries is available online. The individual start times will be available nearer to the event.
Combinations take it in turns to ride a set test of movements, with each movement scored out of 10 and an additional collective mark given for the harmony of horse and rider. The combined marks are converted into penalties using a coefficient – the fewer penalties earned, the higher the placing.
Running in the same order as for dressage, combinations head out into Badminton’s parkland to tackle a course of 30 solid fences and combinations – including, ditches, water, gates and brushes. Penalties added to their dressage score for jumping faults and seconds over the optimum time to create a two-phase total. You can find out more about this year’s cross-country track in British Eventing’s course preview, or by heading to the CrossCountryApp website.
Riding in reverse order of merit, combinations navigate a course of between 11 and 13 showjumps in the main arena. The aim is to jump clear inside the optimum time – penalties are earned for poles down or additional seconds over the time allowed. The winner is the combination with the lowest combined score at the end of this phase.
Badminton Horse Trials falls on the same weekend as the coronation of King Charles III and our patron, The Queen Consort. As a result, the event schedule has been shifted back a day, meaning that the dressage will now fall on Friday and Saturday, with the cross-country on Sunday and the showjumping on the bank holiday Monday. Saturday’s dressage will be broken up into an early morning session running from 8–10:15am and an afternoon session starting at 12:45pm, with a gap in the middle so that the coronation service can be broadcast on the big screens in the arena and around the site. The shopping village and food stands will remain open throughout, and the rest of the coronation will be shown on the big screen by the Pig and Whistle pub once competition has resumed.
Tickets for Badminton Horse Trials are only available in advance through the online box office – there will be no sales on the gate. Tickets can be bought up until midnight one day prior to your chosen day of competition. There are daily ticket options, or you can spoil yourself with a season pass, which covers all four days of competition, plus the Voltaire Design Grassroots Championship and first horse inspection on Thursday 4 May. If you’re planning to attend the showjumping phase on Monday, you’ll need to purchase separate grandstand seats to watch in the main arena.
The entire event is being streamed live on BadmintonTV, powered by Brightcove – a new provider for 2023. A subscription costs £19.99 and lasts for 365 days. During this time, you’ll have access to the full competition, plus the horse inspections, prize-giving ceremony, interviews with the top three riders each day, and a range of special features. You can also replay this year’s action and access the archives to relive previous editions of Badminton Horse Trials.
There will be a highlights programme on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer at 2pm on Monday 8 May, which will also cover the top 10 showjumping rounds in real time. For viewers in the UK, this is the only way to watch the event’s climax – these final rounds won’t be shown on BadmintonTV for domestic subscribers.
Radio Badminton is available online throughout the event or on 87.7FM and will include full coverage from 8:30am each morning, including technical insight and post-round interviews with riders. If you’re on site, you can purchase an ear piece from sellers around the showground.
We’ll be posting regular competition updates on our social media channels, and British Equestrian supporter members can access daily competition reports for each phase. It's completely free to sign up as a supporter member and, in addition to exclusive Badminton content, you'll also get lots of other benefits such as discounted tickets for equestrian events, access to special offers and discounts, our monthly newsletter straight to your inbox and copies of our digital magazine.
British Eventing will also be posting coverage on their Facebook and Instagram channels, and on their website.