Equestrian
Badminton Horse Trials - facts and figures
The first event took place in 1949 - After a none-too-successful 1948 London Olympic games for British riders, the Duke of Beaufort had the idea to hold the event for home grown competitors to train for international events. It has since become arguably the most famous international event itself and, outside of the Olympics, the most coveted title in the sport.
For the first ten years, the dressage and show jumping arenas were sited on the old cricket ground in front of Badminton House. Torrential rain in 1959 turned the park into a sea of mud and the arenas and trade stands were moved to their present site.
The first European Eventing
Championships were held at Badminton in 1953.
Bad weather has caused the cancellation of Badminton on four occasions - 1966, 1975, 1987 and 2012. It was also cancelled in 2001 due to foot and mouth disease. The severe winter of 1962/3, which continued into the spring, forced Badminton to downsize to a one-day event in that year.
Including the car parks and trade stands the total area covered by the event is 200 hectares (500 acres).
Eventing comprises three phases: dressage, cross country and show jumping, theoretically run over three days at the top level, although the large amount of entries necessitates two days of dressage at Badminton and stretches the event to four days. At the 2012 London Olympics, Great Britain won team silver in this discipline.
2012 cancellation
Overseeding is with a predominantly rye grass mix designed for winter sports pitches or racecourse use, or an 80/20 rye/fescue mix for shaded areas such as woodland
by boosting nutrition
One of the challenges - faced by few other groundsmen - is grazing management. “We have to consider the impact on the course and the parkland itself from grazing animals, as the central part of the park is grazed by deer and sheep within a deer fenced enclosure, and the remainder by sheep. From December to May, the track itself is electric fenced to keep the stock off it although, in general, the sheep are of benefit to the ground, keeping the grass down, avoiding thatch build up and adding nutrients with their manure,” explains Phil.
Deer are slightly less beneficial, but the herd is moved to other parts of the park in the spring. “It is effectively a construction site for a month beforehand and, for safety’s sake, the deer are better out of the way at this time!” says Hugh.
In the spring of 2013, ground cover has been sparse, although good growing conditions at the end of April gave a welcome green-up. “Ground cover is not really an issue as long as the soil is right, and the footing is as good as ever,” comments Hugh. Different equestrian sports have varying requirements for the sward - from the lawn-like finish of a polo pitch to 3-4in cut heights for national hunt
Trials was called off less than a week before it was due to start.
“We had a downpour on already sodden ground on the Sunday prior to the event starting on the Wednesday and, when I contacted the Met office to be told that there would be further rain on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, it was obvious that it couldn’t go ahead," explains Hugh Thomas.
After a late spring deluge that led countless sporting fixtures to be postponed or cancelled, it was still a shock to many when Badminton Horse
112 PC JUNE/JULY 2013
“It is possible that we could have got the cross country course dry enough to run the horses safely, but there were also the car parks and trade stand areas
racing. A Port Agric tractor-mounted rotary finishing mower is the tool of choice, backed up by Phil’s Major Toppers. Hugh explains: “The grass needs to be about 2in for cross country - any longer and it can be slippery, any shorter and the ground will cut up.” Phil adds: “On walking the course after the event, it is possible to assess whether you have got it right, and we see little cutting up. The horses hooves need to go in slightly to get a good grip, but without jar to their joints. There is no set standard as yet - it’s all down to feel.” With such meticulous preparations, last minute work is minimal, although Phil can aerate if there is not quite enough give in the ground, or sand any small areas that resolutely remain boggy.
However, the dry cold spring and
resulting lack of grass growth meant that fertiliser application and mowing has been delayed this year. Even the pristine main arena, which hosts the dressage and showjumping phases, and is the site for two cross country fences, was still to be mown at the end of April. Surrounded by grandstands and hospitality marquees, the arena had an early reprieve from the bitter winds and was greening up - it is managed in exactly the same way as the cross
to consider,” adds Phil Cole.
Badminton attracts 150,000 visitors each year, the majority of which attend on one day; cross country day.
“Whilst we have added a very small amount of infrastructure, such as hard standing pay lanes for the car parks, this is a historic park which is also a family home, so it would not be appropriate, even if it were financially viable, for one event a year, to ‘weatherproof’ it,” comments Hugh. “We are used to the wet, but 2012 was a one-off.”
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