Badminton Horse Trials 2024
Keep up to date with all the news in the run up to Mars Badminton Horse Trials 2024, taking place on 8-12 May, right here. With a new headline sponsor, and an increase in prize money, this year’s event promises to be better than ever. We will have our reporters on the ground bringing you all the headlines, big name interviews, analysis of the action, videos and beautiful photography throughout each day of competition as the event celebrates its 75th anniversary.
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The 2024 Badminton cross-country course will once again be designed by Eric Winter and the event runs under the directorship of Jane Tuckwell, who has worked at Badminton in various roles for over 40 years.
Latest Badminton Horse Trials news
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BBC confirms future Badminton Horse Trials coverage plans
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From Badminton to grade A showjumper: meet the ‘barely 15hh’ veteran superstar bidding for speed Derby glory
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Piggy March: ‘Badminton keeps everyone’s dreams in play’
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‘I’m not your typical event horse owner, but I love the sport ’: Greenacres Special Cavalier’s owner on winning Badminton
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One of the greats: a look back at William Fox-Pitt’s extraordinary career in pictures
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Mark Phillips: ‘Badminton is still the one to win’
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Photos of the Badminton special prize winners: from the top mare to the fastest rider and the winning groom
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‘She won’t walk over a pole on the ground’: find out more about Badminton winner Greenacres Special Cavalier
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Celebrating Badminton Horse Trials winners: 1949 to current day
Badminton Horse Trials dates
The 2024 running of Badminton Horse Trials will be held on 8-12 May 2023. The five-star event is pushing back one week from its normal date, owing to issues with BBC scheduling. This means the dressage will be on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 May, with cross-country on Saturday 11 May and the final showjumping phase on Sunday 12 May. The Voltaire Design Grassroots Championships at BE90 and BE100 level will take place on 7-8 May 2024.
Voltaire Design Grassroots Championships
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From slaughter house to Badminton grassroots fourth: the lorry driver and her ‘sensitive’ star
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Osteopath turns her Badminton luck around with BE100 grassroots championships victory
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Student steps up when his mother falls ill – and wins Badminton’s BE90 grassroots championships
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Would you jump off here? Look at the BE90 grassroots championships cross-country course
Where is Badminton Horse Trials held?
Badminton Horse Trials is held in the grounds of Badminton House in Gloucestershire, UK. Badminton is located around 15 miles from Bristol and Bath, in the south west of England.
Badminton Horse Trials history
The list of Badminton Horse Trials winners is a true who’s who in the sport of eventing and we can’t wait to see who will add their name to the roll of honour this time. The most successful rider at Badminton is Lucinda Green, who topped the leaderboard six times during her outstanding career. Andrew Nicholson holds the record for the highest number of Badminton completions at 37.
The most recent winner of the Badminton Horse Trials title is Ros Canter with Lordships Graffallo, who went one better than in 2022 when she finished second to Laura Collett and her Tokyo Olympic gold medal-winning partner London 52. Second was Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class with Ireland’s Austin O’Connor third on Colorado Blue.
Badminton Horse Trials dates back to 1949, when the 10th Duke of Beaufort hosted an event on the estate to help British riders train for future international events.
The 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Badminton has previously been cancelled five times, owing to bad weather in 1966, 1975, 1987 and 2012, and foot-and-mouth disease in 2001. Weather also forced Badminton to run as a one-day competition in 1963.
Badminton has hosted British Eventing’s BE90 and BE100 grassroots championships since 2010. It is typically held across the two days before the five-star action begins.
Badminton Horse Trials logo
The current Badminton Horse Trials logo was unveiled in September 2019 and was developed by Claire Shand and Julian Seaman, who both worked for Badminton at the time. It has now been adapted to incorporate title sponsor Mars Equestrian.
The design features a horse and rider jumping over the wording, with the rider’s boot and the horse’s saddle forming the letter ‘B’. The new logo marked the start of a new era for the event after Mitsubishi Motors ended its support after 28 years.
There is also a fresh version to mark Badminton’s 75th anniversary.
What is Badminton Horse Trials?
Badminton Horse Trials is one of just seven five-star events in the world. Five-star is the highest level of eventing competition, where the very best horses and riders in the sport compete against each other in three phases: dressage, cross-country and show jumping. The same horse and rider combinations take part in all three phases and their penalty scores are added up. The horse and rider with the lowest penalties is the winner.