New era for Badminton Horse Trials

The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials 2006 (4-7 May) will be unlike any previous three-day event held in the Duke of Beaufort’s Gloucestershire estate.

This year will be the first time riders face Hugh Thomas’s famous course without undertaking the warm-up roads and tracks and steeplechase phases first. The cross-country course will also have a reverse of direction, with riders starting beside the main arena and heading anti-clockwise around the ultimate track.

While the change in format signals a new era for the competition, event director and course designer Hugh Thomas will undoubtedly provide a true four-star challenge for riders and plenty of entertainment for spectators.

Visitors who don’t have the energy to walk around the entire course should stake an early claim for a good position in front of the Horse & Hound big screens, which will bring all the action to a single vantage point.

The first prize for this ultimate four-star event remains an impressive £50,000, but prize money has been extended further down the line with a total prize fund of some £225,000.

The box office opens today and most prices remain the same as last year. For more details and to book tickets contact (tel: 0870 242 3436) or visit: www.badminton-horse.co.uk

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Carol Phillips

H&H website editor

Carol is an experienced journalist and editor, who is also a passionate amateur rider and dedicated horse owner, having ridden since childhood. She has a particular interest in the emotional well-being and ethical training of horses, alongside veterinary matters, having garnered extensive first-hand experience of numerous equine health conditions through more than 30 years of horse ownership.