There’s no cross country course in the world like Badminton, and the man behind the curtain is designer Eric Winter. In this video he reflects on the 2017 edition — standout rounds, and how the course rode — and looks ahead to 2018.
His vision in designing the course comes through loud and clear. “I wanted to go back to an old-fashioned type cross country course where we really jump logs and some square bits of timber and that, to me, is cross country,” he says. “It’s not about training in the arena — there a foundation level that does that. Real cross country is about using terrain and bits of wood and training your horse to cope with those things.”
Next year, he explains, the course will run counter-clockwise, so opposite to the layout this year. Gotta keep ’em on their toes!
