It’s Badminton week, baby! Hot on the heels of the best weekend all year in the bluegrass, the next big event beckons. We’re barely over our eventing hangovers left behind by all the awesomeness that was Kentucky but we’re getting back out there and will be here for all of it, bringing you every scrap of action from the 75th Anniversary MARS Badminton Horse Trials. Buckle up and settle in for the ride ENers.
Here’s what’s comin’ at ya over the next few days:
Wednesday (today) – 4:30pm BST / 11:30am ET / 5:30pm CEST – First Horse Inspection
🌟 We’ll be bringing you news from the catwalk jog strip as well as photos of the bold and beautiful horses and riders as they get their Badminton underway. Will Chinch show up to dish out some bespoke awards or has he been too busy at the Met Gala? Time will tell…
Thursday and Friday – 9am BST / 4am ET / 5am CEST – Dressage
🌟 I’ll be live blogging ‘til my fingers can live blog no more to bring you all the info on the entries and every step they take as they dance their way ‘round the Main Arena.
🌟 We’ll have a full round-up report of each day’s sport with you just as soon as Tilly can type it.
Satur-yay! – 11:30am BST / 6:30am ET / 12:30pm CEST – Cross Country Day
🌟 Check out what the riders will be facing as they leave the start box in our Badminton Course Walk with Eric Winter.
🌟 We’ll be wrangling together the riders’ thoughts on said course in due time – watch out for our Riders’ React report coming on Saturday morning.
🌟 The live blog will be hotting up with all the cross country action so you won’t have to miss a second of The. Best. Day.
🌟 Full report incoming at the end of the day.
Sunday – 8:30am BST / 3:30am ET / 9:30am CEST – Final Horse Inspection – 11:30am BST / 6:30am ET / 12:30pm CEST – Show Jumping Part One – 2:55pm BST / 9:55am ET / 3:55pm CEST – Show Jumping Finale (Top 20)
🌟 We’ll have all the news from the jog strip before the big finale.
🌟 I’ll be back with the live blog for the top 20 – it’s going to be butt clenching stuff, that’s for sure!
🌟 Tilly will wrap up the whole dang thing in her final round-up report.
Eyes on EN for all the Badminton content you can handle.
And that’s not all…
You can follow along with all the form in EN’s epic form guide – coming soon! – and keep up-to-date with all things Badminton in our Ultimate Guide.
If you’re planning on watching all of the action live and on demand, you’ll need a Badminton TV subscription – find out how it works here.
Bring it on, and go eventing!
PS – I can report that, at time of writing, it is not raining at Badminton.
MARS Badminton Horse Trials [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Tickets] [Radio Badminton] [Livestream] [Cross Country Course] [EN’s Coverage]
U.S. Weekend Preview
Galway Downs Spring H.T. (Temecula, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Majestic Oaks Ocala H.T. (Reddick, FL) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Unionville May H.T. (Coatesville, PA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Queeny Park H.T. (St. Louis, MO) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
River Glen Spring H.T. (New Market, TN) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Tryon International Three Day Event (Mill Spring, NC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring] [Live Stream]
Winona Horse Trials (Hanoverton, OH) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
UK International Events
MARS Badminton Horse Trials (Gloucestershire, UK) [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Tickets] [Radio Badminton] [Livestream] [Cross Country Course] [EN’s Coverage]
European International Events
International Marbach Eventing (GER) [Website] [Timetable] [Entries] [Scoring] [Live Stream]
Wednesday News and Reading
5* tickets alert! Box offices are open on both sides of the pond – get your Burghley tickets here and your Maryland tickets here.
Whether you’re in the market for an eventing prospect or just love to drool over top quality horses, feast your eyes on these future stars. The Marbach DSP Eventing Auction will take place on Saturday, May 11, and will be run in a hybrid format, so you can either bid and follow along online or head to Marbach and try your dream young horse before you buy. You can view the full catalog here and find out more information about the auction, and check out Tilly’s top picks here. Happy drooling/bidding!
The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship happened at Stable View last week. This cool competition saw 18 schools duke it out, with Auburn University ultimately taking the top spot. Find out what went down and hear from the winning team in this write-up.
Patience is a virtue with sensitive horses. I read this blog with interest, given that I’m in a similar situation with my new(ish) horse. My gut instinct has been to give my guy some time, and it’s cool to know I’m on the right track, and that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Even if you’re not dealing with a difficult horsey situation, this is well worth a read for the insights into equine behavior and horsemanship.
And finally, a word from Phelps. That’s right, Mia Farley’s Kentucky and Maryland ride, the guy that cost just $1. How much? A single dollar. Really? Yep. He’s worth his weight in gold though, and, according to this take on the whole $1 situation – in Phelps’ own words – he’d really rather we stopped going on about the fact he cost $1.
Video Break
The crowds will be hoping for a lil’ spill, but the riders’ll be riding by the seat of their pants not to take a dive – the Badminton lake has seen its fair share of action over the years, not least this awesome display of sportsmanship from Tom Crisp at last year’s event.
Here’s Nicola Wilson walking us through the direct route of this year’s offering:
