As always, when eventing is nearing the end of the current season is when Badminton kicks into full action!
What a wonderful summer it was, be it extremely hard work for some organisers making sure the ground was good for their competitions. It was great to see Rosalind Canter & Lordships Graffalo adding to their Badminton 2025 win with another at Burghley and also Laura Collett with London 52 (another past Badminton winner) winning the European individual gold medal at Blenheim. Congratulations also to Tom McEwen on his bronze medal. Both Burghley and Blenheim were great events, showcasing the sport at its best.
We have also been kept busy at Badminton through the summer, including additional ground and drainage works to ensure we are as ready as we can be for both extremes of weather. We have also researched further the best way of getting water on the ground as efficiently as possible. The cross-country course, main arena and warm up areas have had their annual Autumn attention from Phil Cole, our ground expert. On this note, I would like to thank Dan Cummins (who joined the Badminton Estate last year) for all his attention in looking after the Park and Horse Trial’s ground; since the grass started to grow again the mowing has not stopped! Going forward, it is down to nature being kind to the ground over the Winter/early Spring in order that the grass will have a chance to come back strongly in the Spring.
The stables have had their annual makeover which always includes a certain amount of repairs.
Due to the dry conditions there has been a first! The fish that live in the Badminton Lake had to be moved to the pond from which the water is used for the Horse Trials’ irrigation in the Spring as the former became so low that the fish were in danger of dying. I believe they are very happy swimming around their temporary location!
Over the coming weeks we will be busy contacting contractors, inviting our wonderful family of tradestands to return and getting all ready for the Box Office to open at the beginning of January. The Willis Brothers are busy in the Park making changes to fences, etc.
We have had one or two changes in the team. 2026 will see Claire Elmer taking over the reins from her mother, Delyth, and heading the Box Office Team. However, I am very glad to say Delyth is continuing as assistant to Claire. We are very sorry to see Harry Verney leave us as he has retired as Site Manager after many years of overseeing all site matters. Harry’s dedication to making sure all was “right on the day” will be hard to follow but I know Holly Hopkins, who will now be heading the Site Team, will be more than capable.
Andy Godwin has been working his magic with drainage and also digging a large trench in order that an overhead electric cable can be put underground. This work is essential as at present the cable crosses over the road that leads from the main entrance into the Park, but it is no longer acceptable due to, amongst other things, the height of the contractors’ vehicles ever increasing.
More updates next month……