THURSDAY 2 – SUNDAY 5
Tour de Yorkshire
WEDNESDAY 1 – SUNDAY 5
Badminton Horse Trials
Eventing Explained
Badminton Horse Trials is one of the
toughest and most exciting equestrian
events – the pinnacle of the world’s 3-
Day-Event calendar. As the name
suggests horses and riders complete the
competition over three days, each day
consisting of a different discipline or
phase. Horses and riders must complete
a dressage test to demonstrate
Obedience, Discipline, Accuracy and
Elegance. They need to be fit and
athletic to complete a four mile cross
country ride jumping solid man-made
Before commencing the competition
each horse is “trotted up” before an
inspection panel of a vet and the
Ground Jury to ensure the horse is
sound and fit enough to compete (The
First Inspection). A further inspection
takes place the morning after the cross-
country phase prior to the Jumping
test. This ensures horses are still sound
and fit enough to complete the
competition (The Final Inspection).
International events are graded
according to level of difficulty. The
higher the grade the more complex and
physically demanding each phase
becomes. Stars are awarded to indicate
the Event’s Grade. Badminton is a Four
Star Event, the highest grade and one
of only six such events in the world.
Badminton
accepted as
Both riders
completing
is the oldest and generally
the most prestigious event.
and horses must qualify by
other similar grade events
in order to compete at Badminton.
Qualification can take several years to
achieve.
Phase One: Dressage (Thursday &
Friday)
Dressage is the first phase of a 3-Day-
Event where riders must complete a
‘test’ of set movements between
markers in a dressage arena.
Badminton’s Dressage test contains 26
movements of varying complexity. The
‘test’ is judged by three judges (the
Ground Jury) sitting at different points
of the arena. Each movement carries a
maximum of 10 marks; additional
“collective” marks out of 10 are
awarded for Paces, Impulsion,
Submission & Rider giving a total
maximum possible score of 300 good
marks. Penalties are added for failing to
perform movements and ‘errors of
course’.
The dressage arena is 20m x 60m
situated in the main arena. Various
points in the arena are marked with
letters so that the rider and judges
Continued overleaf