The Badminton organizers have announced that crosscountry will be moved to Sunday. Dressage, day 2 on the Saturday, will be timed to allow people to watch the coronation on big screens around the site. Show jumping is now on the Monday.
It’s amusing that the almost universal reaction of the horse world to the announcement of the May date for the coronation was “But that is Badminton!”
I thought it was odd. Badminton didn’t want a conflict with the Coronation but then are still running dressage. It seems it would have made more sense to run dressage TH/F and XC Sunday with Stadium on Monday. I guess it is a commentary on how many people really come to watch dressage or stadium.
It seems more plausible to plan for a break in schedule in the dressage than the cross-country, and also easier for spectators to get up to a Jumbotron or other screen to view the coronation. On cross-country you have to gather all your spectators from where they dispersed across the course, and there’s a higher chance of something unplanned disrupting your schedule (“oh sorry Ros Canter I know you’re all warmed up and your horse is breathing fire to go but we had to hold to rebuild 11 and now we need to pause for the coronation so please come back in 4 hours.”) As I read it, this maintains the typical schedule for the horses but makes it possible for people who are interested in both events to spectate both.
They have arranged the schedule for the largest number of general public spectators. (Who - gasp - don’t have the constitution/inclination to sit through several hours of dressage). Have to pay the bills ?
Royalist that I am, this was nevertheless my reaction as well.
American that I am, I wonder if this is a case of “Yes, there is the nobility … and then there’s Royalty”?
I was sitting with some friends at an End of Eventing Season party a couple of nights ago and the subject came up. We decided that Badminton HT had had to adapt, not least because the Duke of Beaufort would have to be at the coronation, as would The Princess Royal, obviously, as would - after some discussion - Zara Tindall because she’s close family and then maybe Harry Meade, a good friend of the Prince of Wales, as would… about half the people who ride or own horses. Royalty isn’t so very far removed from the common population
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