World famous Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course revealed
The cross-country course for this year's Badminton Horse Trials has been revealed.
Sir Mark Todd, a four-time Badminton winner and dual Olympic champion, has been assessing the course for the CrossCountry app.
He said: "It is a very fair track.
"Of course, you have to add in the Badminton factor which makes it different to anywhere else, and be prepared for the unexpected, but it looks to have a nice flow to it and I think will be both enjoyable to ride and produce a great competition."
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The 32-fence track will run clockwise this year, with the famous MARS Lake coming relatively early at fences 8, 9, and 10abc.
This will be followed by the familiar intense loop out to the far end, via the INEOS Sunken Road at 12ab, the new accuracy-demanding LeMieux Eyelash Brushes at 19abc, and the Mayston Equestrian Sunken Road at 21ab.
The course then passes back in front of Badminton House to the familiar historic landmarks of the Equidry Huntsman's Close (26ab) and the HorseQuest Quarry (28abc) before concluding in the main arena.
The average time is likely to be around 11 minutes 45 seconds.
Eric Winter, the cross country course designer since 2017, said: "It's a very international field which often happens in a post-Olympic year when you've got top riders bringing their horses from the past Games and others hoping to begin the cycle leading up to the next one.
"Badminton has always historically been a preparation ground for championships and it's great to see so many nations represented."
He added that the dry, sunny spring has provided the perfect conditions in which to prepare the course and that irrigation has been taking place.
"Mark Lucey [retired vet and ground specialist] came and tested the going and said that it was perfect."
Enthusiasts can follow the competition via Badminton TV, which is being produced by ClipMyHorse, and will be live-streaming all the action.
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The popular mobile app, with live scoring, has been relaunched with new features.
It will now be possible to follow the progress of favourite riders, including a 30-minute warning that they are about to perform, to test your skills as a dressage judge by seeing how closely your assessment comes to that of the ground jury, plus there will be a live cross-country fence analysis feature.
Badminton, which is a 5-star international event, was founded in 1949 and takes place on The Duke of Beaufort's estate in Gloucestershire.
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