by Umberto Martuscelli
If the complete equestrian competition were a religion, the supreme temple of reference could only be Badminton. A place whose name for decades has identified the sport itself: if you say complete you think of Badminton, if you say Badminton you think of complete. Inevitably. At the behest of the Crown of England in 1682 the Duchy of Beaufort was created and assigned to the third Marquis of Worcester, Henry, as a sort of reward for the services he ensured to the monarchy. Almost eighty years earlier the Worcesters had bought the Badminton estate and then subjected the residence to a major restoration in 1660: later the first Duke of Beaufort made it his home. The third duke between the beginning and the middle of the eighteenth century starts an impressive renovation: the two domes appear and the facade takes on an almost Palladian look.
Today at Badminton House lives the twelfth Duke of Beaufort, Harry Somerset: his grandfather and his father (therefore respectively the tenth and eleventh duke) were the creators and then for a long time the supporters of the suit competition that sees the first edition in 1949 on the grounds of their estate. The 10th Duke had been a spectator of the London Olympic Games in 1948, when the British team in full-suit had been eliminated and the best of the individuals had only ranked 17th (Major Peter Borwick): the Duke was struck by this outcome. negative, realizing that with the tradition of fox hunting and racecourse racing so deeply rooted in his country, the British riders should and could have expressed a very different level of competitiveness in the Olympic competition.
This is the main reason why he decided to give life to a competitive meeting in his estate that could serve as a preparation and at the same time as a selection in view of the Olympics. Thus was born in 1949 the complete Badminton match with twenty-two competitors on the field representing Great Britain and Ireland: with a total prize pool of 500 pounds of which 150 to the winner. Just to get an idea, in 2018 the total prize money was 360,750 pounds, 100,000 for the winner. However, what has never changed over the years has been the importance of the event, since the very first moment for the riders and amazons engaged in the specialty of the suit. In fact, all the greatest two and four-legged champions have been protagonists in Badminton, and all the completists have dreamed, dreamed and will dream of participating: an appointment that from 1949 to today has seen some interruptions only at home due to health problems (in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, in 2001 for the foot and mouth disease epidemic) or atmospheric (1963, 1966, 1975, 1987, 2012). Thanks to the prestige and difficulty of the competitive commitment, the records obtained in Badminton take on a value equal to that of an Olympic medal for those who are protagonists.
As in the case of the British Margaret Hough winner in 1954, the first Amazon in history; or as in the case of the equally British Ian Stark, the only one in the world to have obtained 1st and 2nd place in the same edition of the race (in 1988, respectively on the saddle of Sir Wattie and Glenburnie). Not to mention those who have succeeded in the formidable feat of being winners more than once: and among these the record belongs to an Amazon – demonstrating how competitive women are in complete – that is Lucinda Prior-Palmer with six victories (1973 on Be Fair, 1976 on Wide Awake, 1977 on George, 1979 on Kildare, 1983 on Regal Realm, 1984 on Beagle Bay). The great New Zealand champion Mark Todd has not only been a four-time winner, but he is also the rider who has won in the most ‘old’ age, with his 55 years in 2011; while his compatriot Andrew Nicholson holds the record for participation with thirty-seven appearances!
The youngest winner was Richard Walker with his 18 years and 247 days in 1969, while the youngest winning horse was the protagonist of the first edition, that of 1949, Golden Willow ridden by John Sheddon at 5 years old (now l minimum age for horses is 7 years); the oldest winning horse was instead the sixteen year old Horton Point ridden by Mark Todd in 1994. But beyond all the possible statistical aspects, the fundamental fact is that the complete international Badminton competition is one of the unmissable events for everyone. the insiders and the fans of the suit. After two years of interruption due to the pandemic, in this 2022 the British appointment is back on the calendar from 4 to 8 May. To mark in your diary: and possibly go there!
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