Badminton Park is always a special place to be, but it has been looking especially wonderful in the recent autumn sunshine. I have been lucky enough to enjoy some lovely rides but the deer are now in rut so it is the time to keep out!
The summer is always the time for meetings with contractors and catch up with sponsors, to whom we are very grateful for their continued support.
It is good to now be in full flow again and able to report on what we have been up to during the summer months.
The Park has recovered well from what was one of the wettest of events, thanks to the conditions since July and the good works of all those that have worked hard to put it right, including Roger Hughes (the farm manager) and his team, ably assisted by Andy Godwin and Jake Smith.
We have been looking at and working on the improvements to the traffic management, including introducing a new car park, which we believe will improve the flow of the traffic from the north. The campsite will have extended internal roads, more exits and a facelift to the facilities provided is also in the planning. We are continuing the drainage programme across the site.
Eric Winter has been at Badminton frequently, working on his ideas for the 2024 cross-country course, all will be revealed over the coming months!
2024 is the event’s 75th Anniversary and we will be celebrating this in various ways throughout the five days of the event. It is very apt this special anniversary should fall in an Olympic year, as the event was founded in 1949, due to the 10th Duke of Beaufort wishing to help the British team improve on their rather disappointing performance at the 1948 Olympics. On this note, congratulations to Ros Canter, Kitty King and the team on their success at the Europeans in August.
The team here and myself much look forward to welcoming you back in May 2024 and I will keep you updated over the coming months on our progress towards delivering an event for all to enjoy.