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Badminton Horse Trials > History > News Archives > 2008 News > Badminton 2008 Diary

THE BADMINTON DIARY

Each month we'll be bringing you the latest developments and preparations for the 2008 event. You'll also find more photos in our 2008 Pre Event Photo Gallery

Deer in front of Badminton House

March @ Badminton

The pace in the Badminton office really hots up in March, as this is the last chance to make any administrative changes for the 2008 event. Our annual traffic meeting in the Village Hall reviews plans in the light of last year’s experience and any new features of the roads or car parks. A big range of agencies are involved – the Avon & Somerset Police, both Operational Planning and Traffic; the AA who do all the signage and the temporary traffic lights; Wiltshire Police and Gloucestershire Police, as we are right on the county borders; our parking and admission contractors, SEP; our Security company, EEP; South Glos Council; our own traffic stewards and site management team.
	Our regular & local artist, Caroline Bromley Gardner, starts work on the masterly coloured drawings that will illustrate the Programme and go on the website. She is the only person ever to have done drawings here, having suggested herself to start them off 40 years ago! Entries close on 13th March (see List of Entries). As always nowadays most of them arrive in the last few days, many over the web, and Jane Tuckwell spends hours sorting them and especially checking all the qualifications and points won – she and Paul Graham at British Eventing need an open telephone line for a few days! Eventually we can list who is accepted and who has to go on the wait list, from yet another record number of hopefuls.
On the cross country course the portable fences get moved into place in time for the all important visit of the FEI Technical Delegate, Giusseppe della Chiesa from Italy and his assistant Eric Winter. Eric has recently broken his foot falling off a young horse, but manages to get around pretty well! They inspect all the fences and offer invaluable advice – and also run through the competition admin with the event director. We receive a courtesy visit from the Council’s Health & Safety officers and check that everything from last year’s report has been put right. Happily we have an improving record but they will still come and inspect us, especially during the build up phase of the event.
	The grandstands start to be built in March – about 14,000 seats to be erected in about 5 weeks by our long standing partner Arena Seating. Site Manager Harry Verney marks out the exact locations, including the sites for the small stands on the cross country course. Danco, our tentage contractor, start work the day after Easter and will work 7 days a week to have everything completed by the weekend before the event. Again, every tent or stand is accurately marked out in the Park, as the jigsaw must not go wrong!
Publicity and work on press articles really gets going. Press Officer Julian Seaman is now fielding many requests for accreditation, access, facilities, interviews from newspapers, magazines, TV, Radio, websites, while Hugh Thomas is involved in a filmed preview of the course with Mike Tucker for the website; and shows Jonty Evans round the course – Jonty is writing a preview for Eventing Magazine – some compensation for being too low down on the Waiting List with his horse Cregwarrior, who went so well here last year, to be likely to get a start this time.

February @ Badminton

February is a month which is not as frenetic as January or March, but when a lot of important background work gets completed. BBC editor, director and engineering manager visit and fix the camera positions for the cross country – although some of the fences are still in the imagination!
	The Trade Stand village has been finalised and the unsuccessful applicants encouraged to apply again next year. We have an annual medical meeting, bringing together all our doctors, the ambulance service, & the Red Cross who man the onsite ‘Field Hospital’. The meeting is chaired by Chief Medical Officer Tony Walsh and is a mixture of logistical planning (who will be stationed where, where will the helicopter land...) and an exchange of clinical knowledge and experience in dealing with traumatic injuries. All the doctors are qualified in trauma management in addition to their regular specialities – orthopaedics, anaesthesia, etc.
For the first time in 2008, the Vets emulate their medical colleagues with a fully attended get together. FEI Veterinary Delegates Geoff Lane and Paul Farrington lead discussion on the treatment of major injuries; the procedure for stopping and examining horses that are bleeding on the cross country, however mildly; the checking of horses’ hearts prior to them starting; an equipment list for vets on course; the appointment of the Willesley Equine Clinic to staff the onsite veterinary centre and be the (nearby) clinic to which horses will be taken with major problems; and the enlargement and improvements to the Veterinary Centre itself.
The annual Traffic Meeting also takes place – representatives of the Police, admissions contractor, security, event officials, signage contractor discuss any changes to the routing of traffic or parking arrangements and leave with samples of the many passes that are issued.
The proposed all weather outdoor warm up arena has had to be postponed. Having seen the extent of the works required, the advisors have suggested we look again at alternative sites to ensure we have the optimum fit into the landscape of Badminton Park. This means that it is not now possible to get planning permission and complete construction in time for the 2008 event. Work on the going in the competition and warm up areas and on the course however continues week by week, with mowing and an application of fertiliser in the deer park. The next few weeks will see harrowing & aerating while mowing will be more frequent.

The event takes delivery of some irrigation equipment – ironically arriving in early March on the wettest day of the winter! We could never put enough water on the course to soften the ground, but we believe we can get enough to keep the grass growing strongly even in an extended dry spell.
	March will see all the portable fences going out on the course and being accurately positioned, in time for the FEI Technical Delegate’s visit towards the end of the month.

January @ Badminton

We were not exempt from the heavy rain and flooding that affected much of the south west of England!

Work on the cross country course had to stop for a week but overall Alan Willis made good progress with some new fences. (below)

Beaufort Staircase

Our Box Office opened to our ‘regulars’ on 7^th January and to new customers on the 14^th. As always the first few days were extremely busy and at the end of the first fortnight receipts were up about 15% on last year!

The background work in the office continues, with the highlight being a big step towards a ‘Green’ Badminton – we have agreed a scheme with our waste contractors for the sorting and recycling of most of the rubbish generated at the event.

The Trade Stand area has just been finalised, with a few new Exhibitors replacing the tiny proportion that drops out each year.

Visitors this year will see some important changes to the layout of the Showground, but most will not be affected! The Media Centre, together with Mitsubishi Motors Hospitality complex, will be moved as will the Organisers office and various other parts of the administration such as the Red Cross, the Parcels Depot and the Police Post. This move will improve access for necessary vehicles while getting those vehicles away from the pedestrians; it will also reduce the impact on the old parkland turf!

Agreements with sponsors in addition to Mitsubishi Motors

are being finalised and several new ones will soon appear on the website.

Ariel View of Badminton (2007 Event Week)