Badminton virtually cancelled???

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Seriously though, it will be a great shame if the spectacle is devalued as a result of the weather, but also good in some respects to see professionals putting the welfare of their horses first....particularly in view of recent events across the water
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well said rambo!
 
Oh no, this is awful
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Tell you what, I'll sort it out - if I jump in the car now, I'll be there in a few hours, bound to rain then cause it ALWAYS chucks it down when I go
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(Joking aside ....fingers crossed, what an awful predicament for everyone involved.)
 
The trouble is, as Hugh Thomas, the organiser of Badminton, is also the chairman of the British Equestrian Federation, he's hardly going to sack himself! Someone will have to fall on their sword, even if the event still goes ahead with a small field, because of the damage already done to Badminton's reputation with all this bad publicity today. Did anyone see Hugh Thomas's quote in the papers today, that it was only yesterday they could go ahead with remedial work when they realised it wasn't going to rain?????!!!!!!
 
Go back through all of these posts and you will see that the reasons why they weren't able to start any earlier are mentioned; it's no use being sarcastic, they are doing their absolute best as it was just mentioned on the radio, cost has not come into it at all.
 
you aren't seeing things - to be honest, with all the entries that there are, i suspect only a few with perhaps only 1 true prospect, like Zara, will withdraw.

collectively they may all decide not to take the time into consideration in order to not stress the horses..

you can see the times Zara has done really well on Toytown have been in really wet conditions where he just ate the ground up like a seasoned hunter!!!

Bx
 
Just heard that too about the cost. Everyone working on Badminton is doing their damn hardest to get as good a going as possible. Am sure no one ever expected such a dry period particularly at this time of year. The problem Badminton faced was that they aerovated the ground 6 weeks ago expecting rain but this never happened and so the ground dried up even more.
And lets face reality ground conditions like this are going to become more common and we are all going to have to get use to it.
I understand that its Europeans this year and the Olympics next year and we all have the horses welfare paramount but as much as we would love to ride on perfect going at every event this is going to be harder to achieve.
Maybe as already suggested they extend the time limit and so riders don't have to fly round.
I seem to be rambling, sorry
 
No, you've made a lot of sense.
I've loved how the commentators have been making so much of a dressage test on grass, that would never have been said a few years ago; everyone's getting too soft - and I'm not talking about pushing their horses too hard but about being realistic, horses were meant to work on grass, not false ground all the time!
 
QR: radio badminton have said the entire course is now covered in top-soil

And interestingly that on HHO, Kim Severson had said that the ground at Badminton is what they're used to in the States
 
At least 20% of the visitors wouldn't even REALISE there were no horses running - they are too busy with the trade stands.

Or in the Pimms tents
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Yes people will probably still go to shop.

Friends of ours run a stall there and at Burghley every year and have never seen a horse as they get so busy and theres only the 2 of them.
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I appreciate what you say but if the ground had dried up even more after the aerating then there's even less excuse for not watering. No-one doubts that the organsiers are busting their balls now, but you have to be worried that the people running Badminton are meant to be the experts and hadn't thought of the worst case scenario that's now upon us. Every day during the summer at least three racecourses up and down the country run on grass and so far have managed to produce "good" going. If little tracks - and I am not talking about the Ascots or the Newmarkets - with limited reources, can provide this, there is NO NO NO excuse for Badminton which - all being well - would normally be taking millions of pounds on the gate tomorrow.
Stop press: Just heard that Hugh Thomas will give an interview on BBC Five Live tonight at about 7pm.
 
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At least 20% of the visitors wouldn't even REALISE there were no horses running - they are too busy with the trade stands.

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A load of us went last year and didn't see a singe horse run.........Pimm's was far more important
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ETA: What exactly is aerating? I'm assuming is softens the ground?
 
There's a bit of a difference between watering a racecourse which would be not much further than a mile all round, if that in some places, but this is 4 miles plus, a slightly different situation particularly taking in the contours of the land into account too. I understand completely your frustration, but not one person would ever have foreseen this scenario IN THIS COUNTRY AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, not even the weather people especially after the wet spring we have had. It's gone from waterlogged to arid in the space of days; nobody could have predicted that.
As the other countries are saying it's what they usually have to go on, perhaps our country will have to rethink our ways just to keep up?
 
They will happily run flat races on "Firm" ground, which would not be acceptable to most eventers. Some horses even prefer and will only run on good to firm or quicker. Yes they do water racecourses, and they have been watering Badminton, for a couple of weeks at least (or have been posing pics of men with large hoses anyway)...

A lot of the point to points to be run this weekend have been called off.

Oh and a lot of ground conditions depend heavily on what soil you've got under the grass. Clay is bad as it bakes hard, sandy loam is better. Not 100% sure what Badminton is on though.
 
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The trouble is, as Hugh Thomas, the organiser of Badminton, is also the chairman of the British Equestrian Federation, he's hardly going to sack himself! Someone will have to fall on their sword, even if the event still goes ahead with a small field, because of the damage already done to Badminton's reputation with all this bad publicity today. Did anyone see Hugh Thomas's quote in the papers today, that it was only yesterday they could go ahead with remedial work when they realised it wasn't going to rain?????!!!!!!

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The reason they couldn't start the remedial work (by which they mean laying extra top soil- 500 tonnes if one source is to be believed!
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) is that if it were to rain, it would just get washed away and it would have been as good as not doing it.

They have been constantly watering the course and landings/take offs but it just isn't enough to compete with not having had any rain.

Fingers crossed for good enough conditions to run most horses tomorrow.
 
Do you want me to send my dad down there with his camera for a nice long walk? Whenever he takes his camera out grey clouds always seem to come along; and whenever he goes on a long walk, it always seems to rain!

Seriously, though, if they don't cancel it, and some people run, there is still competition! But I do hope they all think of their horse's welfare.
 
Sorry - brain freeze moment...

Didn't want anyone thinking I'd been looking at any "interesting" websites now do I!

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I did have a firefighters calendar when I was 16 though - very big hoses...

Edited because I can't type (or proofread!)
 
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CM - it's not just a rumour I'm afraid, I've heard several riders say they are likely NOT to compete. Zara's interview was much earlier this morning...

They have NOT watered up until now.

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There are obviously going to be a few withdrawals, hope it won't end up like Ballindenisk
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