H&H eventing editor Pippa Roome considers why Mars Badminton Horse Trials has a smaller entry this year – and whether it matters
The news that the Mars Badminton Horse Trials entries did not generate a waiting list for this year’s event (6-10 May) has been met with some concern.
Badminton has pulled in 80 entries. That includes double entries for David Doel, who will only ride two of his three horses listed, and five possible mounts for Harry Meade, who will start on a maximum of three. This means the actual possible line-up is 77 horses, but withdrawals mean this will whittle down to probably around 60 or 65 going to post.
The release of the Badminton Horse Trials entries comes off the back of the announcement that Mars Maryland 5 Star will not run this year, spiralling a discussion about the potential demise of the five-star level of eventing.
But is there really cause for worry? Let’s take a look at the history and consider some reasons why entries may be down.
Badminton Horse Trials entries: the numbers
First, let us put an entry of 80 in context – remember, this is not the first year there has not been a waiting list.
Since 2023, when qualifications for five-star were effectively tightened by changes in rider categorisation, the Badminton entry has been smaller than in the years before. In 2023, there was no waiting list (83 entries; 64 starters), in 2024 there was a waiting list of three (90 entries; 68 starters) and last year there was a waiting list of 16, who were all accepted (102 entries; 81 starters).
With those numbers in mind, an entry of 80 and no waiting list this year does not feel disastrously out of kilter with the three previous years. It’s on the small side, yes, but we are certainly not seeing a general downward trend.
Championship versus five-star
There is no doubt, though, that eventing has changed and five-stars – particularly the “bigger” British five-stars – are no longer the only goal in mind for riders. Where once upon a time the same horses were aimed at Badminton and then that year’s championship, increasingly the sport has two pathways at the higher levels, which run in parallel.
Our championships – with the first and last phases often on a surface and the cross-country over a shorter and less difficult course than at Badminton or Defender Burghley Horse Trials – tend to favour a different kind of horse to those who excel at the British five-stars. Yes, some horses can do both successfully – double Badminton and Burghley winner, Olympic gold medallist and European champion Lordships Graffalo is a case in point. But many horses are better suited to one sort of competition or the other.
Some riders will prioritise championships, depending on factors such as their personal goals, their owners’ desires and national funding, and so will channel their horse selection programme towards those which can excel in those medal arenas rather than aiming towards Badminton.
With the championship cycle in mind, it’s not overly surprising that this year’s Badminton entry is smaller than last year’s. This year, we have a World Championships, which means riders from nations such as the USA, Australia and New Zealand are considering their route to selection and perhaps not thinking of Badminton as their optimal pathway, whereas in a European Championship year such as 2025, American and Antipodean riders do not have a major championship to consider.
Across those three nations, there were 16 starters last year and are 14 entries this time, a gap which isn’t huge but may grow before the event with the natural wastage of withdrawals. As a side point, the big drop is in New Zealanders, with US entries actually up this time.
Additionally, the Europeans are considered a less important championship. If a rider from a Continental European country wanted to give Badminton a go, they’d perhaps be more likely to do that in a European Championship year, with less at stake. There were four Belgians at Badminton last year and two are entered this time, while Germany also fielded four last May and that has shrunk to one potential starter for 2026.
Last year’s Europeans was the least important championship of the four-year Olympic cycle from the point of view that it had no bearing on Olympic qualification. This summer’s worlds offers nations a first chance to get a team qualification for Los Angeles 2028 under their belts and that will be a looming factor for selectors, coaches and chefs d’equipes advising riders on where to compete.
The next generation
On a different note, we are seeing the gradual dumbing down of the sport at under-age level. We have just four British first-timers among the Badminton Horse Trials entries this year and none of them are very young; their average age is 37, with a span from 29 to 46 years old.
Back in the day, the young rider Europeans ran at what is now CCI4*-L so a significant proportion of riders contesting that championship came out of the under-21 level ready to give Badminton a crack the following year. Now, the young rider Europeans run at CCI3*-L and the step up to five-star is more of a gulf.
Last year, the under-25 championship at Bramham Horse Trials ran at CCI4*-S rather than CCI4*-S for the first time – this does not help to funnel younger riders on up to five-stars.
This season, the under-25 World Championships makes its debut, again at CCI4*-S level. There are good reasons for picking this level, not least that fewer nations could field a squad at CCI4*-L level and number of flags is important at championships. But the existence of this championship, at this level, will over time encourage some riders to hold back at CCI4*-S for a shot at those medals, rather than pushing on to five-star.
Does it matter?
I remember some 15 years ago, an eminent event director telling me that from a spectator point of view, 85 starters at Badminton was too many. As the hardest core eventing fan around, I found this hard to believe – the more horses, the more sport, the better, right?
But they may have a point – a top-class showjumping grand prix generally has 40 starters and one of the oft-cited downsides of eventing when we try to sell it to a broader public is that the sprawling nature of the sport, building up over eight hours a day for four days, makes it difficult to follow and lacking excitement.
There is a balance, though. I would say the optimal number of five-star starters for the crowd is perhaps 70 to 75, with 60 to 65 starting to feel a little small.
It was heartening earlier this year, when interviewing for a Horse & Hound magazine feature about what movers and shapers would like to keep and change in eventing, to hear the huge support for keeping five-star as the pinnacle of the sport. There is no doubt “the ultimate test” still features significantly when asking what matters in eventing.
I don’t think we need to panic about the Badminton Horse Trials entries and the lack of waiting list. Some variation in numbers is natural and inevitable and we have not seen a general downward trend over the past few years. Let’s keep an eye on it – and keep talking about it.
Why do you think entries are smaller at Badminton this year than in 2025? Write to hhletters@futurenet.com and your comments may be published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine. Please include your nearest town and county for publication and note letters may be edited for length and clarity.
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