With competition about to get underway at the 2023 Badminton Horse Trials, presented by Mars Equestrian, we take a look at what lies ahead for riders on the cross-country course on Sunday 7 May 2023.
The course is approximately 6,700m in length and has an optimum time of 11min45sec. Designed by Eric Winter, how will this year’s Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course ride?
Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course 2023
1. Spillers Starter

2. Bloomfields Horseboxes Keepers Table

3. Tortworth Hotel Brush

4 ABCD Savills Staircase




Alternative 4D

5AB Countryside Alliance Stick Pile

Alternative 5AB


6AB Joules Coronation Corral


7. Air Ambulances UK Bullfinch


8ABC Lightsource BP Hollow



9. Izusu 4 bar 4

10AB Mars Equestrian Sustainability Bay



11. Rolex T Bar

12AB Holland Cooper Owl Hole

Alternative 12B

13ABCD KBIS Brush Boxes



Alternative 13BC

14. Footbridge

15AB Lightsource BP Pond direct route A

15AB Lightsource BP Pond alternative route A

There are three 15B options for riders to jump – the fastest is in the background of the above picture on the left, the second fastest is the fence in the middle in the background and the slowest route is the fence just in the top right-hand corner of the above picture, as shown in order below:



16. Pedigree Dog Kennel

17AB LeMieux Mound



Alternative 17B

18, 19AB Mars M Tables



20. World Horse Welfare Jetty

21ABC, 22. Badminton Lake direct route on the left of the corner, alternative on the right of the corner

Direct 21C


Alternative 21BC

Direct 22

Alternative 22

23. Project Pony Splash

24. Beaufort Brush Box

25AB Voltaire Design Huntsmans Close – first possible route


Second possible route at 25AB – this one will be slightly faster


26. Jubilee Clump Brush

27AB HorseQuest Quarry – direct route



Fence 27AB alternative route


28AB Brewers Drays


29. Rolex Pheasant Log

30. Coronation Finale

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials
If you are interested in watching Badminton Horse Trials live from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. To sign up, visit watch.badminton-horse.tv – click the “Sign Up” link in the top right corner of your screen, then follow the instructions. An annual subscription to Badminton TV costs £19.99 and gives you 365 days of access to all of the content in the Badminton TV library, the ability to watch the action live, and the option to replay all of this year’s action later.
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Meet Badminton first-timer Georgia Bartlett: ‘He is my first horse and we’ve worked our way up from BE100’
‘We thought we might have to give up on him’: the Badminton-bound horse who’s like an eel to ride
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