Tickets are now available for this year’s Badminton Horse Trials (3-7 May).
The Tuesday and Wednesday sees the running of the Mitsubishi Motors Cup, the pinnacle of grassroots eventing in the UK. The shopping village opens on the Wednesday and boasts over 275 retailers.
The four-star competition kicks off on Wednesday, when visitors can watch the trot-up in front of Badminton House. This is followed by the dressage on Thursday and Friday, the much-anticipated cross-country on the Saturday, and finally the showjumping on Sunday.
“As previously announced, Badminton has a new course designer for 2017, in Eric Winter, who cut his teeth designing at Blenheim for 10 years,” said an event spokesman.
“For many years now Badminton has welcomed the very best riders from around the world, but for the home side, after the Olympic cycle, the British have a new team trainer to impress in Chris Bartle, previous Badminton winner and former mentor to the all-conquering German squad.
“Will we see a new world order?”
The cheapest way to buy tickets is in advance via the box office, which closes on 24 April (for admission and parking. The box office for grandstand tickets and membership badges will close on 28 April). Here you can buy car passes, admission tickets and grandstand tickets to watch the dressage and/or showjumping in reserved seats if required.
Admission charges for the 2017 event
To access the event, you will need a car pass, which costs £10 per day or £30 for the season (whole event) in advance. A vehicle pass does not include personal admission for the driver. The cost of buying a car pass on the gate (cash only) is £12 per day, with no season pass option.
Personal admission tickets bought in advance cost £7 for Wednesday, £15 for Thursday/Friday, £28 for Saturday and £14 for Sunday. A season pass costs £55. If bought on the gate (cash only), tickets are £8 for Wednesday, £17 for Thursday/Friday, £30 for Saturday and £16 for Sunday.
Admission for children aged 12 and under is free.
Most seats in the grandstands for dressage on Thursday and Friday are unreserved and their use is included in personal admission. For a guaranteed seat in a location of your choice, buy a grandstand ticket in addition to your admission ticket in advance. Seats will be available from £6.50-£13.
Grandstand seating is free on the Saturday.
Covered showjumping grandstand seats for the final day are priced between £13 and £40. Uncovered tiered seats will also be available in front of the grandstands, priced between £9 and £11.
Membership to Badminton is also available (car passes and general admission must be bought in addition to membership) from the Thursday of the event. Membership costs £12 for Thursday/Friday, £16 for Saturday and £16 for Sunday. Alternatively you can buy a season membership badge for all four days, for £42. Membership grants access to the members’ enclosure, which is on the south side of the main arena, near the scoreboard and next to the north end of the tradestands. There is also exclusive access to members’ toilets and catering facilities.
Related articles:
- Could you design the final 2017 Badminton cross-country fence?
- 16 weird and wonderful looks from the Badminton trot-up
- Taken a great eventing photo? Win press accreditation to Badminton
Campsite admission is also available from £170-£230, which also includes the admission of a car to the public car park and two campsite/personal admission badges to the event.
More information about tickets is available on the Badminton Horse Trials website.
