Badminton grassroots

The Voltaire Design Grassroots Championships is the official name for the grassroots eventing championships that take place each year at Badminton House ahead of the main five-star Badminton Horse Trials.

The competition moved to Badminton in 2010 and takes place at BE90 and BE100 levels. The traditional route to qualification has been via fiercely contested regional finals around the country, but these were replaced by area festivals in 2020, which provided a target in their own right, as well as being part of the route to the championships.

The opportunity to ride on the hallowed turf at Badminton has caused huge excitement among grassroots riders ever since the championships moved to the Gloucestershire event. The event has fuelled interest in these levels of eventing and bolstered the market for horses which can be competitive in BE90 and BE100 classes.

The first year that the grassroots championships ran at Badminton the cross-country was on the same day as the first day of dressage for the showcase class, which caused some issues with top-level horses being excited by the tannoy and cross-country atmosphere. The timetable was subsequently changed so the grassroots cross-country has since always been scheduled on the trot-up day for the main event.