Horse trials only part of it

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 16

Horse trials only part of it

By

TUI THOMAS

“Badminton” to the horsey set means an equestrian version of the modern pentathlon, a comprehensive test of allround horsemanship in dressage, riding over a tough cross-country course and in show jumping.

But the celebrated Badminton Horse Trials, started in 1949, are a very recent phase in the history of the 700-year-old Badminton House, the stately home of successive Dukes of Beaufort and headquarters. of the famous Beaufort Hunt since about 1762. Badminton is one of the last of the really big estates in Britain and represents a way of life which is fast disappearing. So Barry Campbell, a 8.8. C. feature writer and horse sports enthusiast, decided to write a history of the place. He has put a tremendous amount of detailed research into his book, “The Badminton Tradition.” from archives of the estate and other sources. His characters from past centuries to the present time come alive as they ride to hounds, make merry and indulge in enormous banquets. But it will not escape the notice of readers that the' Dukes of Beaufort have also passed down a

strong social conscience to their descendants. They seem to have been very popular peers with the “jacks” as well as the "masters” in the county, and the present Duke (the tenth) has earned the affection and respect of all Britons associated with horses and hounds. Barry Campbell says he is also the greatest foxhunter, of all the Beauforts and was still hunting two

days a week last year at 78, having relinguished the dual role of Master and Huntsman in 1967 after two nasty falls Badminton House has been owned by only two families in 700 years: the Botelers and the Somersets. The manor house was bought by a Somerset (the family name of the Dukes of Beaufort) in 1608 and has, from time to time, been extended to its present magnificence. It is a place of solid comfort, not merely a museum piece of collectors’ treasures, guests say. An intergral part of Badminton House and the Beaufort Hunt are the carefully-bred hounds, “perhaps the most famous in the world,” the author

says. Beaufort hounds have certainly shown followers fine sport. The Greatwood Run of 1871, for instance, stands out. in the annals of foxhunting. On this hunt hounds are said to have run 27 miles with one eight-minute check during the course of three and a half hours. About a million people go hunting throughout Britain every week during

the season, according to Campbell. Plucky riders enjoy the sport for its spice of risk and for the exhiliarating uncertainty of what the day will bring. But for how long will foxhunting last in Britain?

With galloping inflation and the rising cost of hunters — up to $4OOO for a good one in the U.K. today — there is a real economic threat to the sport.

Hunting may eventually become the pastime of the very rich and privileged again, but the Badminton Horse Trials, which the present Duke of Beaufort started on his estate in 1949, will go on for as long as there are international riding events and

keen spectators, including the British Royal family. The Badminton Horse Trials, “a most English occasion” as the author calls it, are today a major international ■ equestrian event and a unique social occasion. It is far from an “upper crust” affair, for anyone with the price of an admission ticket is welcome. Last year 200,000 attended the cross-country day to see some of the world’s leading riders, including Princess Anne, tackle the 34 awe-in-spiring jumps over the I6J mile course, the author says. And when he comes to the Badminton Horse Trials in the book he is at his most entertaining as a writer. His colourful, graphic descriptions of riding performances, of the spectators and news media representatives milling round Badminton Park in relaxed, happy mood, involve the reader as one of the crowd. Barry Campbell, the author of “Horse Racing in Britain,” won the 1974 Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award for the best radio drama serial, a dramatisation of Evelyn Waugh’s “Sword of Honour” trilogy. From his latest book he could surely do an excellent script for a television documentary series on Badminton, its" history and its horse trials. “The Badminton Tradi- . tion” was published by Michael Joseph. It has 238 pages, including an index, lists of Badminton winners and Britain’s Olympic and European successes, as well as a nest of 15 photographs. The New Zealand price is $18.15.