Badminton Horse Trials Reveal New Trophy for 2022

Just weeks before this year’s Badminton Horse Trials, Presented by Mars Equestrian, the organisers have revealed a brand new sustainably led Trophy.

Designed and made by award-winning animal sculptor Judy Boyt, using materials from the Duke of Beaufort’s Badminton estate, the new trophy retains its authenticity with each horse representing an individual element of the eventing mix. However, there’s a plentitude of finer details to be enjoyed by the winner who gets to take the trophy home following the event.

Judy, who has the distinction of sculpting both present-day Badminton trophies, three decades apart (she created the three-discipline Mitsubishi Motors trophy for 1992), has had a long wait to unveil this new work. She was commissioned in September 2019 and had been racing to finish it, working one-handed as the result of a bout of shingles, when the pandemic hit.

It’s been a huge honour and I’m very lucky, I know I am,”

she said,

but it has been hard keeping it a secret for two years and I am so pleased that everyone can see it now. We very much wanted to keep a link to the previous trophy, so you will see that it is again three horses, performing the three eventing disciplines of dressage, cross-country and show jumping, but with up-to-date tack and equipment. For instance, the dressage and show jumping horses are wearing ear muffs and I have re-created the modern stirrups and boots. I’ve had to do a lot of research!”

Sustainability

In keeping with the Horse Trials’ sustainability aims, the silver used for the trophy includes pieces from Badminton House, which were added to the mix, and the plinth, which allows plenty of space for future winners, was made by Marc Stevenson of Stevenson Brothers Rocking Horses, using timber from an old oak tree in the Badminton park.

A new type of winners enclosure

Another important touch, which preserves the link with the past and evokes the history of Badminton, is that all the winners’ names — from John Sheddon in 1949 to Piggy French (now March) 70 years later in 2019 — are archived in a secret drawer within the plinth.

We didn’t want the past winners to be forgotten,”

explained Judy.

It was very important to preserve the link with the past and with Badminton Estate.”

Around 80 combinations are expected to start this year’s event, with Britain’s Harry Meade riding either Tenareze or Cavalier Crystal first into the dressage arena on Thursday, May 5.

Tickets are on sale now, visit badminton-horse.ticketsrv.co.uk