‘Badminton course designer Eric Winter will be pleased with his statistics, but he didn’t help British selectors,’ says Mark Phillips

50 Sam Watson riding Ballyneety Rocketman during the cross country phase at during the MARS Badminton Horse Trials at Badminton, near Tetbury in Gloucestershire in the UK between 6 - 10 May 2026

**H &H eventing columnist and one of the world’s top course designers Mark Phillips analyses the Badminton cross-country course and the TV commentary **

In the old days, Frank Weldon built Badminton so that when the Brits reached the championship later in the year, the course would seem easy. With my selector hat on, I was disappointed with this year’s course! This was not a bigger and more difficult version of what the squad will face at the World […]