Memoirs of Biddy Wingfield Digby
THE announcement of the cancellation of Badminton Horse Trials, due to take place this month, caught the equestrian public by surprise, having expected it to run this year ‘behind closed doors’. Quite aside from the fans who miss watching the action, it’s a particular blow to owners for whom getting a horse to Badminton is a lifetime’s ambition, and to British team selectors.
“It leaves a gaping hole for us – it would have been a great chance for some athletes to go out and put themselves right in contention for the summer’s Olympic Games,” laments Richard Waygood, performance director of Britain’s eventing team.
It was to improve our Olympic prospects that the 10th Duke of Beaufort dreamt up the horse trials in the first place. After a somewhat dismal showing from the British team in the horse trials at the 1948 London ‘austerity Olympics’ at Aldershot, he decided practice was needed to avoid a repeat performance at the next games in Helsinki. His horse
