Badminton Horse Trials
Badminton Horse Trials takes place May 5 - 9, 2027 in Gloucestershire, England. The dress code is Country smart: waxed jacket, tweed, jeans or moleskins, and wellingtons - the cross-country course is long, often muddy, and walked entirely on foot. Typical cost ranges from 400 to 1200 EUR per person.
The world's most demanding five-star three-day event, run across the parkland of Badminton House in Gloucestershire since 1949. Dressage opens the week, Saturday's cross-country over solid fences draws enormous crowds, and Sunday's show jumping settles it. The shopping village and the tailgating are institutions in their own right.
- When
- May 5 - 9, 2027
- Where
- Gloucestershire, England
- Dress code
- Country smart: waxed jacket, tweed, jeans or moleskins, and wellingtons - the cross-country course is long, often muddy, and walked entirely on foot
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 400 to 1200 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 11 - 18C, mild with a real chance of rain
- When to book
- Advance tickets open on the Badminton box office in the autumn and are noticeably cheaper than gate prices, with car-and-occupant passes the best value. Saturday cross-country day is the one that sells out. Book Cotswold accommodation by January, as villages around the estate fill early.
- Getting there
- BRS (Bristol), around 45 min to the Badminton Estate; LHR (London) is roughly 2 h by road
- Where to stay
- Calcot Manor, The Lygon Arms Broadway, The Old Bell Malmesbury
- Official site
- https://www.badminton-horse.co.uk
How to attend
Tickets are sold directly through the Badminton Horse Trials box office online, with advance prices below the gate rate and car passes released in the autumn. Expect roughly 30 to 45 euros per person for cross-country Saturday, less for the dressage days, and more for reserved arena grandstand seats. There is no ballot and no membership requirement, which makes it one of the most genuinely accessible great sporting events in Britain - the only real skill is arriving early enough to park well.
Insider tip
Walk the cross-country course on Friday evening or early Saturday before the crowds arrive - it is free with your ticket, and the scale of fences like the Vicarage Vee only registers when you are standing next to them.
Get inside Badminton Horse Trials
Booking matters here: advance tickets open on the Badminton box office in the autumn and are noticeably cheaper than gate prices, with car-and-occupant passes the best value. Saturday cross-country day is the one that sells out. Book Cotswold accommodation by January, as villages around the estate fill early. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
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