This year's Badminton Horse Trials have been moved a day so that the event will finish on Spring Bank Holiday Monday, meaning the cross-country will take place on the Sunday.
Hugh Thomas's course will go in the reverse direction to last year's route in the
Duke of Beaufort's Gloucestershire park. Spectators at the event, from April 30 to May 3, will enjoy clusters of obstacles,
which have become the feature of modern course design and course building is well under way.
While most of the international competitors will have their sights set on selection for September's World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, the 2009 Mitsubishi Motors Trophy holder, Oliver Townend, may not defend his title as he will take whatever horsepower he can summon to Kentucky the previous week in an attempt to win the Rolex Grand Slam.
However, he will have to weigh this up against another try for the HSBC FEI Classics series prizes, which depend on good results in as many of the five Classics events as possible.
This year's Badminton includes the Mitsubishi Motors Grass Roots Championships, with the cross country course being designed by James Willis. The Grassroots cross country will take place on Friday April 30, the first dressage day of the international competition.
Badminton's designated charity this year is World Horse Welfare, formerly known as the ILPH, which works around the globe, especially on the humane transport of slaughter horses and education in countries where horses are still working animals.
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