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For every amateur eventer, Badminton Grassroots Championships is the dream. To be competing at the same iconic venue that hosts the legendary 5* Badminton Horse Trials is surreal. It\u2019s one of those milestones you always hope for, but never quite believe will happen. Yet here we are \u2014 our names are on the starting list!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buddy<\/strong>, as always, has been an absolute superstar. He\u2019s the kind of horse that gives his all, even when conditions aren\u2019t perfect. From our first cross-country schooling session to our last few outings leading up to this, he\u2019s felt more focused and responsive than ever. I honestly can\u2019t wait to ride into that arena and gallop across that hallowed turf with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prep has been full-on \u2014 lessons, fitness work, tack cleaning (endlessly!), and probably far too much list-making. There\u2019s something about packing for a big event that makes you feel like you\u2019re moving house. But it\u2019s all part of the fun. I\u2019ve loved every second of getting ready for this, even the last-minute panics and white sock scrubs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I\u2019m most looking forward to is soaking up the atmosphere. The eventing community is amazing, and to be surrounded by so many riders who\u2019ve worked just as hard to get here will be incredibly special. Plus, who doesn\u2019t love a good browse around the trade stands?<\/p>\n\n\n I know this will be one of those unforgettable experiences and I just want to have a good safe round. Buddy and I have already achieved something amazing just by being here \u2014 and whatever happens, I\u2019ll ride every stride with pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wish us luck \u2014 and if you see us at Badminton, come and say hi!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Keira and her horse Buddy have just arrived at Badminton and have popped together a little write up for us. “I can hardly believe I\u2019m writing this\u2026 Buddy and I are heading to Badminton Grassroots! After all the training, the qualifying rounds, and the highs and lows that come with eventing, we\u2019ve made it to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":2200851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[433,434,435,45,106,13,141,89],"class_list":{"0":"post-2201987","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-equestrian","8":"category-news","9":"tag-badminton-grassroots","10":"tag-badminton-grassroots-championships","11":"tag-badminton-horse-trials","12":"tag-british-eventing","13":"tag-equestrian","14":"tag-forelock-and-load","15":"tag-horse-riders","16":"tag-team-forelock-and-load"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/61\/2023\/05\/Saddle-Cloth-Image.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Kirstie","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/author\/kirstie\/"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/61\/2023\/05\/Saddle-Cloth-Image.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2201987"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2201992,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201987\/revisions\/2201992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2200851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2201987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2201987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2201987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/61\/2025\/05\/Buddy-1.2-681x1024.jpg\"){kind=spacer}