There seemed to be a particular buzz about Badminton this year. Eric WInter is always my favourite course designer and in this 2019 Badminton, his third, he was really stamping his mark. A clever course, one to test both rider and horse: an imaginative one with some ‘old fashioned’ questions combined with unique new ideas to make the riders think and to ride by ‘feel’. I like to walk the course on a quieter day, do a little bit of shopping and then spend all of cross-country Saturday at home on my sofa with endless cups of tea, watching the competition live on TV. This year I was wearing a coat that I recently pulled out of the back of my cupboard where it has been hiding for the past decade or so. OK, it is a tiny, wee bit faded, has strange pink splash marks on the back and a broken button but on the other hand, it is really, really warm and very light in weight. It is, therefore, ideal to wear for a day at Badminton where the weather can change two seasons in one hour. I think I bought it at Badminton in 1990 but quality never goes out of fashion! The event is definitely growing. The grassroots now have a go on the Wednesday with the Mitsubishi Cup running at BE90 and BE100. This is also good for the tradespeople manning the literally hundreds of stands in the shopping village as it brings in people earlier in the week. There is a Young Event Horse competition on Thursday, there are dressage displays and stallion parades on the three main days. And lots of shopping. The opportunity to walk the course is available everyday. What really surprised me were the large numbers of people on the non-cross-country days moving around the full 4 miles of the course, walking and discussing and imagining. My Saturday passed in a contented bubble, barely leaving the sofa for the kettle, while engrossed in the live coverage. Sunday, however, I was out fence judging at a lovely, more lowly BE event, in a wonderful location, in the sunshine and watching horses past every two minutes. Eventing is fun, from top to bottom.