All in a day’s work Badminton media director Julian Seaman
Julian Seaman on juggling one of the biggest media tents in the equestrian calendar with his role as lecturer of fashion design
There have been lots of amazing moments at Badminton,
one of which has to be Andrew Nicholson winning last year on his 37th completion. It certainly created a fantastic buzz in the media centre. A not-so-amazing moment was when I had to do a TV interview with American eventer Bruce Davidson, who is notorious for giving one word answers — and that’s exactly what he did! It was dreadful. That and interviewing Mary King once while her chickenpox-infected children were climbing over her.
Badminton is such a big event that running the media centre can be extremely stressful.
It requires one to be on the ball all the time, but I’m blessed to work with such a fantastic team and it helps that the sponsors are super, too. Mitsubishi works closely with us in the run-up to and during the event, and it makes for a brilliant environment to work in. We’ve all become good friends over the years and it’s terribly good fun. Someone even asked me once: “Julian old boy, have you ever thought of running a nightclub?”
Lucinda Green was and still is my Badminton heroine.
To have achieved all that she did and to have won Badminton six times is just incredible — especially having ridden there myself and knowing first-hand how hard it is.
My favourite fence at Badminton was the Normandy Bank,
which was removed years ago. It was a real rider scarer and the mental equivalent of Becher's Brook. I’ve never felt Badminton is the same without it. I jumped it five times while competing in the 70s and 80s and there’s not a single picture to prove it. My best result was ninth in 1978.
My favourite horse was MerelyA-Monarch, who won the event in 1962.
I saw a documentary at a Pony Club social evening of Anneli Drummond-Hay riding him at Badminton when I was a kid, and that is what spurred me on to event and ride at Badminton.
I took over as press officer at Badminton
Horse Trials from Jim Gilmore the year after foot and mouth disease in 2002.
Jim became the first Badminton press officer when Princess Anne started riding in the 70s and there was a lot of media interest. The press room was pretty much a telephone in a white tent back then. He did the role for many years until he retired aged 82.
Being media director at Badminton isn’t my only job.
I live full-time in London and teach fashion design at Central St Martins and the Royal College of Art. Horses and art have gone in complete parallel all my life because I was always arty as a kid, and have ridden since I was eight. In 1977 I first completed Badminton, and six weeks later graduated with a first from Central St Martins. I’ve now been teaching fashion for 22 years.
The biggest revolution in my time has been social media —
it has changed the dynamics of the job hugely. It’s increased the workload — and team required — 10-fold. We now do our own photos, blogs and videos. In the old days, if I didn’t have complete control of everything that went out, I’d freak, but that just isn’t possible now with people
constantly posting online.
Not everything goes to plan
and, at the press lunch one year, I introduced the managing director of Mitsubishi, and completely forgot his name. Luckily, someone whispered it under their breath to remind me...
‘We’ve all become very good friends over the years and
it’s terribly good fun. Someone even asked me once: “Julian old boy,
have you ever thought of running
a nightclub?”’