Sporting excitement

IT is beyond exciting to have Badminton and Burghley back in the calendar this year, and we are gearing up for the former in earnest. Next week’s issue is our dedicated preview, complete with full course-walk with former winner and Olympic gold medallist Andrew Hoy, who will share his thoughts on how the course will ride this year and what riders’ tactics should be.

The following issue (7 May) is your essential form guide, detailing the chances of every horse and rider and highlighting those you really should watch. A must to be clutching whether in the crowds or watching on Badminton’s livestream.

In this issue, columnist Andrew Nicholson gives us a sneak peek into what to expect from Eric Winter’s intense, big, serious track (opinion, p14), with The Lake expected to pose a particular challenge this year. With a stellar list of entries, including former winners and first-timers deprived of their chance over the past two seasons, could this be the strongest Badminton ever? Good luck to Jane Tuckwell and the team in making it so.

On to a key issue of the day – the traceability of horses (news, 14 April). The British Horse Council, which represents the views of the horseworld to the Government, is asking for your views on equine identification as it stands. Without a complete system for equine ID, legislation supporting horse welfare is impossible to enforce. There would be myriad other benefits, from finding lost horses to monitoring horses’ careers. Do have your say: smartsurvey.co.uk/s/horsepassports