MY first ever visit to the Badminton Horse Trials reminded me of my first, and to date only, visit to the Melbourne Cup.

For years I had been hearing amazing reports about the ‘race that stops a nation’ and, to be honest, I was probably prepared for disappointment. Surely it could never live up to the hype? Well, the truth is that Melbourne was all that it promised to be – and more.

The same feeling applied to Badminton. “You have to go. It is amazing. You cannot imagine the scale of it.” These, and more, were some of the comments I heard in the lead up to my visit, and they proved to be true.

Getting there was more of an ordeal than anything else, with a key junction on the M4 being closed and adding significantly to the journey time. Even with hold-ups and the predicted traffic jams to enter, I could not have imagined the two hour drive taking four and a half! There was nothing to do but endure it – but patience paid off.

The advice was to make plans to meet people you want to see before you set off. It is good counsel. With enormous crowds – estimates vary from 100,000 upwards for the cross-country day – it is unlikely you will simply bump into people you want to see. That said, the first of the Irish I met was Clare Ryan and her sister Mary.

Few people are as knowledgeable about eventing as Clare and it was a particular pleasure to see Mary after so many years. My own first experience of showing was on a pony belonging to their mother Sheila Warlow. Unbeaten the first five occasions on which we competed, we met our first defeat at Fermoy, beaten, if memory serves me correctly, by Don Hannigan and others.

Like a magnet, the first major attraction on Saturday was The Lake, the iconic home to fences 11 to 13. The first rider I saw tackle it was Britain’s Kristina Cook and she took a major ducking after her mount De Novo News failed to negotiate it safely.

She was followed immediately by Aoife Clark, a former winner of The Irish Field Senior Eventer of the Year award and she sailed through on Vaguely North. Soon after that Esib Power tackled the same obstacles with sheer grit, and safely, on September Bliss.

Walking the course proved to be much easier than expected and, in spite of the crowds, it was easy to see the action at each fence. Thankfully the benign weather contributed greatly to this. Warm weather brings out the best in everyone.

The third competitor to go across country was Joseph Murphy, winner of The Irish Field eventing award in 2014, and his exemplary round on Sportsfield Othello within the time allowed was the start of a generally good day for the Irish competitors.

Finishing on joint 70th after dressage, Joseph catapulted himself up the standings after going across country and went into the final day in 28th position. He improved a further three places after jumping the coloured poles and recorded his best ever effort at the venue. He was awarded the Glentrool Trophy for his performance on Saturday.

Joseph finished third-best of the Irish, with Aoife Clark and Michael Ryan both breaking into the top 10. Aoife was a model of consistency and but for a fence down in show jumping would have finished fourth. Her eighth place equalled her placing two years ago on Master Crusoe and was one better that Michael Ryan, who rebounded from 48th place after dressage to finish 21st after Saturday, and jump another 12 places when clear in show jumping. This was his highest finish.

While horses are to the forefront at Badminton, the event is very much a social one, though on a massive scale. Over 275 exhibitors are attracted to display their wares, bringing with them the widest range of services and products. A little surprisingly, I only counted four Irish stands among the array of offerings.

Military precision and a strict adherence to timings meant that yet another Badminton event ran smoothly. This first visit will hopefully not be my last and, if you have never been, it is an outing to make. A two and a half hour drive after you get off the Rosslare crossing will have you in the heart of eventing heaven. Make it a date for the diary in 2016.

The upcoming Tattersalls International Horse Trials and Country Fair will be the next stop for many and Badminton has certainly whetted my own appetite even more for the highlight of Ireland’s eventing calendar.