More than 800 volunteers turn up every year to help out at the Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire which run this week between 7 – 11 May.

For one couple the event, which attracts about 200,000 visitors to watch the best horses and riders in the world, it really is a love affair.

Martin Fleur-Lane met his wife-to-be Emma nearly 25 years ago by the finish of the cross country course.

“We subsequently got engaged a few years later by the lake, so there are many happy memories for both of us, with families and friends attending with us over the years,” says Emma.

Throughout the year, Martin travels past Badminton every day to his furniture workshop in Luckington.

He has been volunteering at the event since about the mid 90s.

Mostly, he says he would be riding a quad bike delivering dressage scores down to the secretaries and giving lifts to riders from the lorry park to other areas of the ground.

“As a fence judge you are judging whether a horse and rider have both cleared the fence without incurring any penalties between the white and the red flags, which are positioned either side of the fence.

“During the day you also need to blow a whistle towards the next fence to alert them each time a competitor is approaching and to alert spectators in the immediate area that a horse is galloping down the track.

“It’s like a chain of whistles going around the course so that people know a competitor is on their way.”

Emma has been volunteering since about 2003.    

“We have regularly volunteered at various events over the years taking on various roles such as cross country steward, doing the start box, doing provisional scores in the cross country control box and dressage score writing,” she said.

Jane Tuckwell, the event director said she could not manage without her army of volunteers.

“MARS Badminton Horse Trials are incredibly grateful to all the wonderful volunteers that throw themselves 100% into the event to make it happen,” she said.

Martin and Emma along with the hundreds of other volunteers do it because they love it.

“I have been coming since I was a little girl and always loved it,” said Emma.

“For me it is my Christmas and is the highlight of the year.

“We have met many wonderful people over the years fence judging at events and made numerous friends who we regularly see throughout the year or team up with to fence judge with or work in other areas of events we attend.

“It takes many years of hard work and dedication from the riders, owners and support teams around them to get to this level and a lot of luck.

“You are seeing the best of the best here this week.”

“Badminton is not only to us, but to many people is the premier event in the world for everyone to come and enjoy and have such a fantastic weekend whether your horse mad or not it’s just a fabulous day out for all the family and the dogs love it too!”