The organizers of the Badminton Horse Trials CCI**** (England) have reinstated an entry fee for 2012, a decision aimed at preventing the entry of horses unlikely to actually compete in the event. This is a reversal of a 2008 decision to eliminate entry fees and is a controversial move. The fee will be £312.24, or $480.

Event director Hugh Thomas told British magazine Horse & Hound: “The inevitable consequence [of removing the fee] was a deluge of entries. But it was unfair to those on the waiting list desperate to get in.”

Top riders are split in their opinion of the decision but can expect to see a bump in the prize money for the event. According to Thomas, the money would be returned in the form of increased prizes and expenses paid to owners’ whose horses complete the event.