As soon as Michael Jung won the Rolex Kentucky CCI****, I texted Chronicle managing editor Sara Lieser: “Welp, I guess someone has to go to Badminton to witness this historic moment.”

The potential historic moment of course being Jung now—maybe—going on to win the Rolex Grand Slam. (And yeah, I use “welp” sometimes in texts. Don’t judge.)

Anyway, I was joking, not about the historic moment but about the “going to Badminton” bit.

But by the editorial conference call on Monday morning, my joke was becoming less of one. Editor Beth Rasin opened the meeting by saying, “Do you think we should go to Badminton?”

Everyone agreed that yes, the best shot in years at a Rolex Grand Slam victory seemed worthy of heading across the pond and witnessing in person. And by “witnessing,” I of course mean “writing about it for our website and magazine.” 

Having decided that, there were just a few, uh, minor details to sort. First, who could go? Could said person still get a flight? Could we find accommodations and a car? Could we still get press credentials? 

Being one of the childless and farmless staffers and without any other Chronicle travel already booked this week, I was the chosen one. Also I begged a lot. And offered to subsist on one meal a day and a couple of granola bars in my suitcase. And really just acted pretty annoying with the begging. 

Like every other person alive, I’m nothing if not an advanced Google user, so I got to work while the meeting continued. I found a cheapish flight, and then an hour later, while we were still sorting other details, it evaporated. Last ticket taken. This was the day before departure, after all. 

So, OK, I found a slightly more expensive ticket leaving Atlanta, just a few hours away from my home base of Knoxville, Tenn. It was only available through a potentially shady third-party website, but what could go wrong with that? (Um, potentially a lot of course, and I’ll keep you posted on how that goes for me.)

Ticket purchased. Ticket hopefully exists. 

The next few questions were easier to answer. My good friend and Eventing Nation correspondent Leslie Wylie had already booked her trip over, so I asked if I could essentially crash her trip: sleep on the couch or floor of her AirBnb, share a rental car to and from London and split expenses. Because she’s awesome, she was like, “Yeah, totally!” 

A quick call to the very helpful and friendly media manager at Badminton confirmed a press credential. (Thank you, Badminton!) One more problem solved. 

At this point, my heart was saying, “Yes!” and my mind started saying, “No,” or, “Are you insane?”

Traveling abroad for the Chronicle is wonderful fun and a great privilege, but it’s still stressful in a few small ways. I’d just returned from Rolex late Sunday night. I hadn’t really slept. My suitcase was still sitting fully packed with dirty clothes in the living room. I have a horse I hadn’t ridden in nearly a week. My husband was like, “Um, you’re going where tomorrow, and for how long?” And I didn’t want my dog to be sad. 

But sometimes there are opportunities in life you just can’t miss, and attending Badminton at all is one, never mind attending in a year when a Grand Slam is on the line. So I told my brain to be quiet and that, shady plane ticket pending, we were going to Badminton. 

Thanks, Michael! 

Make sure to check the Chronicle for coverage from Badminton all week!  You can follow along with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter too!

Follow along with COTH’s Lisa Slade’s adventures at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton CCI**** by reading all her staff blogs!