A local couple who arrange the flowers for the Royal Box at Badminton Horse Trials and have done so for the past 55 years, are Tim and Maureen Young, from Midsomer Norton.

The pair are also responsible for the flower arrangements for all of the Rolex time-pieces around the trade stands and box office. The horse trials celebrated its 70th Anniversary this year, which is a terrific milestone – and what an achievement for Tim and Maureen it has been to have been involved.

Tim said: “The character of the horse trials has stayed the same over all these years – the stands are selling first-class things to the country set. The number of flowers is much reduced these days; all the banks once had floral displays and there were many more sites for the flowers.”

In some of those early years, when security was not such a feature of the trade stand area of the trials, flowers would go missing from the displays in the public areas, but Tim added that this does not happen now! Anyone at the Horse Trials may have seen Tim and Maureen out early in the mornings, tending to the flowers to ensure they looked their best each day.

Rosie Sage