Stood up for horses that play badminton?

I am now really concerned about Mum. After several days of saying she is feeling too poorly to ride (I feel this could be true as she looked like our famous cousin Rudolf) she now has the audacity to say she was too busy watching horses play badminton!

I had to look this up in my 'whicker'piedia, but from what I can tell its a sport humans play with a fat carrot and a bat with lots of holes in it. I can't work out how horses could play it??? So I am starting to think Mum might not be telling me the truth. Why she would want to watch other horses, especially in the gale force winds and rain we have had when she could be riding me instead is most peculiar. 

Zippy and I are most mystified.