Harald Ambros and Vitorio du Montet. Photo by Cealy Tetley.
Nearly everyone who competes at Badminton puts in very long hours, riding horses at dawn and dusk. Only one of them, this year at least, spent the intervening hours – between sunrise and sunset – telling people politely to “open wide” (in German, natürlich) and peering at their gnashers.
Austria’s Harald Ambros, who scored 34.9 in the morning dressage session on Vitorio Du Montet, works full-time as a dentist.
“Since February, it’s been hard,” he concedes. “I’ve been training at 5:30am, getting everything ready, then starting work at 7:30am and often finishing by 5pm —then training again. I’ve kept my other horses out of competition for the past six weeks to focus entirely on him [Vitorio Du Montet].
The other legendary eventing dentist – I know, remarkable to have found two of them – was Henrich Romeike, who won individual and team gold for Germany at the 2008 Olympics. Famously, after the Germans lost their team gold in Athens, Heini used his dentistry skills to forge his own gold medal – who knows whether he handed back the “real” medal to the IOC, or his own copy…?
Harald, 45, last rode at Badminton 18 years ago, finishing 18th on Miss Ferrari, whom he also rode at the Athens Olympic. Three of the Austrian team that year were called Harald, which still amuses eventing journalists old enough to remember those halcyon days.
Paris 2024 was his fourth Olympics, and his Badminton ride, 16-year-old Vitorio Du Montet, was his choice then. The horse has actually been to Badminton before; he had a tired fall at the final fence with French rider Maxime Livio in 2022. The Lando gelding had a couple of jockeys after Maxime before Harald bought him in 2023.
“In the gap between Maxime and me, a young woman owned him with the goal of qualifying for the Olympics, but she had an accident herself and had to sell him. I bought him and started working toward qualification—and we made it. We competed in Paris last year, and now we’re here at Badminton. The original plan was to aim for the Europeans at Blenheim this year. I know Blenheim well—I rode at the Europeans there in 2005 with my last Badminton horse. But it’s very hilly and strong, and I thought Badminton might actually suit Vitorio better. It’s flatter, and he’s a good five-star horse.”
Harald Ambros and Vitorio du Montet representing Austria in Paris. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
He was fairly happy with his dressage test, saying: “Vittorio is a difficult horse in such big arenas, but he stayed cool, and I was able to ride what was possible. I’m very happy—it’s such an amazing atmosphere in there. The familiarisation yesterday really helped, and we did a lot of dressage work over the past few days. I’m very pleased with him.
“He can do everything technically—flying changes, pirouettes, all of it. But when his nerves kick in, he shuts down. If he gets blocked, he’ll tighten his neck, set his ears back—and you’ll get no points. He needs a clear head.
“At Paris, it was intense. The announcer made a big deal: ‘French horse, French breeding, Maxime Livio,’ and the crowd exploded. You expect it, but still—it’s hard on the horse. You have to prepare them. So now, I do lots of work outside—cantering, showing him the environment, building confidence. We did three sessions yesterday and two today, just making sure he’d seen everything.”
Harald’s last Badminton, 2007, is remembered for the aridity of the weather in the build-up, and the going ended up being firm. “That year was clockwise as well, and the weather was beautiful, just like this year. They’d done a lot of groundwork and sand preparation back then. I much prefer these sunny conditions over rain—it makes a huge difference, and I’m very happy. I think it’s a very fair course; the riders know what to do, and it is clearly presented.”
Asked how it felt to be back at Badminton after such a period of time, he replies: “It’s very special. I’m lucky to have a horse like Vittorio again. I’ve had other horses I could’ve entered, but they wouldn’t have made it through the cross country—not bold enough or not fit enough. They were good for Europeans or World Championships, but this is different. You have to be lucky to have the right horse—and when you do, you give it your best and enjoy every moment.
“When you’re young, you try to catch the time. When you’re older—like me—you’re happy to stay safe, enjoy the ride, and be grateful to be here.”
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