Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master at Badminton. Photo by Jenni Autry.
All 83 horses that presented to the ground jury passed the first horse inspection at Badminton Horse Trials this afternoon. The weather has been dodgy all day, with rain falling early this morning and then patchy sunshine showing in the early afternoon. While the sun continued to shine until the start of the jog, the clouds quickly rolled in, and it seemed certain we were in for a total downpour. But the eventing gods showed mercy, and while it drizzled on and off for the duration of the jog, the weather held.
Peter Atkins and Henry Jota Hampton. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Considering the chilly, blustery, drizzly weather, it came as a surprise that the jog went so smoothly. Aside from a few horses taking a zig-zagging route down the jog strip and others bouncing around a bit, there were no notable incidents. No horses were asked to jog twice, and no horses were sent to the hold box — very smooth sailing for a four-star jog. Fifteen nations, a very exciting number for a four-star, will move on to the dressage, and 11 of the riders have two mounts, including our own Clark Montgomery.
Clark Montgomery and Universe. Photo by Jenni Autry.
All the riders with multiple horses trotted up their mounts back to back except Clark, who jogged Universe about a quarter of the way into the order and Loughan Glen at the very end. Buzz is attached at the hip to his stablemate Glen and gets a bit worked up around him at events, so Clark and Jess have had them separated so far; they vanned them over separately yesterday and also have the horses stabled separately. Glen is next to Ringwood Magister and Nick Gauntlett’s Grand Manoeuvre, and Buzz is on the opposite end of the aisle with the French horses.
Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Rebecca Howard looked very smart in a tailored blazer and eye-catching necklace and definitely stood out as one of the best dressed ladies. Riddle Master’s coat was absolutely gleaming despite the overcast skies, and he looks in fabulous form. Clark also dressed to impress in a very nice suit, and he also stands out as one of the best dressed. Tiana Coudray was very brave to wear a dress in the wind and with a very bouncy Finn in hand, but he didn’t pull any major antics — at least nothing out of the ordinary. Henry Jota Hampton had his ears pricked the whole way down the jog strip with Peter Atkins in true Henny form.
Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister. Photo by Jenni Autry.
I’m working on a gallery of all 83 horses at the jog, so keep checking back for much more from Badminton. The riders have just wrapped up their ring familiarization, and the wind is still gusting here in South Gloucestershire. Dressage times have now been posted. Clark and Buzz go at 10:42 a.m. and Peter Atkins and Henry Jota Hampton go at 11:58 a.m. later that morning. Tiana and Finn go at 9:44 a.m. Friday, Rebecca and Rupert go at 11:24 a.m. later that morning, and Clark and Glen go at 4:44 p.m. that afternoon. Go Eventing.
