Go eventing.

Susan Beebee and Prowler

Update: Truluck did not present at the jog, meaning that 45 horses will do dressage

All of the horses presented passed the first horse inspection at Rolex and the field moves on to the dressage tomorrow.  Hollywood and Gryffindor were held but passed on reinspection.  Ringwood Magister gets the best presentation award for his incredibly white tail and regal gait trotting down the strip.  After being absolutely terrible this morning, the weather rewarded the fans who showed up for the jog and the sun even peeked through the clouds at times.  The wind kept the horses fresh but overall the jog went smoothly.

[Jog Photos]   

The course opens later this afternoon and there is a big announcement coming at the riders briefing at 1pm from USEA Endowment Trust and its Rebecca Broussard International Developing Rider Grant Task Force.  I don’t know how to put this, but it’s going to be a big deal.  Stay tuned throughout the day for those stories and the rest of our coverage here on Eventing Nation.

9:50am Update: The tornado warning has just been lifted and the horses are being allowed to return to the barns from their evacuation to the indoor arena.  The jog has been rescheduled to 11am, weather permitting.  For the latest, check out @SamanthaLClark Twitter feed.  [Lexington Weather]

 
Evacuation in the indoor, photo via Samantha

The big news here at the Kentucky Horse Park as we await the jog this morning is the severe weather.  Due to tornado warnings, all the horses and riders have been evacuated to the indoor arena for shelter from any potential severe weather.  The horses and people are just milling about the indoor currently waiting for news of what is to happen next.  Listening to the radio on the drive over, there haven’t been any tornadoes spotted on the ground, but there are tornado and severe storm warnings all over central Kentucky.  As Annie mentioned, the jog was moved to 10am because of severe weather predicted for this afternoon, but the weather this morning isn’t much better.  According to the radio, the warnings are expected to be lifted around 10am for most counties and things are already starting to look better.

 
Running to the indoor, photo via BW

I didn’t really appreciate the severity of the weather until I saw that the typically horrible Lexington traffic was nonexistent this morning.  I turned on the radio and all the stations had storm coverage, and it was particularly disconcerting when the emergency storm coverage kept getting interrupted by emergency National Weather Service storm warning alerts.

Of course, stay tuned for the latest and a jog report as soon as it happens.  Until we know more, I’ll leave you with a video of another very wet time for eventing, Fair Hill last weekend–from Buzzterbrown.

Go eventing.

  +

As Rolex rapidly approaches, we are getting more and more questions about where to watch Rolex live and online during the event.  For once, I have a simple, free, and elegant solution to your eventing viewing questions.  The USEF Network will *host free live video of the dressage and cross-country and the early section of show jumping, and then NBC Television will play the final show jumping section live on your old fashioned television.  Best of all, like I said, it’s all FREE!  [USEF Network]

Rolex Video:

Thursday Dressage: USEF Network (9am to 3:30pm ET)
Friday Dressage: USEF Network (9am to 3:30pm)
Saturday Cross-Country: USEF Network (9am to 3:30pm)
Sunday Show Jumping: USEF Network (11:30am to 2pm) NBC Sports Television (2pm to end) 

I give a lot of credit to Rolex, the USEF Network, EEI, NBC, and all their sponsors for finding a way to let eventers everywhere watch Rolex simply and for free.  There’s no easier way to grow our sport than to make it convenient for people to watch it.  Perhaps just as exciting, we will be returning this year with the Rolex live blog…

Rolex Live Blog:

Oh yes.  Get excited.  It’s back and better than ever.  This year we are partnering with our friends at the USEA and the Chronicle of the Horse for a combined live blog that will be hosted on all three websites.  The USEA and Chronicle folks will bring intelligent and insightful analysis of each movement while I contribute typo laden party stories and anecdotes about the riders that probably shouldn’t be made public as well as sarcastic responses to stupid questions.  My personal favorites are “what time does Boyd ride?” and “What happened to Oli?”  Fun times.

As for the rest of our Rolex coverage on EN, it will be more of the news, ridiculousness, and commentary you have come to know and love.  Samantha will also be on scene all weekend bringing you behind the scenes like never before.  Go Rolex. 

Because this photo is awesome

Well friends, it has been a great Badminton weekend.  From all of us tall skinny eventing guys who endure the horrible hardships of ill-fitting hunt coats, britches, and boots, who deal with floppy ankles on a daily basis, and who get laughed at by our well-proportioned friends on their 16 hand bays, I say thank you Mark Todd for your continuing inspiration.  In all seriousness, I’m not sure how many 12 year old young eventers, boys and girls alike, were watching Badminton today, but if they were anything like me as a kid I bet all of them left truly inspired by watching such a classy and talented rider win Badminton. 

What better way to transition to Rolex than with a Badminton victory by someone who is coming to compete at Rolex.  And don’t look now, but Toddy is coming to Rolex on a much more experienced horse to compete against a smaller and less deep Rolex field.  In other words, he won Badminton on a first time 4* horse and now he’s coming to Rolex on a horse that was 10th at the WEGs.  Here are a few quick links to Badminton coverage and commentary as it develops this Monday afternoon:

Update: William Micklem’s show jumping recap

Badminton Babes

Badminton Monday morning jog photos from Samantha

Final Results

TheHorse.com writes briefly about Mandiba’s fall

Horse and Hound’s show jumping recap

Mark’s Badminton Wins: 1984 on Southern Comfort III, 1994 with Horton Point, 1996 on Bertie Blunt, and 2011!

Video from the press conference

Mark Todd is the oldest winner of Badminton by an astonishing 8 years

From Horse and Country:

Rider (and Uncle Mark’s) thoughts after show jumping:

Mark Todd and “Ben,” photo updated via our friends at the Badminton Press Office

I have to say that as an incredibly huge Mark Todd fan for all of my life I’m slightly speechless.  With 12 horses within a rail of the lead, this was the closest Badminton ever and we all knew it would shape up to be an incredible finish.  It didn’t disappoint.  Of those top 12 riders, 5 jumped clear rounds to put all of the pressure on Mark Todd and young NZB Land Vision.  Mark Todd, the savvy veteran, and someone who we can now easily call the best eventer in history, jumped a clear round to win his 4th Badminton Championship.  

Badminton Final Results:

1. Mark Todd and Land Vision (NZL) +0  43.6
2. Piggy French and Jakata +0  45.2
3. Mary King and Imperial Cavalier +0  45.8
4. Sam Griffiths and Happy Times (AUS) +0  46.3
5. Niklas Lindback and Mister Pooh (SWE) +0  46.7
6. Caroline Powell and Lenamore (NZL) +0  47.2

[Full Results, Rider Audio Interviews]

–As someone who grew up idolizing Mark Todd, who cherished my one autograph and photo with Mark Todd above all other possessions, who watched those videos of Mark countless times (especially the ride around Badminton with one stirrup in ’95), who thought that I would never see Mark Todd ride in person again after Rolex so many years ago, who watched Mark make his incredible comeback, and then who got to watch him compete at the WEGs, this weekend has been absolutely amazing as a fan.

–There’s not really enough anyone can say about what it takes to win a four-star on a horse’s first four-star.  I don’t know how many times it has been done in history, but the odds are stacked massively against the rider, especially on the cross country, as you have to first give the horse an educational ride and then worry about going fast.  Somehow Toddy knew exactly the right amount to push “Ben” around the course yesterday to set up the win.  He’s superman, and there’s nothing left to say about it.

–Two countries finished 4 riders within the top 12–Great Britain and New Zealand.  Considering that new Zealand only had 5 horses in the competition combared to Great Britain’s plethora, this weekend isn’t just about Mark Todd’s comeback–it is about New Zealand’s dominance.  With Blyth Tait on the comeback warpath, it’s slightly scary to think about the potential for New Zealand in 2012.

–The top 6 riders in the final placings all had clear show jumping rides and the show jumping was influential throughout the day, with 36 of 56 riders having at least a rail.

–Piggy French finished the weekend where she started–in second place.  After a 16th at the WEG last year, Piggy and Jakata are looking like one of the best 4* pairs in the world right now. 

–Another veteran, Mary King, had yet another great weekend at Badminton, moving up from 13th after the dressage to finish in 3rd on Imperial Cavalier.

–Sam Griffiths of Australia was 21st after the dressage but finished in 4th place. 

–Sam was one of just three riders to finish on their Badminton dressage score.  The other two were Niklas Lindback and Mister Pooh of Sweden, and Caroline Powell with the 18 year old Lenamore for New Zealand.

–All three of the North American horses finished the show jumping with a rail.  Buck and Ballynoecastle pulled the rail at the oxer at 11.  They finished with the best weekend by far for the USA on 61.3 and look to have taken a step forward from the WEGs.    

–Hawley Bennett and Ginny pulled a rail to finish the weekend on 81.8.  Hawley had that one unfortunate stop yesterday that marred what was otherwise probably the best looking North American ride on the cross-country.  To her credit, Hawley has stayed really positive about things since yesterday.

–You can scroll down and watch a reply of Horse and Hound’s live blog for a blow by blow account of the final rides, or the video will hopefully be made available on FEI TV sometime soon.  Of course we’ll have the Youtube videos here on EN as they become available.

–Selena O’Hanlon and Colombo finished with a rail and three time in the showjumping today.  Not their best weekend, but I’d happily take a completion ribbon from Badminton…I’m assuming they give competition ribbons at Badminton?

–It’s been a fantastic weekend at Badminton.  Many thanks to Samantha for her amazing coverage all weekend.  She had to leave early today to catch a flight back to the states in time for Rolex.  Many thanks also to Nico Morgan and Badminton for the great photos all weekend.  Thanks also to the Horse and Hound for sharing their Live blog.  Thanks to Badminton for putting on such an amazing event that we get to enjoy as eventing fans.  And of course thanks to all of you the EN readers for joining us for the fun here on Eventing Nation each and every day.

That’s all for now.  We’ll have much more from Badminton including links to all of the other great coverage through the day, but by this evening Eventing Nation’s attention will have turned to Lexington for our wall to wall coverage of Rolex.  As always, wherever you might be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day.  Go eventing.

Click below for a live blog of the Badminton competition from our friends at the Horse and Hound and click here for the Horse and Hound’s complete Badminton coverage.  Eastern time is Badminton time -5 hours, so the first show jumping starts at 6am ET and the final 20 horses begin at 9am ET. 

[Live Scores, SJ Timetable, Injury Updates, Pictures of the Show Jumps] 

Online Video: FEI TV for a daily charge of $15 outside the UK, BBC Sports inside the UK 

Radio Badminton: From the sidebar of the Badminton homepage

Live Blog:

If the live blog doesn’t work in your browser, click here.

Go eventing.

The Badminton jog strip this morning, via Samantha

Welcome to a bright and chipper Badminton Monday morning Eventing Nation.  As a quick jog report, 56 horses will move on to the show jumping in just a few hours.  Aoife Clark’s Vaguely North of Ireland, and Lucie McNichol and Zeus of Rushall of Great Britain were not presented.  Flora Harris’ Law Choice was held and withdrew from the holding box.  William was asked to jog Navigator twice but passed.  82 horses started Badminton and 56 will show jump, which is a good number considering the usual difficulty of the Badminton course and concerns over the footing this year.  Now I’m going to go pound a protein shake and run 7 miles carrying 20 pound weights one in each arm and a third in my teeth before the show jumping starts.  Go eventing. 

Mark and Ben

Here are all the Badminton notes and links we are keeping our eyes on this afternoon:

1) Both Horse & Country and the FEI are reporting that arilifted rider Elizabeth Power of Ireland is recovering well and should be fine.  With that news I think we can all start to breathe easier and feel like this Badminton is about the great performances today rather than hoping everyone is ok, although we are still awaiting word on Elizabeth’s fellow Irish rider Camilla Spiers, who was taken to the hospital in an ambulance after a less severe fall.  [FEI Press Release via Horsetalk]

Update: Irish Team Manager Ginny Eliott is quoted by Horse Sport Ireland as saying Sunday evening “[Elizabeth] was taken to hospital and is being kept in overnight for observation while Camilla was taken to hospital as a precaution but is due to be released tonight.”  [Horse Sport Ireland]

2) It was a tough day for Canada and the US, but it’s important to put things in perspective.  Other than Mandiba’s broken rib, which he should easily recover from, everyone walked away from today safe and sound.  Canada came here with the goal of getting educated and prepared for London and, if nothing else, I’ll bet Hawley, Steph, and Selena all feel like they learned a lot today that will help them moving forward. 

For the US, Buck had a very good ride to get Reggie around a tough course.  Karen and Mandiba certainly took a step back today after taking a huge step forward at the WEGs and looking great all spring.  Jennifer and Pooh looked really good up until the Lake, and it looked like Pooh got spooked by the first attempt.  So, overall a bad day, but I have seen a heck of a lot worse days. 

3) A few interesting notes about the leader board: Mark Todd is riding the youngest horse in the top 10 and he is also the oldest rider at 55 years old.  The oldest horse is the 18 year-old Lennamore.  Toddy’s last appearance at a 4* press conference was 12 years ago before he finished second at Badminton.  26 of 67 starters had issues on course.  Mark Todd has won Badminton 3 times before.  Toddy first won Badminton in 1980, 10 years before Laura Collett was born.  [via @FranJurga and FEI Press Release]   

The BBC’s recap

Pippa withdrew her remaining before the XC, as did 6 other riders

The Horse and Hound’s XC recap

Laura Collett has won more three-days at her age than anyone else in history

Crowning the ultimate eventing mastermind

Video of the BE100 Grassroots Championship winner

Gewendolen Fer’s epic save:

Rider interviews after the XC:

Go eventing.

Mark and Land Vision, courtesy of the great Nico Morgan

Greetings Eventing Nation, I hope you are having a good Easter Sunday.  It was an exciting day of cross-country at Badminton that included a last minute scoring reversal so lets jump right into it.  All day long, Germany’s Marina Kohncke and Calma Schelly was scored with 3.2 time penalties which gave her the lead right up until the end.  That time calculation included a hold on course for Marina and when they reviewed the hold information at the end of the day they determined that she should be assessed two additional seconds worth of time.  The scoring change gave her a score of 43.8 and bumped Mark Todd into the lead.  Nicola Wilson’s WEG ride Opposition Buzz moved up from 12th to 3rd with one of only 7 double-clears on the day.  Andrew Nicholson and Nereo had another of those double-clears to go into 4th.  It’s going to be an incredibly exciting show jumping finish as *12 horses are within a rail of the lead going into Sunday.

Badminton XC Results:

1. Mark Todd and Land Vision (NZL) +6.8  43.6
2. Marina Kohncke and Calma Schelly (GER) +4  43.8
3. Nicola Wilson and Opposition Buzz +0  44.0
4. Andrew Nicholson and Nereo (NZL) +0  44.3
5. Piggy French and Jakata +9.2  45.2
6. Laura Collett and Rayef +8.8  45.3
7. Mary King and Imperial Cavalier +1.6  45.8
8. Sam Griffiths and Happy Times (AUS) +0  46.3
9. Niklas Lindback and Mister Pooh (SWE) +0  46.7
10. Caroline Powell and Lenamore (NZL) +0  47.2

[Live Scores, Rider Interviews, Penalties by Fence, XC Fence Photos]

–New Zealand and Great Britain showed their cross-country strength today, with 7 riders combined in the top 10.  New Zealand has their two veterans in the top 4.

–It’s hard to say enough about Mark Todd’s performance with an inexperienced horse to push literally just enough to put him in position to win Badminton tomorrow with a clear round.  He’s gone from retired to back to one of the best riders on Earth in just a few years.

–Overnight leaders Ruth Edge and Two Thyme had another tough trip around Badminton, and had a stop at the bounce at the Huntsmans Close late on the course.  They elected to retire at the Quarry after a stop.

–This was a day that most of the North American pairs will want to forget.  Aside from Buck’s gutsy performance to get Reggie around, everyone else had a tough day.  As I mentioned earlier, Hawley finished with a stop, and Jennifer retired at the Lake after two stops.

–Selena O’Hanlon and Colombo picked up two stops at the sunken road after a having fantastic early part of her round.  They finished looking strong to get the momentum back for next time.  I don’t remember the last time Colombo had a stop so that was a tough break for the Canadian contingent.

–Steph’s round started looking shaky toward the end after she was held on course and they picked up 20 at the Huntsman’s Close.  Then Steph popped off over Port Authority’s shoulder jumping out of the quarry.  Both were fine, but it was a tough end to a frustrating weekend for Steph. 

–Karen and Mandiba had a scary moment at the Normandy Bank.  Mandiba picked up a stop at the Shogun Hollow at 10 and then they continued after a second stop there.  Mandiba then stopped at the log on top of the Normandy Bank after jumping up the bank.  Karen popped off, and Mandiba stepped back off the bank.  Mandiba was taken back to the barn in a trailer.  Samantha spoke with William Micklem who said that Mandiba would be ok but will get x-rays to his ribs.   

—Update: I received word that x-rays showed that Mandiba has a broken rib but will be fine.  Karen is also fine fortunately.

–The biggest move up of the day was Harry Meade and Wild Lone who moved up 40 places from 67th to 27th by adding just two time penalties. 

–I don’t know if you had a chance to look at the Horse and Hound’s live blog, but I loved the representation North America was getting.  It seemed like every other commenter was cheering on US and Canadian riders.  

–Oliver Towend and Ashdale Cruise Master had a sticky moment in the jump into the water that Samantha descibed as a flashback to 2010, but Oli did a great job of hanging on.  Unfortunately, the quarry at Badminton caused ACM to hang another leg at the log on top of the hill and Oliver went over the top of him.  Oliver was up and apparently fine, he later said on his Facebook page that ACM would be sore but ok.

–I have not seen any official update on Elizabeth Power who was airlifted or Camilla Speirs who was taken off course in an ambulance. 

That’s all for now.  We’ll have much more from Badminton including link to all of the other great coverage elsewhere on the interweb.  More importantly, it’s Easter.  Go outside, enjoy the weather, ride as many horses as you can, and enjoy your afternoon.  Go eventing.

As I write this, we are just over halfway through the Badminton XC rides, which started at 7am ET and end around 12:50am ET.  There have been a couple holds on course, but overall Badminton is riding like a legitimate 4* course.  22 of the first 32 horses out got home clear, which is about what we would expect from Badminton.

–Marina Kohncke and Calma Schelly of Germany lead at the halfway point, but 4 riders have a chance to overtake them–Ruth Edge, Mark Todd, Piggy French, and Emily Baldwin.

[Live Scores, Ride Times, Rider Interviews]

–The early riders who stood out looking good included young Laura Collett who only added 8.8 time penalties in her first Badminton, Harry Meade, and Niklas Lindback of Sweden.

–As is usually the case, Buck Davidson had to use every once of his strength, skill, and tenacity to guide Ballynoecastle through the course, but he did just that.  It wasn’t always pretty to say the least but they crossed the line clear with just 10 time penalties to give USA a fabulous first pair around the course.

–Sadly, Jennifer Wooten and The Good Witch picked up a couple of stops at the Willow Wave drop jump into the Lake and elected to retire.     

–Canada’s Hawley Bennett and Ginny had a run out at the skinny at fence 6.  In the Badminton radio interview after her round Hawley was really frustrated with the penalties because she felt like she had a great chance to go double-clear.  Otherwise Hawley’s round looked fabulous.

–Samantha is of course on scene at Badminton for Eventing Nation and is providing regular Twitter updates @SamanthaLClark. 

–Elizabeth Powers and Kilpatrick River had a hard fall at the Sunken Lane.  Kilpatrick River was reportedly fine but Elizabeth was airlifted out.  We’ll keep you updated as we hear more and wish Elizabeth the best.  Horse and Country reported as she was being airlifted that she was reportedly unconscious for 10 minutes but woke up before the helicopter took her away.

–Ingrid Klimke fell at the gate into Huntsmans Close with FRH Butts Abraxxas.  She had an injury to her knee and was taken to the hospital for x-rays.  The horse is reportedly fine.

That’s all for now.  I’m off to Easter Sunday mass with my Mom.   Scroll down to watch the Horse and Hound live blog or for the link to FEI TV.  As always, we’ll have a full recap of the Badminton XC shortly after the last horse crosses the finish line.  Go Badminton.

I know what you all are thinking–winning Badminton is a big deal.  And that is correct.  But, what is a bigger deal is winning Eventing Nation’s Badminton battle for North America between the US and Canada, sponsored by our friends at Point Two.  Canada and the US don’t often get the chance to compete over things.  Canada always dominates in competitions of maple syrup production and bad jokes, and the United States is undefeated in anything to do with military might and average population weight.  Two countries, three riders each, one winner. 

The rules are simple: the country’s team with the lowest score for all three riders combined wins.  What the riders win is completely irrelevant and as of yet undetermined, but at the very least they will win Eventing Nation bragging rights, which is pretty awesome.  There are no dropped scores or timeouts.  This is not France, this is war. 

The standings after the dressage:

USA: 144.5

Karen O’Connor and Mandiba 44.5
Buck Davidson and Ballynoecastle 47.3
Jennifer and The Good Witch 53.7

Canada: 156.2

Selena O’Hanlon and Colombo 43.3
Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin ‘N Juice 50.2
Steph Rhodes-Bosch and Port Authority 62.7

Canada trails the USA right now, but they are used to making up big ground in the cross-country.  Any elimination, fall, etc will mean that riders latest score plus a thousand points is added to their team’s total. 

All we need now is a soundtrack, something epic…oh yes, this will do.

I love you Canada, but go USA.

After a great day of dressage at Badminton, here are a few links to all of the dressage coverage and a look ahead to the cross-country, starting at 7am ET Easter Sunday morning:

William Micklem’s excellent dressage recap

The problem with Ruth Edge leading Badminton is cliche headlines

Redesigned and the Miners Frolic withdrew Saturday morning before the Badminton dressage

The BBC’s dressage recap

Dressage pictures

Thanks to H&H for the EN shout out

Katherine Erickson’s Badminton catch up

So far this is the only online video I have found of the dressage:

We’ll have complete coverage of the Badminton XC tomorrow including the live blog from Horse and Hound.  Once again, it looks like the only option to watch the XC online unless you live in the UK is to purchase it though FEI TV.  Go eventing.

Buck and Reggie, courtesy of the great Nico Morgan

Ruth Edge and Two Thyme improved exactly one place from their dressage performance at Badminton last year and they hold the top spot going into the cross-country.  Ruth and her 17 year old thoroughbred scored a 33.3 and hold what amounts to a 6 second lead going into the cross-country ahead of Piggy French and Jakata, who placed 16th at the WEGs for Great Britain.  Overnight leader Laura Collett held onto 3rd and Mark Todd moved into 4th with Land Vision.   It feels weird to wrap up Badminton dressage on a Saturday, but nonetheless, here is your leader board going into the Sunday cross-country:

Badminton Dressage Results:

1. Ruth Edge and Two Thyme  33.3
2. Piggy French and Jakata  36.0
3. Laura Collett and Rayef  36.5
4. Mark Todd and Land Vision  36.8
5. Emily Baldwin and Drivetime  39.7
6. Marina Kohncke and Calma Schelly (GER)  39.8
7. Oliver Townend and Ashdale Cruise Master  40.5
8. Aoife Clark and Master Crusoe (IRL)
…

10T. Selena O’Hanlon and Colombo (CAN)  43.3
15T. Karen O’Connor and Mandiba (USA)  44.5
26T. Buck Davidson and Ballynoecastle (USA) 47.3
34. Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin ‘N Juice (CAN)  50.2
42. Jennifer Wooten and The Good Witch (USA)  53.7
74. Steph Rhodes-Bosch and Port Authority (CAN)  62.7

[Full Dressage Results]

–As expected, the British riders really stepped their game up today and the British contingent now holds 5 of the top 7 spots at Badminton.  Ruth, Piggy French, and Emily Baldwin all had great performances to jump in the top 5 for the Brits.

–Ruth Edge will look to rebound from her performance on the cross-country last year with Two Thyme.  Their round started off shaky and didn’t get better, ending in a fall.  But, they rebounded from that with an 8th at Pau and hopefully the experience last year will lead them to a great performance tomorrow.

–The North American riders had a quality Friday of dressage.  Selena and Colombo raised some eyebrows for Canada to sit in 10th.  Karen and Buck should both be pleased with their tests as well.  It shows the quality of the Badminton field for Karen and Buck to be just 2.8 points apart but 11 spots different on the leader board.  At Badminton, more than any other event, every tiny point matters.  I would bet Steph wished she could get her test back, but their weekend won’t be defined by their dressage either way.  Jennifer and Pooh had their routine solid dressage and will look to climb the ranks throughout the weekend.  Overall, I’d love to see a US rider get in the top 10 of the dressage at every 4* in the world, but there is a long weekend ahead of us. 

–For anyone who didn’t take Mark Todd’s comeback seriously, today is more evidence that it’s time to wake up.  Toddy is just 3.5 points behind Ruth and he’s in great position to get his 4th win at Badminton.  Land Vision is less experienced than I bet Mark would like but there’s no better rider to give a horse an educational yet fast ride.    

–Friday’s overnight leader Laura Collett only dropped two spots today and she sits in absolutely perfect position–just far enough back to take some of the media attention away but close enough to set up a great finish to Badminton.  Laura has an unbelievably bright future ahead of her and I’ll be interested to see how she balances the chance to win with the importance of having a steady trip around her second and Rayef’s first four-star.

[Audio interviews with Ruth and other riders]

–As Samantha pointed out this morning, be sure to download the Badminton iPhone app for a variety of reasons, including the ability to listen to Badminton radio when you are out and about…heck, you can even listen to it while you are riding.  Badminton radio is also available in the sidebar of their website, but Mac users have to use Chrome or Safari because it won’t play in Firefox.

–To recap what we explained yesterday about the live feed, from what I have heard the only online viewing option outside of the UK will be to pay for FEI TV.  BBC Sports will broadcast the same feed as FEI TV for free but that will only be available to viewers in the UK, sadly. 

–Stay tuned later for a Badminton ‘battle of the nations’ from Eventing Nation.

We’ll have much more from Badminton later today, before the cross-country gets started bright and early Sunday morning.  As always, wherever you might be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day.  Go eventing.