Jonelle Price and Classic Moet check out their new piece of silverware. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Another Badminton in the books, and what a week it was. From the tension and excitement of a Grand Slam attempt through to the incredible conclusion, in which we saw Jonelle Price and Classic Moet finally join the “elite club” of four-star winners, it was a non-stop, action-packed week which required everyone involved to fire on all cylinders from Tuesday until the sun set over Gloucestershire on Sunday night.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends: Lauren Kieffer and Veronica head into the prizegiving after finishing in ninth place — a fantastic finish for the Americans. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

For all our best efforts, there’s so much that we as journalists take in throughout a major competition that simply can’t make it into the write-ups — there’s space to think about, and relevance, and the swiftly diminishing braincells we find ourselves wielding as we write up the reports at the end of another 12-hour-plus day.

When dreams become reality: Foxwood High looks back at the main arena moments after completing his test and setting the ball rolling on a week that would bring owner John Rumble’s long-held aims to life. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

But it all gets under our skin — the magic of the place, the stories we hear, and the people and horses we meet through the week. EN Lead Writer Jenni Autry pioneered the idea of the reporter’s notebook a couple of months ago, and today I’d like to respectfully borrow the idea to share a little bit of my Badminton with you, and take you into the places you don’t get to see on the livestream.

Will Coleman celebrates a brilliant test with OBOS O’Reilly, before being whisked into the mixed zone for interviews. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The collecting ring is one of those places. From our second home in the mixed zone, where we interview riders after they dismount, we can see the whole spectrum of human emotion unfold, from the conquering of fear on the way to the start box, to the joy and relief after a successful cross country round.

Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy — the highest-placed first-timer in eighth — demonstrates the difference between heading to the start box…

…with game faces firmly in place…

… and the joy and relief of coming home from a fast clear around your first Badminton. Photos by Tilly Berendt.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and if so, it must take a minor metropolis to produce a horse to the four-star level and have it finish one of the toughest tests of its life healthy, happy, sound and satisfied. We see just a small fraction of this when we watch a horse canter down the centreline, or clear the final fence — for every horse and rider combination, there’s an enormous and varied support team scarcely breathing as they watch their charges tackle each phase of the competition.

All hands on deck as Classic Moet finishes her lightning-fast cross country round, coming in just one second over the optimum time despite taking the long route at the Lake. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Lesson learned: you’re only as good as the team around you, whether you’re riding around Badminton’s formidable course or clocking up the hours in front of your laptop in the media centre. A glimpse into the collecting ring saw many things: laughter, tears, enormous hugs — the proper ones, of course, the ones which leave both parties with aching ribs and silly grins — and always, without fail, an F1-calibre support crew, ready to aggressively cool horses, remove boots, offer water, and give endless praise and kisses. Grooms are often the unsung heroes of the sport, but they really are the cogs that the machine requires to function.

Freelance groom David Burton takes his charge for the week — Kirsty Short’s Cossan Lad — for a leg-stretch. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

On my end, too, a great team was key. I was lucky enough to be supported once again by top tog Nico Morgan, who snapped all the incredible photographs which accompanied my reports throughout the week and who always provides the sort of good-natured, merciless bullying that is absolutely required in a CCI4* week. I was also stabled (or tabled) with team EquiRatings, helmed by lead Numbers Nerd Diarm Byrne and ably assisted by the glamorous Nicole Brown and Georgia Patrick. We were joined by rookie event reporter Rachel Dyke of Horse&Rider magazine, who, poor soul, was thrown well into the deep end with us and kept on swimming.

Note to self: don’t save the team selfie for Sunday evening.

We laughed ourselves stupid, spent hours perfecting(?) our rider impersonations — I do a mean Michi Jung — and availed ourselves merrily of the media centre’s open bar as evening set in. As Jenni mused about the boys in one of our many overexcited WhatsApp conversations through the week: “It’s one of those things where you know you’d be SO much more productive without those goons, but you can’t imagine doing it without them.”

I’d say I miss them already, but they’d never let me live it down.

Emerging from the beautiful old buildings that house Badminton’s meticulous stableyard. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

One of the (many, many) pinch-me moments I had last week was granted to me by Badminton’s media director, Julian Seaman. Under FEI rules, access to the stables is restricted to grooms, riders, and their immediate team of owners and family, but because of Julian’s generosity in helping me to get the stories I was chasing, I was able to visit not just once, but twice — the second time, spending a blissful half an hour getting to know Michael Jung and his wonder horse, La Biosthetique Sam FBW. I’m so excited to bring you the full story later on this week.

A good time for a snooze — Tom Jackson’s Waltham Fiddler’s Find takes it easy as the finishing touches are put in for the first horse inspection. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The stables are a special kind of magical — helmed from old, golden stone, set up in two long aisleways and a number of nooks and crannies around a vast, meticulously swept courtyard, there’s a palpable frisson of excitement in the air. You get the feeling that no one is immune to that flutter of butterflies in their tummy as they walk through the clocktower archway — but for all this, and for the fact that the narrow aisles are constantly filled with the hustle and bustle of support and horsemanship, each stable houses a supremely relaxed, dozing athlete.

Good luck cards, addressed to both horses and riders, are delivered to the stable managers office and pinned to a notice board, ready for collection. Here, first-timers Kate Honey and Fernhill Now or Never display some of their spoils. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

As it turns out, the magic never quite wears off: “It’s so special,” Michael Jung assures me when I ask him about it. “Almost a second home, but so special.” Bittersweet, too, because this was to be the last time we’d get the joy of seeing King Sam at the competition he won in 2016 — Michael announced several months ago that 2018 would be the horse’s final season at the top level.

“I’ll be having that, then” — Michi Jung’s dog does what we’ve all thought about doing, and gives stealing Sam a jolly good attempt. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

“I can’t believe this is the last time we’ll see him here,” I say to him, as we watch modern eventing’s most-medalled horse graze in front of the house.

“Maybe,” he replies, a wide grin spreading across his face. “Maybe.”

Ireland’s James O’Haire performs perhaps the most important role in the trot-up prep routine — offering up bribes to encourage his mare, China Doll, to stand still. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Many of the grooms are housed in small chambres des bonne, and Selena O’Hanlon‘s head girl Anne-Marie Duarte tells me that, although they may be basic, the novelty of staying in what is essentially an annexe of Badminton House doesn’t pass her by. “Although the last time I was here, there was no hot water,” she muses. “I hope they’ve fixed that!”

The number one mode of transportation around the sprawling Badminton estate. Just watch out for British team coach Chris Bartle, who has replaced his exceptionally squeaky bike of last season, and is now a liability on wheels. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Riders, grooms, owners and supporters zoom in and out of the stables on pushbikes, followed by a bevy of stable dogs, and there’s a cavernous canteen for them all to dine in, too, lined with hundreds of antlers of indeterminate age.

A family affair: baby Charlie and dad Will Coleman supervise as OBOS O’Reilly is plaited for the first horse inspection. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It all feels like a grown-up version of summer camp — laughter everywhere, as old friends catch up, selfies with equine charges in front of the house — until the first horse inspection gets underway. Then there’s the feeling of passing through a threshold — quite literally — into something rather bigger than oneself.

Once you’ve stepped through this archway, your Badminton begins. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

From then on out, it’s all systems go. The stables are a constant hive of activity, a walk around Little Badminton village drums up endless encounters with horses and riders stretching their legs, and the Media Centre — the best, in my opinion, of any event — absolutely thrums with adrenaline and high-speed content production. Well, it thrums until the WiFi buckles under the pressure — then it’s filled with a cacophony of noise, mostly from me, and mostly unfit to print.

When the media cracks: four-star eventer Ben Way makes himself useful for Radio Badminton. Some of his interviews, like this one with Ivar Gooden, are … less eloquent than the rest. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Throughout a long week of reporting, you learn to adopt every available resource as a means of recording a story. It all starts out in a very civilised manner — a dictaphone shoved in a back pocket, a reasonably organised notebook, a few different coloured pens (an idea pinched from Horse&Hound editor Pippa Roome — because you can never stop learning, nor adapting your craft) to try to keep the riders and phases separate. A few days in, it all starts to fall apart at the seams, and you find yourself scrawling notes in an almost indecipherable shorthand on just about anything that stands still for long enough to be written on. Inevitably, you find something like this a few days later, having completely forgotten that you took notes on your phone, too:

The stuff that (mostly) logical event reports are made of. The glam life of an eventing journo.

Keeping a camera to hand is always helpful, too — until you’ve tried four times to get the shot, only to realise you never took the lens cap off. Whoops. Sometimes you actually get there in time, and think you’ve snapped something really elegant and special, only to purge your memory cards and find something else entirely.

Black Beauty: Lydia Hannon’s My Royal Touch at the final horse inspection, apparently feeling the effects of one too many drinks at the Outside Chance the night before. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The number-one cure for end-of-day eventing insanity? Zooming in on the riders’ faces in jumping photos, of course.

Ireland’s Jonty Evans gets a pep-talk from BBC presenter Clare Balding on the way to the start box. His sleeve reads ‘#artsamazingfamily’ — an homage to the 6,800 donors who helped him to secure his horse of a lifetime last season. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Eventing, of course, isn’t always the easiest sport to report on — it has more ups and downs than a sunken road complex, and the heartbreaks are felt as strongly as the victories. It’s a mad, nomadic lifestyle that we all — grooms, riders, owners, and journalists — embark upon, and we form friendships that cross all of those divides. At the end of the day, we do what we do because we love the sport and, most intrinsically of all, we love the horses.

Team work really does make the dream work: Mark Todd congratulates Selena O’Hanlon on a great round. Selena and Woody have been based at Mark’s Badgerstown yard while in the UK. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

There are two rules to journalism: you must never comment on the weather (something I fail rather spectacularly at!) and you must strip your own emotion and opinion from your work and report only the facts. Sometimes, this isn’t easy. Sometimes, it feels nearly impossible. Often, we have to take ourselves out of the situation for a moment, find somewhere quiet, and deal with our own emotions when we see a friend fall on course, a controversy unfold, or, the very worst, an irreparable injury.

Cheers, pal: Imogen Murray and Ivar Gooden performed one of the best rounds of the day on Saturday, finishing in 11th place overall in the competition. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

But then, the magic of the sport puts us all back together again. It’s seeing Jonelle Price‘s enormous grin as she tells you that dreams do come true, while her young son Otis tries his best to cram the chinstrap of her helmet into his mouth. It’s seeing young, up-and-coming riders stunned into silence by the magnitude of their gratitude to their horses, who have showed them that they’re capable of everything they ever imagined. It’s watching the children watching their favourite riders, their wide eyes and small faces pressed against the fence of the mixed zone, hoping that they might get to meet real life, actual Mark Todd. It’s the incomparable sportsmanship of the collecting ring, as riders, friends, grooms, everyone in the vicinity is swept up in a whirlwind of well-wishes and teary hugs.

The Kiwi takeover: Andy Daines, on Spring Panorama, and Ginny Thompson, on Star Nouveau, get the obligatory house photo in the bank. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It’s the stories, too, that don’t make the headlines — that of New Zealand’s Ginny Thompson, for example, who sold her entire yard so that she and Star Nouveau could come to the UK for two years to base themselves with Blyth Tait and chase their dreams. It’s her fellow countryman, Andy Daines, who quickly became every interviewer’s favourite rider with his easy charm and token one-liners: “I was riding around in the warm-up ring with Michael Jung, and I was just like, ‘Can I touch you?!’ No, that’s weird!” and “I’ll stay here until my visa runs out — and then I need to find myself a rich husband!” King of the one-liners, too, is Ireland’s James O’Haire — to which I need only offer you this:

Full support: eventing fans wait at the perimeter of the mixed zone in the hopes of catching up with their favourite riders. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Above all things, it’s the horses. It’s almost too obvious to say that we’d be nowhere without them, because, well, of course — but their strength, their intelligence, their fortitude, and their loyalty never ceases to inspire a profound sort of awe in me. I hope that I never reach the point in my career when being in proximity to them loses its sparkle. I hope I always maintain a childlike glee in heaping cuddles on Classic Moet, or giving Nereo’s nose a final stroke, or having La Biosthetique Sam merrily blow his nose down my arm.

A shared victory — the Prices’ head girl, Lucy Miles, celebrates her charge’s win. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

After talking to my fellow media louts — many of whom have been in the game for far longer than I have, and whose work I admire and learn from constantly — I truly believe I will. Inside all of us — those in the saddle, and those on the ground — are still the horse-crazy children who dreamed these lofty dreams in the first place.

It really is real — Jonelle Price and Trisha Rickards, owner of Classic Moet, tick the four-star box together. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It’s easy to fall victim to the post-Badminton blues — a combination of exhaustion, perhaps a bit too much sun, a feeling of distinct anticlimax in the absence of those vibrant characters who have made the prior week so special. But the sun is shining, my own horse is waiting, and it’s back on the road on Friday for the first leg of the 2018 Event Rider Masters series at Chatsworth. Thank you for turning to EN for all your eventing news and reports — it’s a special and indescribable privilege to be able to bring you these stories. Here’s to you; the eventing fans who keep this mad world turning.

Until next time — go eventing.

Tx

The real deal. Jonelle Price and Classic Moet finish their winning showjumping — a first international clear in four years — to a tumult of celebration. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

…okay, maybe not quite that long. But it has been eleven. Whole. Sodding. Years. Since we last saw a female winner at Badminton. But the #girlpower side smashed it today, when New Zealand’s Jonelle Price and her “super meah” [sic] Classic Moet finally, finally won their first four-star.

Jonelle Price finishes her round and realises that she and Classic Moet have scooped Badminton. Priceless. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

It’s been a long time coming for Jonelle, whose storied career has seen her at the top level at the sport for well over a decade. Her relationship with the fifteen-year-old (Classic x Behemond) has become almost legendary for its consistency in speed, and they were hotly tipped as one of the favourites to challenge the time on yesterday’s fiendishly slow course. They nearly did it, too – they came in just one second over the optimum time on a day in which the average time penalties totalled a whopping 25.3, which propelled them into the lead from 22nd after dressage. Their sterling performance put them on equal footing with Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class in terms of penalties, and the pressure from the Grand Slam contender was well and truly on.

And what does pressure do? Quite often, it makes statistically probable combinations falter where they ordinarily wouldn’t. Today, defying every odd there is, we saw the exact opposite play out. Moet, who hasn’t had a clear showjumping round at an international since the latter half of 2014, stuck two fingers (or hooves) up at the detractors and jumped a clear round, giving almost every fence a hefty rattle but looking totally in control the whole way around.

Jonelle Price and Classic Moet. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

“It’s almost like an elite club, the four-star winners, and it’s a club that’s eluded me for a number of years,” said Jonelle. “I’ve had some nice success, but there’s nothing quite like winning, and to do it at Badminton is very special. I thought it was never going to happen! I’m just so pleased with the mare – we never jump clear on the last day, and she tapped her way around by braille – but some dreams do come true.”

Jonelle Price and Classic Moet – speedy until the end. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

The Price family’s annual exodus to the winter showjumping Sunshine Tour contributed to the victory, sharpening up not only the pair’s performance over poles, but providing a necessary fitness boost after taking nearly all of 2017’s season off during Jonelle’s pregnancy.

“Given the lack of spring season it was instrumental,” she explained. “It went a long way in her conditioning, and in getting us ready for the season.”

“Jonelle has deserved this for a long time, and now she’s done – it’s incredible,” said husband Tim Price, who finished 12th with Ringwood Sky Boy. “I can’t say how much she works for this, especially coming back from having a baby. In the light of a competition like this, it’s an amazing achievement, but in the cold light of day, it’s a lot of work behind the scenes. The glamorous life of an eventer,” he quipped, as baby Otis gamely inserted Jonelle’s chin strap into his mouth.

Classic Moet, Jonelle Price, and owner Trisha Rickards celebrate their win. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

The win is a dream come true, too, for owner Trisha Rickards, who has owned top-level event horses for three decades, and had yet to enjoy the thrill of winning a four-star. So, too, is it a win for the girls.

“These boys have been pushing us for years,” said Jonelle, before running off to, presumably, smash the patriarchy and close the gender wage gap. “This one’s for you, Sam Watson!” she shouted as she climbed aboard her dragon.*

*it may have happened slightly differently, we’re a bit punchy still.

First-timer Cooley SRS proves his quality to finish second with Oliver Townend. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Oliver Townend might have missed out on the Rolex Grand Slam, but he produced a particularly classy showjumping round on four-star first-timer Cooley SRS (33.1) to finish in second place. This makes it three four-stars in a row in which he’s finished first or second with first-timers at the level, and his Burghley winner, Ballaghmor Class (36), dropped two rails to finish in fifth place. This gave Jonelle the breathing room to have a pole and a time penalty – but she used neither.

“I hope the public understands what that horse is,” said Oliver of Jonelle’s winning mare. “I don’t think we’ll see another cross country galloper like it in our lifetime. I couldn’t keep up with it in the prize giving – it was about ten strides ahead of me, I looked down for a moment, and when I looked back up it was on the other side of the arena! I’d give anything for a foal out of it.”

No regrets: Oliver Townend and Cooley SRS. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Did Oliver have any regrets about so narrowly losing out on the biggest prize of them all? “I just wish I’d paid Jonelle!” he joked. “No, not at all, to tell you. I absolutely loved Kentucky, but I found this week hard work. I had to fight harder than I wanted to fight, and it didn’t look how I wanted it to look, but I’m so happy with how the horses came out of it. Especially Cooley SRS – he’s never jumped like that in his life, so god knows what that means!

“I’ve been fortunate enough to sit in Jonelle’s seat, and I know how that feels, so there’s no complaints from my end,” he went on. “I’m the biggest dreaming, most hopeful plonker you’ve ever met – I’m dreaming about taking the horses to Aston-le-Walls [one day event this week] already!”

Ros Canter and Allstar B finish third at Badminton. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Third-placed Ros Canter occupied a place in the press conference on each day of the competition, and although her showjumping record with Allstar B shows an enviable consistency – the pair haven’t had a showjumping penalty in an international since the beginning of 2016 – they pulled a pole to finish on 34.3.

“He was fantastic today,” she said. “I have to say, I was a little bit nervous. I think it hasn’t sunk in yet – I can be quite a doubter and quite nervous and so all week, I’ve tried to treat it like every day. As I came out of the prizegiving I realised what we can achieve and what we might be able to do. I came away thinking that I could have shaved more lines and corners; I’m still learning to keep up with him and maybe one day we can go one step higher and one step further. WEG or not, we’ll aim for another big one at the end of the year.”

Gemma Tattersall and Arctic Soul record a clear round to finish fourth. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Gemma Tattersall and her incredibly consistent Arctic Soul climbed and climbed throughout the week, starting out in equal 35th place after the dressage and finishing in fourth. The pair recorded one of the rare double-clear rounds today, but Gemma admits that she wasn’t expecting to.

“That is one seriously tough showjumping course,” she said after jumping around Paul Connor‘s testing track, on which she cited “turn backs, S-bends, and the downhill plank” as some of toughest questions in the cleverly-designed course, which tested horses and riders by using maximum dimension square oxers followed by short distances.

“He’s a hard-pulling horse and I think he tired himself out yesterday, which made him easier to ride today. Only the really serious showjumping horses seemed to be jumping clear, so I’m so proud of him – I didn’t expect a clear. To go double clear three years in a row – wow, he’s a serious horse.”

Mark Todd and Kiltubrid Rhapsody finish sixth. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Mark Todd began the day with two horses in the top ten, but after pulling three rails with Leonidas II (14th) he finished with one – Kiltubrid Rhapsody, in sixth place.

“When we walked the course, we said it’s big, up-to-height, and with a funny distance from the oxer to the water tray,” said Mark. “The ground’s still a little bit holding and the horses can’t quite spring off it. I’m a little bit disappointed with Leo’s round, but Kiltubrid Rhapsody jumped his socks off. Overall, I’m really happy.”

Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser make a strong bid for WEG selection. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Would it be fair to keep calling Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser up-and-comers? We suspect not, after their string of brilliant results over the past year, including fourth at Burghley and now seventh at Badminton. They finished on a score of 37.7, climbing from 13th after dressage and looking wise beyond their years across all three phases.

“He’s just phenomenal – he’s not bred with much blood, but he just jumps and jumps,” he enthused. “I get him into the rhythm and he just goes – I’m phenomenally lucky. He’s taken a long time to produce but there’s still so much to come, and I’m so excited for the future with him.”

Padraig McCarthy and Mr Chunky impress at their first Badminton. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy and Mr Chunky were best first-timers, finishing in eighth place on a score 38.3 after a clear showjumping round with 3 time penalties.

“He jumped unbelievably,” said Padraig, who showjumped internationally before swapping over to eventing in 2013 on his wife, Lucy Weigersma‘s, suggestion. “I didn’t feel like I could have ridden a lot faster – he’s a big-striding horse, but he has one gear, so I tried to be efficient with my lines. I’m lucky enough to have done quite a bit of showjumping so I’ve jumped in rings like that, but we did have to knuckle down. We never had a nervous moment, but I’ve been envisaging this all year – we have an amazing horse, and the dream was to finish on our dressage score if we could. I’m overwhelmed – it’s been an amazing week.”

Lauren Kieffer and Veronica add another top 20 placing at Badminton to their resume. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Lauren Kieffer and Veronica were our highest-placed North American combination, finishing in ninth place on a score of 38.6 with just one rail down.

“She’s one really tough mare, and felt like she could have kept jumping for another few minutes yesterday,” she said. “Nothing really bothers her. Jumping on grass wouldn’t be her favourite, or something we do a lot of at home, so I was really pleased with her. Now we’ll go home, she’ll have a holiday, and then we’ll look ahead to the fall.”

Swansong: Michael Jung jumps his final Badminton round on La Biosthetique Sam FBW. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Former champions Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam FBW pulled two rails to finish tenth in their final Badminton together. The eighteen-year-old horse, who was won everything there is to win (besides, perhaps, the lottery) is set to step back from top-level competition, and Michi has said that this will be his final season. It’s been a rare kind of treat to witness them in action all of these years, and a joy to see them in action – and on top form – this final time. We wish Sam a very happy retirement.

Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High see a dream come true. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Canadian duo Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High finished in 24th place after adding 21 penalties in the final phase, ticking Badminton off their own, and owner John Rumble‘s, bucket list.

“It’s so great – I got further this week than I did in 2011 with Colombo,” said Selena. “I thought I’d saved enough horse for the showjumping, but it’s never been a strong point of ours. The ground’s a bit dead in there – he started to jump better towards the end, so I was sorry to see the last pole go down.”

Farewell to a champion. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

A surprise announcement set a poignant tone going into the final showjumping session. After withdrawing from the final horse inspection this morning, Andrew Nicholson decided to retire Nereo, walking him into the main arena one last time so he could say goodbye to his many fans.

“It was in the back of my mind to do it all along,” he said. “He’s an incredible horse – apart from Sam, there aren’t many others that go year after year and stay competitive like he has.”

We’ll be bringing you the full story – and a look back at Nereo’s amazing career – shortly. In the meantime, we say a fond goodbye to the rangy chestnut who has given eventing – and the team around him – so much joy and excitement.

That’s it for us from Badminton – stay tuned for lots of bonus content over the next few days as we slowly piece our lives and our sanity back together. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with this – the description of Classic Moet, pulled directly from Jonelle and Tim’s website:

“Molly would, if she were a person, come from Swindon (or West Auckland for our NZ followers), be a couple of stone overweight, have several tattoos, wear a too-tight leather jacket over skintight leopardskin pants, have a boyfriend with an IQ of 10 who is a club bouncer, and four children by four different fathers.”

Solid. Gold.

Over and out, folks. Play some Beyonce this evening and don your sassiest knickers. You deserve it.

Go Jonelle, go Molly, and GO EVENTING!

The 2018 Badminton top ten. It’s been a wild ride, folks.

#MMBHT: Website, Final Scores, How to Watch Live, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Form Guide, EN’s Instagram, EN’s Twitter

Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class leave nothing behind in their test. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Shun the nonbelievers who say that dressage is the boring phase: the conclusion of today’s competition proved otherwise today, as we saw some of the best scores we’ve ever seen at Badminton and the pressure at the top went into overdrive.

It was to be Oliver Townend‘s day, as he and Burghley winner Ballaghmor Class posted a remarkable career-best dressage score of 20.8 to take a definitive lead going into tomorrow’s cross-country. Whether we’re looking at it in new money (20.8) or old (31.2) this is a serious mark – and it very nearly equals the record set here at Badminton 18 years ago by Andrew Hoy and Darien Powers (20.5 in the new scoring, or 30.8 in old).

“I’d have settled for a bit less!” he laughed after his test. “He’s still a baby, really – still weak in some ways, and so it’s a lot to expect of a relatively young horse to ask them to relax in their mind and body in a situation like this.”

Ballaghmor Class shows what he’s made of with Oliver Townend. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

There were some doubts creeping into Oliver’s mind prior to ‘Thomas’s’ test, too.

“The second time at this level is quite often a horse’s worst result,” he said yesterday. “The first time, they tend to get nervous in the atmosphere and rely on the rider, but the second time, they’re expecting the atmosphere. This time around he knows he’s a superstar – after Burghley, he was the only horse on the yard that the girls wanted to muck out.”

Despite working well yesterday afternoon, Thomas lost some of his sparkle in this morning’s schooling session.

Ballaghmor Class and Oliver Townend. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

“We weren’t overly impressed with his work this morning. He felt like he did in the test when he worked yesterday, but this morning, I don’t know if he was sick of work. But in the test, I felt like we were in control of every single stride. This is the second time he’s seen the crowds in a test, and you don’t always know how they’ll react, but he was on side the whole time. I’m seriously happy with him- we know what he’s capable of and he’s improving all the time; he’s improved a lot, physically and mentally, since Burghley.”

Mark Todd posts a vintage score aboard Kiltubrid Rhapsody. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Overnight runner-up Mark Todd posted his best top-level dressage score in more than ten years, scoring 23.4 with the relatively inexperienced Kiltubrid Rhapsody. The eleven-year-old gelding recorded his first four-star start last year at Pau, where he clocked up an unfortunate 20 penalties, which Mark attributes to rider error. This year, he hopes to go better.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with him – it felt like he didn’t make any mistakes, and he’s starting to get the stage where he can really carry himself,” he said. “It feels like he’s still got more to give; another year on him and he’ll be really smart. Because he’s so big, it’s taken him a long time to get to this point. I’ve only felt in the last month that he’s started to use himself well.”

Mark Todd and Kiltubrid Rhapsody. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Mark, who squeezes in training sessions with dressage supremo Charlotte Dujardin, spent much of his day watching the riders before him.

“The marks seemed to be getting better and better throughout the day, and it seemed to be a bit of a lottery, but we’ll take it!” he laughed.

Former winners Sam Griffiths and Paulank Brockagh. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Australia’s Sam Griffiths and Paulank Brockagh, who won here in 2014, posted a good score of 24.4 to sit in equal fifth place with fellow countrymen Paul Tapner and Bonza King of Rouges.

“She isn’t really a natural at the dressage, but she tries really hard,” said Sam. “It’s just ironic that the dressage scoring has changed just as I’ve got her really good at the dressage! She’s got better and better over the years, but she’s always been consistent.”

The pair train with Australian dressage rider Gareth Hughes, who also trains fourth-placed Jonty Evans. Looking ahead to tomorrow’s gruelling cross-country test, Sam is feeling lucky: “I’m on the one horse that the rain won’t really affect too much.” Their win here was recorded in one of the wettest years in recent history and ‘Brocks’, who was fourth at Rio and came in the top ten at Pau last year, has proven her toughness and adaptability time, and time, and time again.

Will Coleman and O’Brien Office Supplies O’Reilly (no, we’re not kidding) are best-placed Americans in seventh place on a 24.6. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Will Coleman and OBOS O’Reilly are our highest-placed American combination after the dressage, showing a serious improvement in this phase.

“He’s a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde,” he laughed. “He’s incredibly bold cross-country but can get a little shy in dressage, and this is one of the biggest atmospheres in the world. We’re thrilled with him – dressage hasn’t always been one of our strengths, but he really pulled it out of the bag today.”

Will’s score inches him just ahead of Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam FBW.

“I’m probably the most surprised guy here – I’ve been working hard on his dressage, but Michael is one of the best in this phase, and that horse is probably the best horse. It’s been a long road with this horse – I would have given him to you for about a ham sandwich a few years ago, but it’s amazing how they can develop.”

Piggy French and Vanir Kamira round out the top ten. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

The fringe of the top ten is held jointly by Lauren Kieffer and Piggy French, who rides Vanir Kamira. They each sit on a score of 25.1.

“It’s really exciting,” said Piggy. “It’s just great to be back at the top level, especially at Badminton, as it’s the biggest event in the world. I was delighted with her score – I’d take that every day of the week!”

Her well-scoring test came despite a less-than-ideal warm-up: “I don’t usually give her more than twenty minutes to warm up, as she gets quite twitchy if she starts to get hot and sweaty, and she’d already done a lot this morning. But the last time she was in this collecting ring was two years ago, when she was getting ready to showjump, and she was a nightmare. We aren’t allowed to work in here during the week because they want to save the ground, so when we came in to warm up she immediately thought of the jumping and went white with sweat. I thought, ‘I’ve been here for three days – how can I have prepared so badly?!’ I haven’t been feeling great this week and I really thought she was got to blow, so I thought, ‘bugger feeling not very well – I’ve got to concentrate.’ She sneezed a few times coming up the centreline because she was hot, and so she changed behind in her entrance, but she settled so well and became so rideable.”

Madeline Backus and PS Arianna post a 39 in their Badminton debut. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Our final American competitor today was debutante Madeline Backus, riding PS Arianna. The pair have been based in the UK since March at Austin O’Connor‘s Attington Stud, a trip which has been funded by the Wilton Fair and Rebecca Broussard grants.

“It’s definitely a bit electric in there, but it’s amazing,” enthused Madeline. “She’s a very tense horse and dressage isn’t her strongest phase, so I was very pleased with her. Everything’s a bit closer to the ring in here than at Kentucky, where we did our first four-star.”

Madeline, who trains with Eric Duvander, Gill Watson, and her mother – “she oversees it all, because she knows us both so well!” – is looking ahead to the mare’s strongest phase: the cross country. Beyond that, she has Burghley in the back of her mind for the horse with whom she’s grown up.

“I’m really excited to get out there; I think running at Burnham Market and Belton really helped us to prepare. She’s such a funny horse – when you groom her, she’ll groom you back, and she loves treats. I was a kid when I raised her, and that’s the type of horse she is. Then she’s very serious about her job – a bit spicy and fiery.”

The top ten going into tomorrow’s competition is truly international, with six nations represented. It’s incredibly tight, too, as we once again witness the significant impact of dressage without the multiplier: in fact, just 16 seconds separates the top 20. We’ll be publishing a full preview of the course, with a seriously exciting mystery guest, before the start of tomorrow’s competition – so keep it tuned in to EN!

The top ten at Badminton at the conclusion of the dressage.

Badminton Links: Website, Entries, XC Start Times, Form Guide, Course Map, EN’s Coverage, Live Stream, Course Preview

The boy’s done good: Jonty Evans and Cooley Rorkes Drift go into second place at Badminton. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

“I cried like mad last year – I’m glad I’m a bit more manly this year,” laughed Jonty Evans after his test with crowd favourite Cooley Rorkes Drift. He’d have been excused for shedding a few tears, though – his phenomenal score of 24.1 bested even his test of last year which, at 24.8, was a huge personal best. He currently sits in second place behind yesterday’s leaders Ros Canter and Allstar B.

“He was great in the test, as usual,” said Jonty, who comes into Badminton fresh off a win in the CIC3* Grantham Cup at Belton with his crowdfunded horse. “I’m really pleased with him. There’s a certain expectation coming here because of his test last year, but he’s done it again for me.”

The spectators were expressive in their appreciation of ‘Art’s’ brilliant performance, but it didn’t faze the 12-year-old Courage II gelding: “He loves the atmosphere – that’s something I can totally rely on with him. He’ll go in there and enjoy the experience of being in there. He gets one of the biggest cheers every time he’s out and it’s great – I really appreciate him and it’s lovely to know that the crowd does as well.”

Paul Tapner and Bonza King of Rouges deliver for 3rd. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Australia’s Paul Tapner and Bonza King of Rouges didn’t quite manage a personal best, but came close with their score of 24.4, which was enough to propel them into third place. This is the horse’s second attempt at Badminton, after his week ended early with a fall out of the water last year.

A new partnership shows promise: Izzy Taylor and Perfect Stranger score a 25.1 to sit seventh. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

In their first four-star test together, the new partnership of Izzy Taylor and Alex Phillips‘ Perfect Stranger proved a solid one, earning 25.1 to sit in seventh place behind Lauren Kieffer and Veronica.

“It’s our first four-star together – our first big test, if you like – and I’m very pleased with him,” said Izzy. “He was very relaxed and wasn’t at all fazed by the excitement of being here. When they do a test like that, it’s hard to find something to be disappointed with.”

The horse was formerly piloted by Andrew Nicholson, but location proved a factor in the ride going to Izzy.

“Alex, who owns him, lives near me and I had started riding a few of her youngsters, but not him,” she explained. “He was off at the time, and when he came back, Alex was struggling with the logistics of getting him to Andrew in Marlborough and going back and forth, so she asked me to take on the ride. It’s been great – he asks after the horse and I’ve been able to call him and ask him questions, which he happily answers, so it’s all been really helpful and professional.”

Fernhill Pimms makes a promising comeback with William Fox-Pitt. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

They didn’t quite sneak into the top ten, but William Fox-Pitt‘s test with Fernhill Pimms, which scored a 27.1 for thirteenth place, was an emotional one, as it saw William make a return to the event at which he has historically been a familiar face.

“It’s quite emotional – I haven’t been here since I won it in 2015 with Chilli Morning – but it’s great to be back and I’m so lucky to have the horse,” he said. “27.1 is a bit off the pace but he’s in the hunt and I’m happy with that.”

The horse hadn’t been seen in international competition since Burghley in 2015, and so, with no FEI points to his name, he was on the bottom of the waitlist for Badminton.

“Because of my position on the waitlist, I was thinking I was going to Kentucky, and Badminton wasn’t really on my radar at all. But then I couldn’t really get enough prep in for Kentucky. I only found out last week that my entry had been accepted – until then, I thought, at what point do I just pull the plug anyway?”

Now that they’re here, William is looking ahead to the real test: tomorrow’s cross country.

“It’ll be a jolly good wakeup call for us both – I suppose I’ll find out if I can still do it!” he laughed.

We’ll be back soon with all the action from this afternoon’s final session of dressage.

Go eventing!

The top ten at the lunchbreak on the second day of dressage at Badminton.

Badminton Links: Website, Entries, Form Guide, Course Map, EN’s Coverage, Live Stream, Course Preview

Ros Canter and Allstar B post a personal best to go into the lead on the first day of dressage. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

A dramatic reshuffle of the leaderboard took place in the latter half of today’s dressage, with Britain’s Ros Canter and Allstar B moving into a decisive lead in the penultimate test.

Ros, who tops out at a diminutive 5’2, has put a huge amount of effort into turning her own and Caroline Moore’s 17.1hh ‘Albi’ into a competitive horse in the first phase. Her trainer of six years, Ian Woodhead, has been instrumental in the process, both on the ground and when reviewing video footage of her performances. That joint effort paid off today with career-best result of 23.9.

That winning feeling – Ros Canter and Allstar B. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

“I’m so proud of my horse as the dressage isn’t his favourite phase,” she said. “He isn’t a naturally big-moving horse, but he allows me to ride him for those bigger paces. If he had his own way, he’d stay on the centreline in halt – he’s quite lazy, and so the key for me is to get him in the right frame of mind and not kick him.”

Such was her focus that she didn’t realise how highly her scores were trending.

“I can’t really believe it – I don’t remember much of it! I didn’t look at the scoreboard or anything, as he’s a big horse and a lot to hold together. I just wanted to get the most of every movement.”

A swansong or a second wind? Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam FBW hold second place overnight. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Second place is held overnight, perhaps somewhat predictably, by Germany’s Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam FBW. This, says Michael, is likely to be the eighteen-year-old gelding’s final season, and perhaps the final time we’ll ever see the horse on British soil. His first-phase score of 24.7 puts him well in the hunt at this early stage as we look ahead to the horse’s best phase. Still, Michael felt that the test could have earned the pair better marks: “It was difficult to prepare him – he wasn’t very happy with the ground [in the warm-up], but he knows his job. Most of the time I train him inside, so he doesn’t like the wet ground for dressage. By the end of the test, though, he felt really relaxed. In the end, I’m very happy – I was not so happy when I first got here and saw the wet ground.”

Sam’s incredible wealth of experience brings challenges of its own right: “On the one hand, he is so experienced and he knows what he has to do, but on the other hand he knows the arena and can get tense because he knows that there will be an atmosphere. He’s in really good form, he feels good, and I think people see that. We have a very good partnership, I really like him like a friend, and we grew up together. It’s not always been easy but we’ve had a good time together.”

Yoshiaki Oiwa and The Duke of Cavan set a record for Japan. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Yoshiaki Oiwa recorded Japan’s best-ever four-star score aboard The Duke of Cavan, posting a 24.9, despite a tumultuous start to his day.

“I’m very happy – he was a bit quieter than I expected, because at lunchtime there was a dog chasing us and he was very upset.”

Lauren Kieffer and Veronica make a return trip to Badminton. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

It was a great day for North America, with two riders moving into the top ten. Lauren Kieffer and Veronica sit in fourth place overnight, with Selena O’Hanlon and her Fair Hill winner Foxwood High posting a massive personal best of 26.4 to sit in eighth.

“I was absolutely tickled with her,” said Lauren of the sixteen-year-old mare, who was 17th here last year and 12th at Burghley in the autumn. Compatriot Selena, on the other hand, hasn’t been seen here since 2011, with Colombo, and her return has been something of a dream come true for her horse’s owners, John and Judy Rumble.

“John trained over here for the 1956 Olympics, and he said he had always hoped to come back here one day with a horse,” explained Selena, who has based herself at Mark Todd‘s Badgerstown in Wiltshire for the past month. “Two dreams have come true – John’s was to come back to Badminton, and mine was to take off and be a minion for Mark Todd!”

An incredible effort from Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High sees the pair better their CCI4* PB by nearly seven points. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

The experience has been made even sweeter by the kindness of strangers, particularly after some confusion surrounded her win in the Fair Hill CCI3* last year. One of her prizes – a return flight with DuttaCorp – was rescinded as it was deemed to be designated for the highest-placed US competitor. “I’ve been so lucky to have EquiJet offer the lift after the kerfuffle last year. And Mark’s staff have made me feel like part of the family – I even got to ride Kiltubrid Rhapsody, so I feel like a kid in a candy store.”

As for Woody, with whom Selena has been working hard to improve upon prior scores: “he’s been pretty excitable this week, and I was wondering how to manage it, but sticking to the programme has helped him settle. Kiltubrid Rhapsody is his gallop buddy, so I made sure he hacked up here with him, and that helped him to relax.”

Pippa Funnell and Billy Beware make a welcome return to Badminton. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Pippa Funnell‘s Billy Beware made his first Badminton appearance in four years, scoring 25.7 to sit fifth overnight. Their score comes off the back of two very competitive tests at Burnham Market and Belton.

“On the whole, I was very pleased with the test,” said Pippa. “It’s really nice to have him back. I think, perhaps, that I gave him a bit too much work. He’s been so pleased to be at a big party again and his eyes have been on stalks, so I thought I ought to give him a bit more work. He had a bit of a jolly this morning and this afternoon, I think i just overdid it by five or ten minutes, so he lost a bit of the dance in his steps.”

Tim Price and Ringwood Sky Boy – well in the hunt after the first day. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

New Zealand’s Tim Price is in sixth place currently with Ringwood Sky Boy, with whom he’s finished 2nd, 4th and 5th at Burghley over the last three years. He and wife Jonelle, riding tomorrow, are balancing competing at the event with looking after baby Otis.

“We go from changing nappies in the morning to riding horses and walking courses,” laughed Tim.

Of Ringwood Sky Boy’s test, he said: “I’m so pleased he’s been in and delivered what he can do. We’ve been here a few times and never really found ourselves up there. In the past I used to come out and focus on getting ready for the test in one big session, but we’ve found that the little-and-often approach to schooling works better for him.”

Tim has swapped his trademark (itty-bitty) motorbike for a pushbike this year – “I did the course on it earlier, and I think we went clear, so that’s a start!”

It’s been an incredibly exciting first day of dressage, made all the more interesting by a remarkable number of personal bests recorded – a whopping 41% of the field bettered their previous best scores, according to the stats chaps at EquiRatings.

Tomorrow brings another jam-packed day of dressage, with some more big names coming forward to fight for a place on the leaderboard. Keep an eye out for:

FRIDAY DRESSAGE NOTABLE NAMES:

9:54am BST/4:54am EST: William Fox-Pitt and Fernhill Pimms

11:58am BST/6:58am EST: Jonty Evans and Cooley Rorkes Drift

12:22pm BST/7:22am EST: Jonelle Price and Classic Moet

2:00pm BST/9:00am EST: Piggy French and Vanir Kamira

2:16pm BST/9:16am EST: Madeline Backus and PS Arianna

2:48pm BST/9:48am EST: Will Coleman and OBOS O’Reilly

3:12pm BST/10:12am EST: Sam Griffiths and Paulank Brockagh

3:40pm BST/10:40am EST: Gemma Tattersall and Arctic Soul

4:36PM BST/11:36am EST: Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class

The top ten at Badminton after the first day of dressage.

Badminton Links: Website, Entries, Form Guide, Course Map, EN’s Coverage, Live Stream, Course Preview

Oliver Townend praises Cooley SRS for a job well done in the first phase at Badminton. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

The first day of dressage got off to a competitive start, with a chocolate-box selection of some of the field favourites taking to the main arena for the first session. It was to be a fortuitous morning for Oliver Townend who, fresh off the back of his win at Kentucky and following on from his victory at Burghley last year, is in contention for the Grand Slam. His test on Europeans mount Cooley SRS scored a 25.9, a considerable bettering of the horse’s CCI3* average of 30.3. ‘Aero’ is contesting his first four-star this week, and Oliver, who won both previous legs on first-timers at the level, remains pragmatic about the task ahead.

“This is another horse that’s at its first four-star, so it’s just nice to get through it,” he said. “I made one mistake, and he made another, which didn’t help, but I’m happy with the score. With the Grand Slam, and with Badminton, we have to just take one phase at a time and see where we end up. He’s always had it in him – a good test, and the ability to do the job, and he wasn’t always the easiest, but he’s progressed exactly as we’d hoped he would.”

Angela Hislop’s eleven-year-old gelding was the pathfinder in Strzegom, and despite an uncharacteristic 40 penalties across the country, he came in closest to the optimum time on the tight course. Under the revised scoring system, we’ll be looking closely at horses who can be quick and clean across the country, and, despite that performance, Cooley SRS is an out-and-out contender. He’s finished in the top ten in 17 of his 23 internationals, and proven that errors in the second phase are the exception, rather than the rule. With stablemate Ballaghmor Class taking to the ring tomorrow, Oliver will have an exciting week ahead of him.

Travelling groom Jess McKie gives Cooley SRS a pat after his test. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Although the Grand Slam is the question on everyone’s lips, he hasn’t had time to dwell on what it will take, nor what it could mean.

“All I’ve managed to do since Kentucky is get home, manage to avoid my own champagne, and that’s pretty much it,” he said with a wry grin. “The Grand Slam doesn’t bother me – I’m lucky enough to have been in this position twice, and I hope to god  the outcome is different this time.”

Oliver’s previous attempt at the third and final leg of the Grand Slam ended in a crashing fall at the Hollow in the latter part of Kentucky’s course in 2010.

Pamero 4 steps up to the big leagues with Gemma Tattersall to sit second at the lunch break. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Fledgling partnership Gemma Tattersall and Pamero 4 looked in their element on the horse’s first trip around the Badminton arena, scoring a 27.4 and showing a solid continuation of form, which has seen them post five top-ten finishes out of five internationals together.

“Pamero and I are still getting to know each other – before today, I could count on one hand the number of times we’d been in an international arena together,” she said. “He’s usually quite calm, but this week he’s been quite excited. I just stuck to the plan, and even though he had a couple of tense moments, the judges saw his potential and gave him some super marks.”

The duo came into Badminton with just one run under their belts this spring – a third place finish in the CIC3* at Belton – but their success together hasn’t necessarily been as easy as it’s looked.

“He’s a long horse with a long, thin neck, so he can be difficult to ride in a soft outline with his nose out in front. We’ve been working on his right-t0-left changes at home, and he’s only just got them, so we knew we’d have trouble with those. But he’s such a happy horse, and he loves his work – his worth ethic is amazing,” said Gemma. “But honestly, I haven’t slept for a month for worrying about this horse – he’s one of the most challenging horses I’ve ever had to manage. All credit to my staff, who make sure he has his massages and hold his buckets for him so they can encourage him to eat. He’s a naturally skinny horse and it’s so difficult to keep him eating and looking well.”

To try to manage a drop-off in weight after Belton, Gemma got creative.

“He lives out now with a Shetland – she’s called Sootie, and I think she must be about 40, she’s ancient,” she laughed.

Mark Todd and Leonidas II – one of the fan favourites this week. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Mark Todd and Leonidas II sit in third place on a score of 27.9, after losing some marks for tension in the halt and rein-back.

“He just got a little bit tense in the walk,” said Mark, “he normally stands still, but he just wanted to take a step forward. It did mean that he was ready to step up into canter well, though.”

Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Fourth-placed at Burghley last year, Tom McEwen‘s Toledo de Kerser is perhaps one of the country’s most exciting up-and-coming talents, and he scored a four-star PB of 28.9 to slot into equal fourth place with Padraig McCarthy and Mr Chunky at this early stage. His score, too, was affected by errors, this time in the changes, which added expensive 3s and 4s to a largely 7.5-8 scoring test.

“I’m not sure what I was thinking at the end with that last change,” said Tom. “I’m super happy with the horse. We threw a few marks away – he got a bit excited about that last change; a bit like last year, knocking the final pole down!”

Alex Bragg and Zagreb: back at the Big B. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Equal sixth-placed Alex Bragg and Zagreb looked promising on their debut here last year, and their score of 29.6 set them up well for the week today.

“He’s very enthusiastic, and always enjoys and looks forward to his work,” said Alex of the rangy gelding. “Sometimes that can bubble over, but I’d always rather have that enthusiasm. We’re just looking forward to the cross-country – that’s my thing, and we love it. I’m not a dressage rider!”

Andrew Nicholson and Nereo aim for accuracy, not flash, in their test. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Last year’s reigning champions Andrew Nicholson and Nereo didn’t quite live up to expectations in this phase, scoring a 30.3, a considerable increase on the horse’s four-star average of 27.9.

“I thought it was a good test, but just a little quieter in the powerful stuff than he can be,” he said. “He’s used to a big atmosphere, and there weren’t many people in there. He’s also a big horse, and it felt like he was sinking in the ground a bit, so I thought it was best not to upset the system and stay smooth, and show the judges what he can do rather than leave them wondering about what you can’t. I’ve never ridden in the arena when it’s been this soft, and it’ll only get worse, but as long as it’s consistent it shouldn’t bother the horses.”

We’ll be back with a full report from this afternoon’s dressage, which sees Lauren Kieffer and Veronica perform their tests, as well as Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High.

Go eventing!

The top ten at Badminton at the lunch break.

Badminton Links: Website, Entries, Form Guide, Course Map, EN’s Coverage, Live Stream, Course Preview