Classic Eventing Nation

Sunday Links

By on May 11, 2025 12:01 am -

Kaylawna Smith-Cook and and Tamie Smith. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of our incredible horse moms! Whether you’re a competitor yourself or a full-time horse show supporter, we applaud each and everyone of you.

Major International Events

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

U.S. Weekend Preview

Tryon International Three-Day Event (NC): [Website] [Timetable] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Galway Downs Spring H.T. and Preliminary Challenge (CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

River Glen Spring H.T. (TN): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring]

Unionville May H.T. (PA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Majestic Oaks Ocala H.T. (FL): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Queeny Park H.T. (MO): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring]

Hitching Post Farm H.T. (VT): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Links & Reading

Experience the Spirit of New Orleans at this Year’s USEA Annual Meeting & Convention

At 20, Five-Star Winner WillingaPark Clifford Is “Better All The Time”

Caring for Young Horse Joints

Global Horse Breeding & Sales Market: Trends, Economics & Future Insights

Video Break

Look back on an epic day of cross country at Badminton:

“I Always Do What My Daddy Tells Me”: Oliver Townend Bests Badminton Cross Country Day

By on May 10, 2025 5:52 pm -

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

There’s been plenty of discussion in the lead-up to today’s cross country challenge at the MARS Badminton Horse Trials about how different it all feels: for the first time in a few years, the sun has been shining, the ground is dry and verging on firm, and the course itself is bigger, more galloping, and less technical than in the past couple of iterations, too. Would that make it less exciting, less demanding, and less influential? Would we see half the field sail home inside the time? 

Of course we wouldn’t: at the end of the day, our 79 starters have been whittled down to 60 completions, 44 of whom had clear rounds, and six of whom came home inside the 11:40 optimum time. Among those who picked up issues were some heavy-hitters, too – overnight runners-up Tom McEwen and JL Dublin dropped to sixteenth place after a tough round that had some classy moments but, in the latter stages, just didn’t travel, and they added 10.8 time penalties and a further 11 for activating the MIM clip at the first corner of Huntsman’s Close. Five-star debutant pair Tom Woodward and Low Moor Lucky, who had so impressed with a first phase performance that had them sitting sixth, retired early after a run-out at the second of the Agria Corners at 6 and 7, and Switzerland’s Felix Vogg, who was twelfth with the previously successful Cartania, was eliminated when the mare came to the upright gate at 29 with a bit too much petrol left in the tank and pecked on landing. Both were uninjured in the fall. 

Fourteenth-placed Kylie Roddy was also dashed from the line-up early in the course when SRS Kan Do scrambled to make the distance over the wide haywain at the Savills Staircase at 4ABC, catapulting his rider out of the tack, and thirteenth-placed Sam Lissington retired Lord Seekonig late on course after some trouble at the Mayston Equestrian Sunken Road. In less dramatic fashion, Fiona Kashel logged a smart completion with the seventeen-year-old Creevagh Silver de Haar but vacated her space in the top ten by adding 24 time penalties to drop to 26th place. 

Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

But those who found their way around the long, tough track found themselves having a very good day of sport – and one that sees our leader unchanged at the end of the day. Oliver Townend will go into tomorrow’s finale fighting for the Badminton title, which has closely eluded his grasp since he took it in 2009. 

Oliver’s first ride, on the eighteen-year-old Ballaghmor Class, was the earliest barometer of how the track might measure up. He came forward as just the second of 79 starters, following a confidence-boosting but steadier clear from pathfinders Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI, and while he didn’t quite manage to catch the 11:40 optimum time, he came reasonably close – the pair came home twelve seconds over, picking up 4.8 time penalties. 

From the sidelines, the round didn’t, perhaps, look like a vintage Ballaghmor Class attacking round – but, says Oliver, “I think he’s as good as ever. There were a couple of places today that weren’t quite impressive enough for him. The more impressive and the bigger the fence, the more beautiful he is to ride to it. If he sees a fence that he doesn’t think much of, he’ll just run me straight through the distance — so I had to correct him a few times. But when it’s a big, old-fashioned Badminton fence, like the corner down the bottom, like the double of hedges with the ditch – well, then he’s a six-star horse, isn’t he?”

With four five-star wins under the gelding’s belt already, it’s hard to imagine the day when he won’t shore up as part of these major events – “he’s getting spottier and spottier, so we’re going to restart him as a chestnut in two years,” jokes Oliver – but in the eleven-year-old Cooley Rosalent, it looks as though he’s got an heir waiting to take his throne at the top of the sport. 

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

This week, she’s certainly shifting him out of it: just as Ballaghmor Class retains the ninth place spot he held after dressage, she finishes the day still atop the leaderboard, following a late-in-the-day clear round with just 1.2 time penalties. 

That lead wasn’t always a sure thing, though. Immediately following her return home, she and Oliver were awarded 15 penalties for a missed flag at the B element of Huntsman’s Close, which came up late in the course this year and caused plenty of problems throughout the day. 

“These professional horses, they know easy way and the quick way, and they know exactly where home is,” says Oliver, whose penalties were rescinded by the close of the competition. “So when you’re telling them that you’re wanting to go quick, and then you get a right-handed corner that’s drifting off towards home, they’re happy to make it quicker for you. It was only my foot that didn’t jump the fence. I came back, and somebody showed me the video, and she jumped it in front and she jumped it behind.”

Huntsman’s Close, incidentally, was the one place on course where Oliver changed his initial plan: “I actually had a phone call from my dad – very rare! –  just before I got on. He said it had gone very dark in there and two had crashed into the corner. He thought that to gallop to the oxer [the long approach was an oxer to a corner, rather than a corner to a corner] was the sensible thing to do if I was anywhere near the time. So I was galloping up to it thinking, ‘Do I? Don’t I?’ And, well, can you imagine what my dad would say if I went to the corner and ran into it? You can’t imagine! I always do what my daddy tells me.”

His overall approach to riding the track also differed slightly to his earlier, much more seasoned ride.

“She’s still relatively baby,” he says. “She’s eleven, which is young enough at the level. And she’s still a little bit nervy in the bit. She’s a very sensitive mare – she’s pretty much the opposite of Ballaghmor Class. So you have to mind her a little bit. And she’s very shy with the people, so the first cross country jump I jumped in the warm-up towards the people — she was very nervy of it. But she felt to me, as the course went on and the stronger the questions became, the more she started to warm into it and enjoy it. By the time we jumped through the lake, I thought, ‘okay, we’re away now.’”

At the conclusion of it, he continues, “I couldn’t be happier with her. It was her first proper, proper test since Kentucky [in 2024, which she won]. I know she went to Burghley [last autumn, where she fell], but I had a broken collarbone and we didn’t quite have her where we wanted her. But now she’s done it again.”

It wasn’t just his two horses that Oliver was delighted with – Eric Winter’s course, too, earned his vocal praise.

“I thought it was Eric’s best course so far – I think he’s probably getting the hang of it at this stage,” he says with a grin. “And then he comes up and says, ‘I’m going to change it next year.’ I’m like, ‘oh, it was quite good this year!’ I thought it was a very clever, brilliantly flowing course that showed off the top-class horses and riders. And the mistakes that happened weren’t horrible mistakes or frightening mistakes. It was mostly the kind of mistakes where somebody puts their hand up and walks home, and the horses and the riders all looked alright. I think that’s what we all want in this sport now.”

What he’d like less of, though, is something that ended up being at the forefront of our minds for much of the day. 

“I think it’s a shame that we have to do quite so much talking about flags—it’s quite boring, isn’t it?” he says. 

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

That flags ended up such a talking point wasn’t just down to the fact that a flag penalty called the overnight lead into question – it also happened to 2023 champions Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, who picked up their penalty at exactly the same fence as Oliver and Rosie, and also ultimately had it taken off. They sailed home eleven seconds inside the time, but throughout the long wait for a decision, Ros had to wait in a tricky limbo, rather than embracing the elation of what was arguably one of the best five-star cross country rounds we’ve ever been treated to. 

Her joy in her horse, though, was never in limbo. 

“It’s a privilege to sit on him, really. He just absolutely loves it, and he makes my life easy, because he lowers and he gallops, but when he sees a fence, he looks up, and he comes up into a great balance,” she says. “So I’m able to take my preparation for a jump quite late, and the moment I get low, he gets low, and off he goes. And he just seems to never tire. I wouldn’t class myself as a naturally fast rider. But on Walter, everything feels quite easy.”

Even, she continues, a track as bold and unflinching as this one.

“Every time I get here and walk the course on Wednesday, I think it looks jumpable. Then by Saturday, 10 minutes before I get on, it feels quite unjumpable. But I wouldn’t want to be on any other horse. Each jump is there to be jumped — it’s putting them all together under the pressure of wanting to go fast that makes Badminton a great challenge.”

‘Walter’, normally a very relaxed type, certainly knew what was to come this morning. 

“He was actually shaking in the stables before I got on him — it’s the first time he’s ever done that – kind of staring into space a little bit, and he certainly felt well on it at the start,” says Ros. 

Now, at thirteen and with an Olympic Games, two five-star wins, a European Championship title, a World Championships placing, and plenty more mileage behind him, Ros has the full extent of his extraordinary capabilities to play with.

“He just knows his job so well. He reads things so well; he’s just super clever with his feet. I think that’s what makes him outstanding. He loves it out there, but stays composed and calm at the same time. He’s got a turn of foot, but he’s also so rideable. I think that’s the thing: you sit up, and he comes back to you, and he comes back in a balance, so you never feel like you’re fighting backwards to go forwards. In that way, he’s always energy-saving.”

Their classy, extraordinarily efficient clear moves them up from overnight fourth place to second, and while Ros might be slightly ruing the two tricky flying changes that have kept them out of the top spot thus far, she’s not lagging far behind: she’ll head into the final phase tomorrow just 3 penalties behind Oliver, giving him time in hand but not a rail – as long as she and Walter continue their own pattern of never having a pole at this level.

Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Gemma Stevens began the day with two horses in the top ten, but ends it with just one in the competition after opting to retire Jalapeno, third after dressage, following a surprise run-out at the second of the keyhole corners at 7. 

“Jala is a funny old lady, and if it’s not her day, it’s not her day,” she says. “And I can tell you something now, if she doesn’t want to do something, she’s not going to do it. You definitely can’t make her. She actually started brilliantly, and I was spot on at the first [corner], and she just said, ‘no, not my day’. So I brought her around and jumped it, gave her a pat, and walked her home, because there’s always another day.”

Taking his stablemate’s spot on the leaderboard is paternal half-brother Chilli Knight, whose earlier round was the first clear inside the time of the day. ‘Alfie’ romped home bang on the optimum time, propelling himself and his elated rider from tenth place to third. 

“I’m not going to lie — that was cool!” she says with a laugh. “Last year, I had no bloomin’ control. This year, I’ve changed the bit. I had a fantastic ride at Burghley in this bit, and I was just so much more confident. Don’t get me wrong, he still throws his head around when I say ‘whoa.’ He’s like, ‘Don’t make me whoa, bugger off!’ But I’m like, ‘No, you need to whoa, because there’s a jump.’ And now he knows that if I’m woahing, there’s a reason for it — so he does have a small amount of respect!”

Alfie has always been a classic cross country horse – his victory in the terrain-heavy, tough ‘pop-up’ CCI5* at Bicton during the pandemic is the proof in the pudding – and with that in mind, Gemma set out on course with one clear goal in mind.

“My absolute aim was this: fast, clear, and inside the time,” he says. “He’s just a fantastic little horse. He’s so genuine. If he sees a jump with flags on it, he’ll take me to it. He’s the biggest trier you could ever imagine, and I’m unbelievably proud of him today. He’s come out of it smiling his little head off.”

It was only at the tricky Huntsman’s Close that Gemma ever considered taking an alternative route – last year, a flag penalty there cost her and Alfie the win – but ultimately, she made an in-the-moment decision to go straight.

“He jumped Huntsman’s unreal — he just literally turned and popped it. I looked at my watch and figured I probably had three or four seconds to spare — not six or seven — and I was like, ‘No, we’re going straight. Come on, boy.’ He was literally looking for his flags today, and so I said to myself, ‘Man up. Go straight.’”

Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

There are a couple of things that I always think of as markers of a proper five-star: one is, of course, when cross country proves influential enough to allow for colossal leaderboard climbs. The other is when even the most informed of takes and opinions end up being catapulted out of the water. Just last week, I came up to Badminton to cruise around the course with Eric Winter; along the way, we ended up having the inevitable discussion about who we thought could win. 

“It won’t be a year for the horses like Colorado Blue,” he mused. “They almost need that really tough year like the last couple to really climb.”

I roundly agreed. And now Colorado Blue, and his rider, Ireland’s Austin O’Connor, are in fourth place, having sailed up the leaderboard from twentieth after dressage with one of their characteristic blazing clears inside the time. 

But it’s not just Austin and Salty’s typically excellent second-phase performance that’s got them to this stage: they also produced a personal best in the dressage, posting a starting score of 30.8 that they’re determined to stay on. 

“Coming here, he’s on the form of his life. He’s stronger, more mature, and I’m just very, very lucky to have him,” says Austin, who never felt any complacency about this year’s challenge compared to the previous, wetter years. 

“I mean, it’s Badminton. There was a lot of rubbish talk beforehand about it being a bit softer, but I wasn’t listening to too much of that. Eric Winter is a clever designer, and it was tough, and it was Badminton.”

The 2023 Maryland champions came home seven seconds inside the time, and find themselves a hair’s breadth away from their Badminton success of that year, which saw them finish third after another remarkable round.

“He’s blood, but he’s also got an amazing heart – he’s got a heart the size of Badminton. That’s what makes him a real star,” says Austin. “As I always say, it’s a lot easier when you’re sitting on a horse like Colorado Blue. Thank God he’s still loving it as much now as he ever has.”

Harry Meade and Superstition. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Harry Meade, too, executed smart climbs up the leaderboard with both of his horses, who each sit in the top ten following two clears inside the time. In case you’re losing track, that’s two horses clear inside the time at Burghley last year, two horses clear inside the time at Kentucky last month, and now this – an astonishing record that demonstrates that the rider is truly on the form of his life. 

The best-placed of his rides is the former Lucy Jackson mount Superstition, who climbed from 23rd to 5th place after his exceptional performance. That round comes after a rather unique preparation: the sixteen-year-old gelding hadn’t jumped a cross country fence in a month before he left the startbox today, and he hasn’t competed at all since Burghley last autumn. 

That, Harry explains, is no accident – instead, it was part of a master plan to manage the horse’s headspace and limit his exposure to the stresses of a competitive environment.

“I reckoned I could do all the prep he needed at home and on the gallops,” he says. “I think a lot of people assumed I’d entered and was never planning on running him because he hadn’t been entered anywhere, but he felt great today.”

While many people believe that running horses competitively offers a fitness edge that can’t be replicated with gallop sets, Harry disagrees. 

“I don’t include their runs in any way as part of their fitness work,” he explains. “A run replaces a gallop, but if that event was cancelled the day before and they ended up working on the gallops at home instead, I reckon that would do more rather than less for them than if they ran [at the event]. I also keep a log of every single bit of fastwork every horse that’s been on my yard that’s gone to a CCI4*-L or a CCI5* has ever done, going back to 2001. So I have a pretty good record of what they need to do, what they don’t need to do, what’s been perhaps an unnecessary amount, where they’ve been fit enough by doing less.”

His warm-up was similarly simple but measured: “I literally jumped two show jumps — about 90 centimeters — outside beforehand. The main thing was just to keep him relaxed, and then try to go like a scalded cat. But at the same time, I always say cross country isn’t a sprint. It’s about keeping them in that efficient, relaxed breathing. You let them recover, let them breathe — never get into them too much, or you empty them.”

En route around the course, he says, he discovered something he hadn’t expected. 

“I was surprised by how big the course rode overall. The back rails were a long way away the whole way around, and that distorted their jump – it got them jumping in a way that horse might not normally jump. That, then, had an impact on the fences that weren’t that [big], because it had changed their jump. I know Burghley has a reputation for being big and square, but I actually noticed it more so here.”

Though Harry’s performances at these major events is swift and efficient, at one-day events, he takes a much slower, steadier approach.

“A lot of people don’t understand and what I do and think I’m stupid – they can’t understand why you’d canter gently around one-day events,” he says. “To put it in context, I do a lot with the horses in terms of slow, steady runs through the grades. So they have a very in-depth fluency, and I don’t mean fluency in terms of rhythm – I mean it in terms of being fluent in the language of cross country, so that by the time they get here, they don’t really need the prep runs that much.”

Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

In romping home easily with his second ride, Cavalier Crystal, he roundly proved his point – and moved up from 33rd place to seventh. 

But, he says, he can’t take all the credit for his string of consistently quick horses. 

“I think the common denominator is the team work at home. To produce a number of horses and have them all really fit — it takes a really great team of people. We know how to get horses fit, but they’re absolutely devoted to the horses. My aim is just to do the horses justice when we get here.”

While this is Cavalier Crystal’s first Badminton, it’s certainly not her first rodeo: she also logged a clear inside the time at Burghley last year, and earned herself her second consecutive third-place finish at the event in doing so. Getting her to this peak, though, has been a progression, rather than an inevitability, says Harry.

“She’s a funny horse — I never thought she’d be a five-star horse. When she was at Novice, and then when she stepped up to Intermediate, she was a good jumper but she never felt that scopey – she felt limited. She’s definitely not limited now! The other thing was that when you wanted to move her up to a fence, when you saw a good, galloping stride, she’d take a quicker turnover of footfall, so she’d get there faster but she’d still be off of the fence. She wouldn’t lengthen the stride. That’s something she’s learned through running in a relaxed, slow way, to actually not quicken the turnover of footfall but to lengthen the stride and learn to move up and stand off her fences.”

Christoph Wahler and D’Accord FRH. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Germany’s Christoph Wahler also rode a Badminton debutant – though not five-star debutant – in the oversized D’Accord FRH, with whom he finished ninth at Kentucky last spring. 

Today, though, felt “quite hard! Last year in Kentucky, he made everything feel so easy. Today, we had to work from fence one — I just never really got the rhythm quite right. He was so fast, though, and he was helping me out everywhere. He’s bold, he goes – and I’m happy to be back home inside the time.”

That increased difficulty, Christoph says, was dimensional.

“I think it’s the size of the fences. From fence two — that very big table — he actually got a bit careful. The feeling was that he got more and more careful, so I had to really ride for the fences, whereas usually I can just keep him in his rhythm and he steps over them, because he’s such a big horse. But then towards the end, when they start to tire, they also get a bit less careful — and then it gets a bit easier.”

This is Christoph’s return to Badminton after his debut in 2022, when he very nearly caught the time with his Paris Olympics ride, Carjatan S.

“It’s incredible — it’s so cool. I’ve been here twice now, and every time I’ve come up here, I’ve enjoyed it so much, because the people are screaming, the atmosphere is amazing — it’s just such a great place to be.”

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Tim Price found surprisingly himself off the pace after the first phase with the experienced Vitali, and while he was able to climb from sixteenth to eighth today, he returned home still feeling as though he’d left something on the table. The pair closed out the day with 3.6 time penalties to add to the 30.6 on their scorecard. 

“He’s a fast horse, and he ran for me – after Huntsman’s Close he had his head low and his ears back and he galloped,” he says. “But the time’s tight, and I don’t know – it was a fun ride to take him around, but I guess his ground speed just wasn’t as fast as it can be. I don’t know why, but that’s fine; it was still a good, fast round and I’m really happy. It was tidy, it was clean, and it was right on the job.”

Ian Cassells and Master Point. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Ireland’s Ian Cassells and Master Point, too, added 3.6 time penalties in their fastest five-star round to date, and now round out the top ten after climbing from eighteenth post-dressage.

“I’m really happy with him,” he says. “He’s a very blood horse with a massive stride, and in the combinations, he can get a little bit hollow and it’s hard to keep him round. He’s really quick and tries to be a bit catlike, so I have to be very aware of my body position. Even at the corners at 6 and 7, I really had to use the curve — the water was still quite tight for him, I thought — but he stayed straight and honest.”

Their round wasn’t without a bit of excitement: “At the log-ditch-log [the KBIS Chasm at 15ABCD] he jumped in quite big and left his stifles, which gave me a bit of a whoopsy moment. But he was never going to falter from the line. I’m really proud of him.”

Waiting in the wings just outside the top ten is eleventh-placed Emily King, who was thrilled with another classy clear from Valmy Biats, though dropped from overnight fifth with 7.2 time penalties to add. Just behind her is Bubby Upton and Cola III, who delivered a solid performance for 6 time penalties and a climb from sixteenth to twelfth, and in thirteenth, Badminton debutants Katie Magee and Treworra, up from 23rd with 5.2 time penalties. 

It was a mixed day in the office for the US and US-adjacent representatives: Grace Taylor and Game Changer climbed ten places to 37th after a clear round with 24 time penalties, while Tiana Coudray and Cancaras Girl were having an absolute peach of a round until the tail end of the course, when they picked up a frustrating 20 penalties at the final element of the Quarry. They also added 34 time penalties to drop from 37th to 52nd. Ocala-based Kiwi Joe Meyer opted to retire Harbin on course before Huntsman’s Close after two issues earlier on course.

Tomorrow’s finale will kick off at 8.30 a.m. (3.30 a.m. EST – ew, sorry) with the final horse inspection in front of Badminton House, and then we’ll head into the first showjumping group at 11.30 a.m. BST/6.30 a.m. EST. After a parade of the morning competitors, the top twenty will jump from 14.45 p.m. BST/9.45 a.m. EST. With just three rails spanning the top ten, it’s looking like a proper day of sport to come. As always, it’ll be live-streamed on ClipMyHorse.tv, and we’ll be running live updates and full stories, too. 

In the meantime, get some sleep, ice those legs, hydrate up, and get ready to Go Eventing one last time (this week, anyway!). 

The top ten following cross country at Badminton.

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton Horse Trials is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

“It’s About Education”: Eric Winter on Building a Badminton Track to Shape the Future

By on May 10, 2025 5:38 pm -

Christoph Wahler and D’Accord FRH. Photo by Cealy Tetley.


As the vast Badminton crowd, sunburnt and star-struck, dispersed at the end of a marathon cross country day, EN sat down course-designer Eric Winter.

This was Eric’s sixth Badminton track, and the unflappable, garrulous Welshman was rightly pretty chipper about the day. As EquiRatings pointed out, the clear round rate was 56% – 44 from 79 starters – and six horses made the time on ground that was universally praised, and probably didn’t ride quite as fast as we had imagined it would, given Britain’s exceptionally dry spring. Among those 44 clear rounds, the average amount of time-faults was 14.9. Good stats, I’d venture.

Riders had consistently said beforehand that they thought the course had more “flow” than in previous years, and Eric acknowledged that it had.

“I worried a bit to start with that they were going to find it easy,” he says, before explaining his planning process and rationale.

“I do a little bit tomorrow, then I start in August, September time and just think about where I am going to go and the route. So I wanted to get to the MARS Lake early [fences 9/10ABC], because I thought that would be really interesting, so if I was going to do that, I wanted to put them in good shape to get there early. So I sort of flowed it in and made that [early part] much less aggressive without too much interruption to their speed. I thought the Agria Corners [fences 6 and 7] in front of Badminton House would introduce them to the crowd, which is always a big thing at the Lake – that would get them into that atmosphere and give them more opportunity at the Lake to deliver well.

“I don’t think the Vicarage Ditch line was that much more flowing, but I’ve always tried to take that out of being “shotgun alley”, where you go down one route and twist and turn and twist and turn, so that came up very level. I didn’t want to use the rail-ditch-rail Hollow this year, because we had another area to use – when we took the soil out of the sunken road area I developed, we put it there so I could use that in the future and bring in a little bit more flow to that, which worked well.

“Sometimes that has its own little penalty – for opening them up and giving them a bit more gallop, they get there a little bit quicker and then they make mistakes, so that was really what I thought of; that they travelled up and shot past something, rather than… Often on a course, when you have the most difficult combination, no one has a problem with it, because they really throttle back and they make sure it happens, whereas I was looking for the casual slide-by.”

The MARS Lake complex came quite early on in the course, at fence 9/10 and was widely praised for its “throwback” feel. Photo via CrossCountryApp.

Asked which rounds he had enjoyed watching the most, Eric replies: “I loved Caroline Powell’s High Time horse – I thought that was really nice. I was really pleased Lara de Liedekerke-Meier went so well, because it’s great to have those Belgian guys here. [And] I was really pleased to see Nicky Hill go well – she’s such a little trier and it was fantastic to see her go so well.”

“It would be really nice to get more European riders; I know it’s difficult because they don’t have the depth in numbers that the UK does, so they hold back those horses to do championships. But I thought this year, if ever there was a year to put a course out that was a little bit more European in its feel, this would be it, because with the Olympics last year they might come here because the Europeans isn’t so crucial as a Worlds or Olympics. So I built a little bit more European in those angles and just opened them up a little bit more.

He continues to expound on the day, saying: “It always pleases me when people have a run-out early on and carry on. At the root of what I do, it is about educating horses; prepping horses for next year. So hen they run out at fence six and they pull up – I understand it when they are on something that’s 14 or 15 years old, but when they’re on a ten-year-old horse that is learning the ropes, it always pleases me when they think there’s enough on the course to educate their horse and that they’ll carry on. I think that’s very positive and always a recommendation of a course; when they pat it on the neck and retire as soon as they run out, they’re there to win or they’re not going to bother.”

Eric grins as he says: “I’ll change it for next year. I like it when nobody knows for sure what they are going to get here. Oliver [Townend] and those guys, they come here every year, but more than that, more than 100,000 people come here and walk the course, and the least you can do is give them something to look at that they haven’t seen before or they don’t know how it’s going to jump. That creates an excitement and a buzz around the cross country.”

The Mayston Equestrian Sunken Road at 21 caused its fair share of influence, with six riders encountering trouble here. Photo via CrossCountryApp.

“It’s about the spectacle as well as the competition,” I suggest. “Absolutely,” Eric agreed. “I was really pleased with how the logs with the ditch in between [the KBIS Chasm, fence 15abcd] jumped. That is a socking great big ditch, so it is a spectacular fence – if you’ve never been to a horse trials before, or if you have and you ride at 90cm or 100cm level, if you stand there and look at that ditch, there’s no way you can ignore it. And if you put it together well, that’s an education.

“If you’d asked me at the beginning of today which fence I wanted to jump well, it would have been that, and horses jumped through there really smoothly. Hopefully, people who watched will have seen how to jump a ditch – not too fast, not too slow, and sit up and balance, and the horses read it really well. They’re not scared of ditches if you train them properly.

“The one thing I would say about all of those guys [at the very top] – it’s not that Oliver is an amazing rider or Ros is an amazing rider or Gemma is an amazing rider; actually what they are is amazing trainers. And then the riding, how they deliver on a cross-country course, is a result of the fact that they can gallop and sit up and the horse responds straightaway. That’s what I look for all the time – the training of the horse, the training of the riders; their braveness, but their ability to move up on a distance and still turn when they get there.

The Equidry Huntsman’s Close caused the most stir before cross country and went on to exert its influence on six competitors.

“Any competition – eventing, showjumping, dressage – is a little bit like going into war, and the more weapons you have, the better off you are. If you can turn left at the gallop, right at the gallop, come into a fence slowly, come to a fence quickly – then jumping across country is super-easy. When you have something that doesn’t slow easily, or turn well – and we saw a lot of that today; horses that had a kink in their education that were a little bit found out. All I want to do is look at that education.”

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton Horse Trials is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

EN’s Ultimate Guide to the MARS Badminton Horse Trials

By on May 10, 2025 8:05 am -

We’re not quite half-way through 2025 and here we hurdle into our third CCI5* event of the season! MARS Badminton is the first of two British 5* events with a ton of history bolstering them into the stratosphere of eventing legend.

Before it became hallowed ground for eventing legends, Badminton was just a sleepy English estate — if, naturally, your idea of “sleepy” includes dukes, civil wars, and multimillion-pound home renovations (adjusted for inflation, of course).

The estate has been in the Somerset family since 1608 and eventually became the seat of the Dukes of Beaufort. The 1st Duke spent 30 years and a small fortune rebuilding Badminton House in the late 1600s, essentially DIY-ing a palace before Pinterest made it cool. Later dukes continued the upgrades, and the house you see today — with its striking Palladian façade and twin cupolas — stands as a testament to centuries of architectural obsession and family pride.

Fast-forward a few generations, and the Beauforts added something a bit more adrenaline-fueled to the landscape: the Badminton Horse Trials. First held in 1949 to prepare British riders for international competition, the event has grown into one of just seven 5* events in the world—and a rite of passage for the sport’s best.

Badminton remains a private family home, now under the care of the 12th Duke of Beaufort, Harry Somerset. His father, David, served as President of the Horse Trials and even finished second here in 1959, proving that around these parts, horse sport isn’t just a tradition. It’s in the blood.

So when you’re walking the iconic cross country course or watching dressage unfold in front of Badminton House, you’re not just witnessing world-class sport. You’re stepping into history.

Emily King and Valmy Biats jump in front of the iconic Badminton House. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Without further ado, bookmark this Ultimate Guide for all of the latest coverage of Badminton here on EN, as well as helpful info and links for you to reference throughout the weekend. We’ll update this post each evening with our latest coverage articles and stories from our team on site, Tilly Berendt and Catherine Austen, supported by Cheg Darlington running our popular live blogs for each phase of competition.

Still need tickets for this weekend? See what’s available here.

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Form Guide]

EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

The Players

Tim Price and VITALI during the Cross Country phase, Badminton Horse Trials, Gloucestershire UK 11 May 2024

A total of 83 horses and riders are entered in the 2025 MARS Badminton Horse Trials. You can view our newly-formatted Form Guide to the field here, and you can view the whole list here.

The festivities will be supervised this weekend by the Ground Jury made up of Paris Olympic judge Xavier le Sauce (FRA), serving as President of the Ground Jury, Nick Burton (GBR) and Robert Stevenson (USA). Andrew Temkin (USA) is this weekend’s Technical Delegate, assisted by Mathias Otto-Erley (GER). Cross country is designed by Eric Winter (GBR), and show jumping is designed by Phillip Kelvin Bywater (GBR).

For the dressage, riders will complete FEI CCI5* Test C, which can be viewed here. You can also take a look at the guided cross country course preview here on CrossCountryApp, or take a dive into Tilly Berendt’s preview here.

How to Watch

Boyd Martin and TSETSERLEG TSF during the Cross Country phase, Badminton Horse Trials, Gloucestershire UK 11 May 2024

Badminton pulls out all the stops with their live coverage, and this year their Badminton TV stream will be hosted by ClipMyHorse.TV. You have two options to watch: you can purchase a subscription to Badminton TV only for £21.99 or about $30 USD, or you can sign up for or use your existing ClipMyHorse.TV premium membership to view Badminton and all other events available on the platform. You can view your options, as well as the live stream schedule here. This live stream is your one-stop shop no matter where you are in the world.

For those who prefer audio, you can also tune in for free to Radio Badminton here.

Social Media Channels and Hashtags

Alexander Bragg and Quindiva. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

You can follow along with the official Badminton social media pages below:

Instagram | Facebook

You can also follow along with our adventures on the ground over on our social pages:

Instagram | Instagram Broadcast Channel | Facebook

Hashtags to Follow: #marsbadmintonhorsetrials2025 | #BadmintonHorseTrials

What’s Happening On Site?

Alexandra Knowles and MORSWOOD during the Dressage phase, Badminton Horse Trials, Gloucestershire UK 10 May 2024

Great question! There’s always a ton to do on site at Badminton, including demonstrations, Masterclasses, and of course plenty of shopping.

Shopping | Site Plan | Food and Drink | Event Timetable with Special Events

EN’s Coverage

Lucy Latta and RCA Patron Saint. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

POST-EVENT STORIES

Bird Takes Flight at Badminton

From Waitlist to Top 20: Tayla Mason’s On a High after Badminton

SUNDAY MAY 11

“This Was For Caroline”: Ros Canter Records Historic Badminton Victory

It All Comes Down to This: Follow Along with Live Updates from the Finale at MARS Badminton

Top Ten Reshaped At Badminton Final Horse Inspection

SATURDAY, MAY 10

“I Always Do What My Daddy Tells Me”: Oliver Townend Bests Badminton Cross Country Day

“It’s About Education”: Eric Winter on Building a Badminton Track to Shape the Future

It’s Big. It’s Badminton. It’s the Best Day. Hooray! – Follow Along with Cross Country Live Updates from MARS Badminton

FRIDAY, MAY 9

Belgium Aims Big at Badminton

“You Definitely Know You’re at Badminton”: Riders React to Eric Winter’s Cross Country Course

“I Thought, ‘This’ll Be A Long Six Minutes!’”: Townend Leads Badminton Dressage With Cooley Rosalent

The Galloping Dentist: Catching Up with Harald Ambros at Badminton

Friday Morning at Badminton: Ros Canter Makes Close Bid

Back at Badminton – Follow Along with the Action on Dressage Day Two: Live Blog from MARS Badminton

“She Kind of Chose Me”: Samantha Cesnik’s Unlikely Path to Badminton with Graftango

THURSDAY, MAY 8

It’s Called Fashun, Look It Up: The 2025 Badminton Golden Chinch Awards

A Tale of Three Jacks: A Dynamic Trio Debuts at Badminton

Thursday Morning at Badminton: Townend Takes Lead on Tough-Judging Day

Philosophy Walks, Building for Sunshine, and Hefty Ditches: Inside Eric Winter’s PhD-Level Badminton Course

Step By Step – Follow Along as Badminton Begins: Live Blog from MARS Badminton – Dressage Day One

Reigning Champion Withdrawn from Badminton

WEDNESDAY, MAY 7

Movers and Shakers: EN’s Form Guide to the 2025 MARS Badminton Field

Badminton Field Thins By Three at First Horse Inspection

PRE-COMPETITION STORIES

Dark Horses, Ladder-Climbers, and Our Winners: Team EN’s Badminton Leaderboard Predictions

MARS Badminton Entries Live with 86 Combinations

Badminton TV to Move onto ClipMyHorse.TV Platform in 2025

It’s Big. It’s Badminton. It’s the Best Day. Hooray! – Follow Along with Cross Country Live Updates from MARS Badminton

By on May 10, 2025 6:19 am -

On the edge of glory. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Here we go ENers! It’s Saturday. It’s Badminton. It’s cross country day. Buckle up for the best day.

I’ll be with you all day long, live blogging ‘til I can live blog no more, bringing you every moment of action from Eric Winters’ brilliant Badminton course. You can have a look at what’s in store for the 2025 contenders on CrossCountryApp and see Tilly’s take on the whole shebang right here. As ever, we’ve wrangled the riders for their insights into the track – read their reactions here.

We’ve talked about the field – it’s scorching. We’ve talked about the weather – also scorching. The fans have flocked to Badminton Estate and it’s a sell-out crowd. If you can’t be there, be the next best thing and settle in with appropriate snacks of your choosing while you follow along with live updates right here as the competition plays out.

Here’s a quick look at the rolling podium as things stand at the start of cross country:

1️⃣ 🇬🇧 Leading the pack is Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent who laid it all down in the dressage ring to sit on a score of 21.1, just 1.3 penalties ahead of the rest of the field.

2️⃣ 🇬🇧 Chasing the top spot is Tom McEwen and JL Dublin who showed their mettle between the white boards for a score of 22.4.

3️⃣ 🇬🇧 Rounding out the top three after the first phase is Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno on a score of 24.7.

You’ll find the full leaderboard right here.

We’re due to get underway at 11:30am local time / 6:30am EST / 12:30pm CEST when Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI will trailblaze their way around the track and give us our first real look at what the horses and riders will be taking on. See what time your favorites are going here.

There are a couple of withdrawals to update you on: Jesse Campbell has decided to reroute to Luhmühlen with Cooley Lafitte and Aaron Millar and Friendship VDL have withdrawn this morning.

Whilst we await that first countdown of the day, here’s some links for your perusal:

▶️Dressage Day One – Test-by-test Analysis
▶️Dressage Day One – Morning Report
▶️Dressage Day One – Afternoon Report
▶️Dressage Day Two – Test-by-test Analysis
▶️Dressage Day Two – Morning Report
▶️Dressage Day Two – Afternoon Report
▶️ENs Classic Form Guide

Before we get down to business, a little ‘refresher’ on the no. 1 rule of following EN’s classic live blog: refresh, refresh, refresh – and all will be revealed.

If you’re catching up with this later and are the type to like things in order, scroll ⬇️ and read ⬆️. If going backwards is more your jam, have at it.

As you know, here at EN we just can’t help ourselves when it comes to bringing eventing superfans like ourselves every single scrap of the horseplay at 5* events. You’ll find all of our MARS Badminton crazy right here. And that’s not all. There’s also all sorts of stuff going on over on our Instagram channel @goeventing – follow along here.

With all that said, it’s time to kick on and go eventing! Let’s do this thing…

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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SUMMARY OF THE DAY’S SPORT

EN’s classic full round-up will be with you in whatever time it takes for Tilly, aided as ever by our elusive mascot Chinch, to wrangle together all that action. Until then, here’s a quick re-cap of today’s cross country…

You’ll find the full, official, leaderboard right here but the scores aren’t everything, oh no. Yes, we’ve got big hitters gunning for the win, but eventing is about so much more than that. Here’s a quick run-down of some points of note from today’s competition:

⏰ Time After Time After Time After Time – We knew the ground was going to be quick, but it didn’t really show up as easy to get the time. Except for Harry Meade. He had two inside the time at Kentucky a couple weeks ago and today he had two inside the time at Badminton. Pure class from this man. He’s in 5th with Superstition on 31.8 and 7th with Cavalier Crystal on 33.8.

⚡Fastest Lady on Four Legs – But the fastest round of the day came courtesy of Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, who cruised round the course looking like it was literally nothing. Honestly, there’s a chat going on in the EN team calling for a 6* just for this pair. They came home 11 seconds inside the time, looking very calm and comfortable and as though they could do it all again, like straight away. They’re in 2nd on 25.3.

👌Sweet – Gemma Stevens had a fabulous round with Chilli Knight to climb from 10th after dressage via the first clear inside the time of the day in what what a very accomplished showing. They sit in 3rd on 29.5.

🌹Queen Rosie – Cooley Rosalent showed all of her talent today, taking on Badminton with gusto and holding her lead over the rest of the field after that superb dressage performance yesterday leaving Oliver Townend at the top as we head into tomorrow’s finale. They were a little over the time but had penalties in hand. They’re in the lead on a score of 22.3.

📉 Corner Conundrum – The most influential fence on course was for sure the corner at 7. It was on a related distance from the same type of fence at 6 and the riders all opted to attempt a straight line through there. It rode beautifully for some. Others, not so much. One rider who was in a good position coming into today after smashing the dressage was Tom Woodward with Low Moor Lucky, who were making their 5* debut. They were in sixth after the first phase but an early mistake there saw them shoot straight past the fence and pick up a 20. Tom opted to leave it there, probably thinking of rerouting. Another combination who came unstuck at 7 after being in a really good place was Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno. They were in third but a drive-by so early on course meant they were out of the running. Gemma came sweetly back round and re-jumped it before putting up her hand. She really takes care of this 17-year-old mare and there was no reason to continue.

🛟 Hanging Loose – There were a couple of saves of the day, an early one coming via Alex Hua Tian and Chicko. They clipped the silver birch rails at 13 and Alex was tipped right out of the plate. He hung on, Chicko thought about ducking under the roping. He didn’t. Alex righted himself but to no avail. They came to a stop at 17 and Alex put up his hand. Another day for them. Perhaps even more dramatic was Nicolai Aldinger and Timmo. They missed at the sunken road at 21 and Nicolai did the whole hanging round the neck thing. Timmo was a total sweetheart and stood nicely while Nicolai sorted himself out, using the breastplate for leverage. All OK up there? he seemed to say. They continued on to finish carrying a 20 and go into tomorrow in 55th place on 91.1.

🍻 Cheers! – Alex Bragg elicited the biggest cheers of the day as he stormed round the track putting not a hoof wrong with Ardeo Premier. The arena was raucous as he flew through the finish. They picked up 12.8 time penalties and are in 21st place on 48.

🐻 Growler – Today’s award for the best growl definitely goes to Alice Casburn. ‘Gooooooo oooooonnnnn!’ she rumbled to Topspin as they came to the big ditch and corner at 17/18 taking on the straight route. The horse is known to be a bit ditchy but Alice was having none of it. They flew over that and completed with 14 time penalties. Their determined round catapulted them up the leaderboard from 60th to 25th on a score of 29.6.

🦆 Oh Duck! Arne Bergendahl and Luthien NRW have an early bath at the Lake. Fun for the doggos the end of the day but not so much for Arne. It was a real shame as this horse adores cross country and had been relishing his round up to that point. He’s kind of too powerful as he jumps in and loses his footing as he lands. A wet end to their Badminton but both no worse for wear apart from some water in the ears and some soggy breeches.

🪂 Whoop! Kylie Roddy took to the skies when SRS Kan Do stood waaaaaay off the hay wagon at 4C. He tried so hard, putting his hind down on it in an attempt to propel himself over it. He made it but Kylie was ejected right out of the saddle and flew over his head. The gelding galloped on down the track, not wanting to give up on his Badminton cross country day so early. Kylie was quickly on her feet, seemingly no worse for her abrupt landing.

🥰 Good Girl! – Lara de Leide-kerke Meier showed her appreciation for her lovely mare Hooney d’Arville all the way round the track, with shouts of ‘Good girl’ ringing above the cheers of the crowd. They had an awesome round and actually made those enormous fences look fun. They added 13.6 time penalties and sit in 18th on 45.3.

👑 Cross Country King – For me, for sure, the king of cross country has got to be eventing warrior Ballaghmor Class. He’s eighteen now and showing absolutely none of his advancing years. He’s just so cool. Totally invested in the sport. A total pro. His accolades speak for themselves. No matter what happens tomorrow, he’ll surely go down in history as one of the best 5* horses of all time. Oliver Townend is one lucky man to have this horse. They’re in 8th place on 34.1.

Keep it locked onto EN for the full report coming your way and join me back with the live blog tomorrow for the finale of MARS Badminton.

What a day, ENers! Thanks for joining. I’m off to rest my weary fingers ready for tomorrow.
Go eventing!

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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12:10pm

UPDATE: Oliver’s flag penalties have been taken away. That means he’s in the lead:

1️⃣ 🇬🇧 Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent – 22.3

2️⃣ 🇬🇧 Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo – 25.3

3️⃣ 🇬🇧 Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight – 29.5

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12:07pm

And so there we have it. Cross country day at MARS Badminton has drawn to a close.

This is how the leaderboard looks right now, but there are flag penalties in play which are being reviewed and therefore things may change at the top. We’ll keep you updated.

1️⃣ 🇬🇧 Leading the pack is Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo who stormed round the track clear inside the time to land on their dressage score of 25.3, 4.2 penalties ahead of the rest of the field.

2️⃣ 🇬🇧 Chasing the top spot is Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight who showed their mettle with the first clear inside the time of the day and stay on their dressage score of 29.5.

3️⃣ 🇮🇪 Just 1.3 penalties behind second place, rounding out the rolling podium, is Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue who delivered a brilliant clear inside the time and are still on their dressage score of 30.8.

You’ll find the full leaderboard right here.

Stay tuned (and don’t forget to hit refresh) for a summary of the day’s sport headed your way right here on the live blog and keep it locked onto the website for EN’s classic full report – coming soon.

I’ll be back live blogging tomorrow for the grand finale of what’s been a super competition thus far. Don’t miss it!

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow… We’ll find out who’ll take the 2025 MARS Badminton crown.
Be there, and go eventing!

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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11:56am

🇳🇿 FINAL COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Tim Price and Vitali

✨ Multiple 5* winner 🙋‍♂️

Dressage Score: 30.6
Place: =16

Tim’s flying as he comes down he staircase at 4 and over the hay wagon for the b element. We see him through the corners at 6 and 7 – they’ve been very influential today but not so for Tim. Smooth and confident work from them there. He takes the right hand line over the roll tops at the Lake at 9/10 to get a great line to the b element in the water. There’s a really slight stumble but it doesn’t slow them down at all. He makes nothing of the Chasm fence at 15.

He takes the straight route over the big ditch corner at 17/18 and clicks to Vitali to encourage him to quicken as he accelerates away. They look so cool through the Project Pony Brush Buckets at 23, very collected and sure of themselves. Tim’s so great to watch cross country.

They are fabulous through the Quarry at 28. He’s going to be close on the time. He comes round for the log at 31 and takes it in his stride. The clock counts down… He’s just over. A huge roar from the crowd. They clear the last. They’re through the finish. 9 seconds over. Vitali looks great!

🐶🐶🐶 Who let the dogs out??? The doggos are in the Lake!!! There’s a stick involved. Things are getting hairy! But they’re having a great time. 🐶🐶🐶

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶 Many more dogs have joined in the fun. 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

Samantha’s showing up as having had an 11 at the Lake at 10, we didn’t get to see it though. They must have activated a frangible device there. They have a great ride through the Chasm fence at 15. But then oh, they drive straight by the skinny brush at the b element of 21 after the big step down. Her hand goes straight up.

Caroline’s finished with High Time, looking to have had a great ride.

News on Harry’s flag penalties with Cavalier Crystal – they’ve been taken away.

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11:50am

🇳🇿 PENULTIMATE COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Samantha Lissington and Lord Seekonig

Dressage Score: 29.9
Place: 13

Wow, this horse is keen. He rockets off the steps at 4 and gets in very close to the b element there.

High Time is looking very confident with Caroline and gets a very bold jump over the final element of the Chasm at 15, landing at the bottom of the slope.

Tom takes the flag at Huntsman’s at 26, not actually putting it down until a couple of strides later. He’s been given 15 there – it’ll be reviewed. He’s good through the Quarry at 28 and headed for home. He rides a finish and crosses the line 20 seconds over. A great round for him but those flag penalties hanging over them.

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11:46am

🇳🇿 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Caroline Powell and High Time

🏆 Last year’s champ 🙋🏼‍♀️

Dressage Score: 36.6
Place: 53

We get a glimpse of Tom and Dreamliner before the stream goes to show Caroline galloping away from fence 4. We see her through the corners at 6 and 7. A lovely line through there. Very confident.

We go back to Harry who’s beautiful through Huntsman’s at 26. So smooth and clean. And then again through the Quarry at 28. He gallops up the hill towards the arena with plenty of time in hand. He cruises to the last. 7 SECONDS INSIDE THE TIME! He’s such a cool guy. The mare looks great as they start their cool down. A superb showing from both of them.

We finally get to see Tom properly as he jumps the Eyelash brushes at 19. He gets three big jumps there and hunts his way through.

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11:43am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Tom Rowland and Dreamliner

Dressage Score: 33.1
Place: =28

We haven’t seen a lot of them but they’re showing as clear through the first few fences.

Harry’s wasting no time, keeping all the turns tight and riding really efficiently. The mare is very gymnastic over the Chasm fence at 15. Very nice. She doesn’t get up very high over the brushes at 19 but they’re forgiving and she’s very efficient. The line through there is awesome.

Meanwhile Joseph is showing as clear through Huntsman’s at 26 and is heading for home. We see him clear the last, just under a minute over the time with clear jumping.

We hear from Oliver who is pretty certain that he jumped the right side of that flag. The judges will decide.

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11:38am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal

Dressage Score: 33.8
Place: 33

Harry is very good through the corners at 6 and 7. No troubles for him there at all. He comes around to the the Lake at 10. He gets a bold jump into the water and then is close to the brush element, takes the flag, but flies on through. The penalties come up on the scoreboard – that’ll be reviewed.

Joseph has a great ride through the sunken road at 12, really confident. He makes a very clear turn in the water at 14 to the b element and his horse reads it beautifully. He gets a huge jump over the ditch at the Chasm fence at 15. Looking good so far. We see him set up for 19 and the horse jumps really big over the ditch in the middle of that combination also. Calmaro’s got his ears pricked and looks to be really keen for the job. He drops down the step at 21 and makes it happen over the b element.

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11:35am

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Joseph Murphy and Calmaro

Dressage Score: 32.6
Place: 26

The live stream focused on the overnight leader, Oliver, but Joseph’s showing as clear through fence 11.

Ooh, Oliver takes a chance at Huntsman’s at 26. He takes the slightly alternative route but he’s really quick and gets right underneath the b element. He takes the flag and it comes up as a 15 – it will be reviewed though, we’ll have to wait and see. He’s riding for the line as he comes round into the arena. The crowd cheers as they jump the last. 3 seconds over, but there are some questions over those flags.

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11:32am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno

🌟 5* winner 🙋🏼‍♀️

Dressage Score: 24.7
Place: 3

Sadly we see Gemma having early problems at the corners at 6 and 7. ‘Jala’ just doesn’t lock on to the second corner and they run by. Gemma’s hand is straight up in the air. No point putting any pressure on this lovely 17-year-old who Gemma takes care of so thoughtfully. Great horsemanship on show and understanding of her horse and its needs.

‘Rosie’ looks to be relishing her time on course. She’s jumping brilliantly and looks to be well within herself. They get in really close to the final element at 21 but Rosie gets her legs up and out of the way and they gallop on.

We join Kirsty as she decides to pull up before fence 23. Not their day today.

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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11:27am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent

🌟 5* winning combo!

Dressage Score: 21.1
Place: 1

The leaders are out on course. They’re cheered through the Lake at 10 but there’s a flag query already hanging over him for the Agria Corners at 6 and 7. We see them neatly over the rails at 13 and head towards the water at 14. They’re very fast through there.

We’re seeing that Kirsty had a 20 at the Lake at fence 10 but it wasn’t shown on screen.

Fiona’s nearing the end of the course now. She Hups! as they clear the second of the white gates at 30. What an exciting round for her. They clear the last and punch the air and huge pats for this wonderful horse. Fantastic.

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11:23am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Kirsty Chabert and Opposition Heraldik Girl

Dressage Score: 33.9
Place: =34

We join them as they knock the back rail of the first element at the sunken road at 12 down, 11 penalties there for them. They’re going really quick.

Fiona’s having a peach of a ride, so cool after posting their best ever dressage score yesterday. What a dream for her. They’re confident down the drop at 21 and clean over the b element there.

Laura’s decided to go the long route at Huntsman’s at 26. She pushes the flag away and has been awarded 15 there. That’ll be reviewed. We see her come into the arena and over the last. Not without mistakes but a great education for this horse on her debut at the level.

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11:18am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Fiona Kashel and Creevagh Silver de Haar

Dressage Score: 28.4
Place: 7

We see them at the water at 9 and 10 as they pop neatly into the Lake and are confident through there. They’re just as good through the water at 14 and then make nothing of the Chasm fence at 15. They’re looking great.

Ooop, Bling looks down the drop at 21 and is not sure at all. Nope, not today. Laura circles round and encourages the mare the second time. A learning experience there.

Meanwhile, we see Nicolai over the last with big pats for Timmo. 20 penalties for them but a Badminton cross country completion.

News in about Ros’ flag penalties – they’ve been taken away. She’s in the lead with Lordships Graffalo as things stand.

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11:14am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Laura Collett and Bling

✨ Multiple 5* winner 🙋🏼‍♀️

Dressage Score: 37.8
Place: 59

Laura gives Bling a nice pat to say thank you for listening to her as they gallop away from the corners at 6 and 7, they’ve been influential fences but this pair find them no bother.

SAVE OF THE DAY from Nicolai. He gets the distance wrong at the sunken road at 21 after the step down and he’s hanging round the horse’s neck. He clings to the breastplate, he’ll be glad of his tack choices today for sure. He manages to right himself. He’s picked up a 20 but he continues on.

Alex is through the finish to huge cheers. They’ve cheered him all the way round, he’s a really popular rider. Clear with some time.

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11:12am

🇩🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Nicolai Aldinger and Timmo

Dressage Score: 33.9
Place: =34

We join them as they go around the tree at the sunken road at 12. They’re very deliberate and confident through there.

Ah, it’s a late run out for Sam at the brush mounds at 27. They just run past the second one. That’s disappointing as they were going so well. He sets up for the white gates at 29 and 30. They clip the second but carry on towards home. Sam just keeps a nice rhythm to the finish and they jump the MARS M well to complete. 20 penalties and a fair bit of time.

We haven’t really seen Alex but we do see him through Huntsman’s at 26. They’re great through there.

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11:10am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Alexander Bragg and Ardeo Premier

Dressage Score: 35.2
Place: =44

The crowd cheer really loud as Alex makes his way through the Lake at 10. He takes a great line through the water at 14. He gets a big jump out of the Chasm fence at 15 but Alex is sitting back and on they go.

Sam drops down the big step at 21 and gets in close to the b element but Rocketman is catlike and they gallop on.

We see Taylor cross the line 11 seconds over. But there’s a flag penalty under review for her at Huntsman’s at 26. Nevertheless, a Badminton cross country finish and a really quick round on the day.

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11:05am

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Sam Watson and Ballyneety Rocketman

Dressage Score: 40.5
Place: 72

Sam’s going really well as we see him over the ditch corner at 17/18.

Taylor’s being really thoughtful about her lines round this course. She has a lovely ride through the Project Pony Brush Buckets ate 23ab and then again at the final water at 24.

Meanwhile Sarah’s at the white gates at 29 and 30 near the end of the course. Jackson looks to have settled now and isn’t pulling so much. She’s carrying those jumping penalties but comes towards the last and gets a fabulous jump over that. Jackson could run round again, he’s still full of gallop. A completion for them, but disappointment.

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11am

🇳🇿 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Taylor Mason and Centennial

Dressage Score: 40.2
Place: =69

We see Taylor at the water at 14, taking the right hand side of the drop in to get a good line at the b element in the water. They pop through the Chasm fence at 15, taking the ditch big but jumping really well over the log at c. She takes the huge ditch and corner at 17/18. That was good and brave. She’ll know she’s at Badminton after that!

Patrick crosses the line just over a minute over the time, which is really around average today. A great, smooth ride for them.

We join Sarah going the long route at 19, looking to be having some steering problems. Jackson gets a pat and they continue on.

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10:55am

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Sarah Ennis and Grantstown Jackson

Dressage Score: 35.6
Place: 48

We join Sarah at the Lake at 9 and 10 where she unfortunately has a drive by at the brush in the water. She growls over the rolltops in and the horse jumps well but then just doesn’t lock onto the brush in the water. She comes round and the horse catches a leg and Sarah does a miraculous job of staying on there. Yikes. She’ll be hoping for a less dramatic rest of the round. But alas. The next water doesn’t come off for them. They run past the hedge at b there. He’s very keen.

Harry’s nearing the end of his round now and he gallops into the arena. They get a good shot over the last and are through the finish carrying 20 penalties.

Patrick is clear through to the white gates at 29 and 30 nearing the end of the course.

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10:50am

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Patrick Whelan and Ikoon Lan

Dressage Score: 34.4
Place: =39

Patrick has a bold ride through the sunken ride at 12, really neat through there. They fly the silver birch rails at 13. They have another bold ride through the water at 14 and make their way to the Chasm fence at 15. He brings the horse back and they’re good over the first element, but he slips his rains and there’s a bit of a moment, but he’s beautifully in balance and they continue on. He goes the straight route at 17 and 18 and shouts Good boy!

Harry is now up at the brush buckets at 23 and look good through there. He was stopped for a short time while the frangible devices were replaced at Huntsman’s Close after Lauren’s fall.

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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10:45am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Harry Mutch and Shanbeg Cooley

Dressage Score: 40.1
Place: =67

Oh. We join Harry at the corners at 6 and 7. Momentum just takes them between the two fences and they clearly jump outside the flag. That’s a 20 for them. He takes a minute to recoup and then comes round and pops it nicely.

Felix takes the straight route through Huntsman’s at 26 and makes it look easy. He can smell the finish flags now. They’re quick through the Quarry at 28. It doesn’t look like they’re going to make the time. Oh man! The white gate at 29 trips them up. She just doesn’t get her foot down. A very late tumble for them. Both are straight up and walking off course.

Oh! Lauren’s now had a fall. They just don’t have a stride at the first corner at Huntsman’s. The fence collapses, once more showing the frangible devices doing their job. Lauren’s pitched over the fence. It sounds quite dramatic on the live stream but actually, the noise of the fence collapsing was much worse that what actually happened. The horse didn’t fall. Lauren’s soon up and walks off course.

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10:40am

🇨🇭 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Felix Vogg and Cartania

🌟 5* winner 🙋

Dressage Score: 29.7
Place: 12

They’re very neat and tidy down the Savills Staircase at 4 and then they make the line through 6 and 7 look easy. Sharp and confident, a great start for them. The mare’s really bold at the waterfall table at 8 – oof, that was a heart in the mouth moment. Her nose is in the air and she’s fighting but she can’t take off from there, Felix pulls for a little stride and they’re in super close, but she gets her legs out of the way and they incredibly land in beautiful balance. Wow, she’s keen for the job. They go outside the tree at sunken road at 12 and get a good shot through there. They get a flier over the b element at the water at 14. That was chancy.

The live stream’s focusing on Felix so we don’t get to see much of Nicky’s round right now but they’re showing as clear Huntsman’s at 26.

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10:40am

🇳🇿 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Lauren Innes and Global Fision M

Dressage Score: 48.6
Place: 80

This horse may find the dressage tricky, but boy does he love cross country. They get a great start to their Badminton cross country. The horse is really bold and taking Lauren to the fences. They’re quick through the water at 14.

We see Felix very slick through the LeMieux Eyelashes at 19. They’re quick through the final water at 24, not even glancing at the keyhole fence as they fly through it.

Meanwhile, Nicky’s headed for home. We see her over the pheasant log at the penultimate fence and then over the MARS M and through the finish. A great clear jumping round for them.

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10:35am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Nicky Hill and MGH Bingo Boy

Dressage Score: 40.1
Place: =67

Nicky has no troubles at the Agria corners at 6 and 7 and they gallop off to really get stuck into their round. They come around the tree at the sunken road at 12 and happily navigate their way through there. They rattle the back rail of the big parallel rails at 13 and gallop on off down the track.

Katie’s horse is still galloping easily within himself as they make their way through the brush mounds at 27. They slow up for the Quarry at 28 and get a bit close to the wall at b but the horse is really adjustable and they do a good job there. Katie sees a great shot to the last and there’s a cheer as she crosses the line. This horse is clearly super fit, he looks great. Katie’s thrilled. That was a great ride from her and a great showing from the horse.

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10:32am

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Daragh Byrne and Kilcannon Ramiro

Dressage Score: 41.8
Place: 76

Oh dear, Daragh’s round really didn’t get going. He’s showing as having had a rider fall at fence 5.

We see Jack over the white gates at 29 and 30 and heading for home. The horse is clearly still full of running. A great round for them and an exciting future with this lovely young horse. His arm’s aloft and he points to his horse. He’s thrilled. Clear jumping, just under a minute over. Badminton cross country – check.

Meanwhile Katie’s showing as clear through Huntsman’s and is headed for home.

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10:28am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Katie Magee and Treworra

Dressage Score: 31.8
Place: =23

We see Katie get a great ride through those tricky corners at 6 and 7. The horse is clever with his feet through the sunken road at 12 and then they fly the big rails at 13. They look really quick. They’re great through the water at 14, wasting no time there. She loses her stirrup as she gallops off but she gets it back in time for the Chasm fence at 15. The horse doesn’t get very high over the log at c but there’s no worries there for them.

We join Harald as he comes back to trot and pulls up on the way to Huntsman’s at 26. He’s listened to his horse. The ground team are there to just make sure all’s well.

We haven’t seen Jack but he’s showing as clear through fence 25. He opts for an alternative route at Huntsman’s but is quick through there.

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10:23am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Jack Pinkney and Rehy Revelation

Dressage Score: 39.9
Place: 66

Jack opts for the long route at the water at 10. Then we see him have a moment at the next water – 14 – where he tips forward after the hedge at b. He rights himself and they gallop on.

Argh, Max has had the frangible device at the first corner at Huntsman’s at 26. That’s such a shame when they really were having a smooth and confident round. He goes round the long route. And then there’s more problems at the Quarry at 28. The horse looks to have tired suddenly after looking so fabulous up to now. They quietly take the long route and head for home. He clears the last really nicely.

Meanwhile there’s troubles for Harald also. They’re bold down the drop at 21 and then just drive on by the skinny at b. A shame for them, they were going so well.

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10:19am

🇦🇹 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Harald Ambros and Vitorio du Montet

Dressage Score: 34.9
Place: =42

We see them pop neatly down the staircase at 4 and then over the hay wagon and onward down the track. They get a great line through the corners at 6 and 7 – no question there for them. They’re neat through the water at 14 and then make nothing of the Chasm fence at 15. Harald sits back down the slope and they gallop on.

Helen’s coming towards the end of the course now and Carpe Diem’s still running strong. They fly through the brush buckets combination at 23. She brings him back for the Quarry at 28 and the horse locks on and sails through. They fly over the last and Helen’s thrilled. Clear jumping. And the horse looks great at the end – happy, still running and with his ears pricked. A great sight.

Meanwhile Max is having a very smooth round. They jump easily through the combination at 19 and then the gelding accelerates away when Max asks him to. Lovely.

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10:15am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Max Warburton and Deerpairc Revelry

Dressage Score: 32.7
Place: 27

We see them through and clear at the second water at 14. Neat and tidy and efficient.

Helen’s having a great round. She’s so confident and Carpe Diem is so enthusiastic and very happy in himself. He’s taking her forwards to the fences. He’s brave down the drop at 21 and then pushes to the b element. Helen’s in her safety seat again. And off they gallop. Super.

Tom and Cowling Hot Gossip are through the finish. Another 5* cross country completion for them. Clear jumping with a fair few time penalties.

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10:08am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Helen Bates and Carpe Diem

Dressage Score: 40.2
Place: =69

Helen gets a great line through the water at 9/10, taking that right hand line though there that worked so well for Ros. Whoop! They get a flier over the silver birch rails at 13. They get another great line through the water at 14. They seem to be having a great round thus far. She leans back over the big log at the c element of 15 – there’s a big slope down from that fence which has been the undoing of others. No so for Helen. Really smooth through there.

Wouter gets a good shot through Huntsman’s at 26 and wastes no time there. He crosses the line with massive pats for the mare. He’s grinning – and delighted – and looks like he can’t quite believe that happened. It did Wouter. You just completed Badminton cross country.

We see Tom and Cowling Hot Gossip have a moment at the Chasm fence at 15. There was a bit of guesswork going on from the horse but Tom sits tight and helps him through. The horse is very keen through the LeMieux Eyelashes at 19. They sail on through there.

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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10:05am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Tom Bird and Cowling Hot Gossip

Dressage Score: 45.2
Place: 78

We see them through the sunken road at 12 looking well. They fly the rails at 13 and gallop on down the course.

The Chasm fence at 15 is a little sticky for Wouter and Quintera but they make it through there clear. They’re neat down the drop at 21 and he really trusts the mare and commits to the skinny at b. Good job through there.

Selina opts for the long route at Huntsman’s at 26 with Gelmer, which looked to be a smart choice and didn’t really waste a lot of time. She’s carrying that 20 and is looking for a completion now. They come down to the Quarry at 28 and the horse is still looking strong. He’s got plenty of gallop left that’s for sure. They’re almost home now. Selina looks tired and her arms have basically been pulled out of the sockets for the past 12 minutes. The horse, not so much, he’d go again if you let him.

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10:03am

🇩🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Wouter De Cleene and Quintera

Dressage Score: 38.1
Place: 61

Oh dear, we join them as they have trouble at the water at 10. Another one not to lock onto the narrow brush in the water. They go right round for the long route and carry on with their course.

Selina and Gelmer look to have got things together when we see them popping through the Chasm fence at 19. The horse looks very strong and Selina’s having to work hard to contain his enthusiasm.

Georgie opts for the long route at the Quarry at 28. They’re coming for home now. She finishes clear jumping with a minute plus some over the time.

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10am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Selina Milnes and Gelmer

Dressage Score: 37.6
Place: =57

Unfortunately we join them as they miss the narrow brush in the water at 10. The horse just doesn’t lock on at all.

Georgie sits back over the ditch at the LeMieux brushes at 19. She puts a curving line through there to give the horse time to see what’s in front of him.

Grace gets close to the wall at the b element of the Quarry at 28. They’re coming to home now. She takes a pull at the last and finish Badminton cross country. Her helmet seems to have slipped over her eyes. She’s having to look up to see the crowd cheering for her. They’ve got that flag query on their card, but otherwise are clear jumping.

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9:54am

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Georgie Goss and Feloupe

Dressage Score: 29.6
Place: 11

We join them as Feloupe is very careful down the staircase at 4. Georgie knows they’ll never make the distance to the hay wagon at c and circles round to the alternative. They didn’t present so no penalties there. They have a little stumble in the water at 14 but recover quickly and gallop on no harm done.

We join Libby as she comes to the finish. She’s grinning. What a feeling! The horse is cantering on with his ears pricked looking for another fence. Good job buddy.

We haven’t seen much of Grace but she’s showing as through fence 20. There’s a flag penalty for her at fence 7.

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9:50am

🇺🇸 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Grace Taylor and Game Changer

Dressage Score: 35.4
Place: 47

They’re a little hairy through the water at 9/10. The horse looks very fresh and keen to get on with the job. Grace has things in hand though, I’m sure. We see them having another moment through the next water. They leave the hind over the hedge in the water, but it’s very forgiving and they slide through and gallop on.

Kate is headed for the brush mounds at 27. The horse looks great through there and keen for the last few fences. They come through the finish and Kate punches the air. They’ve had a great, clear jumping round.

Meanwhile, Libby’s showing as clear through Huntsman’s at 26.

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9:45am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Libby Seed and Heartbreaker Star Quality

Dressage Score: 36.7
Place: 54

We don’t get to see them, but Libby seems to be clear through fence 13 and coming up to the second water.

News in… Ros has been given a flag penalty at the b element of Huntsman’s at 26. Nicola Wilson in the commentary box suggests they were OK, but the camera angle we get doesn’t make it clear. The penalties have been given but there will be a review. Can Ros really be that unlucky twice after what happened in Paris?

We’re hearing from Ros, who believes they jumped it, but we can see from the fence analysis that Kate is clear through fence 26.

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9:40am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Kate Rocher-Smith and Dassett Select

Dressage Score: 33.1
Place: =28

We join them at the sunken road at 12, where they opt to go around the tree. They look good through there. They have a huge jump at at the rails at 13. They really angle the hedge in the water at 14b and sneak through there. She really brings the mare back for the Chasm fence at 15, leaving absolutely nothing to chance.

Walter taps the wall at the b element of the Quarry at 28 but he’s just so focused and within himself. He looks great and seems to have plenty left in the tank. They’re good on the clock. They come into the ring, a huge cheer from the crowd, Ros is punching the air as she crosses the line. 11 SECONDS INSIDE THE TIME!!! Into the lead. The perfect round. Ros gets off and Walter walks off with his team. Such a pro combination.

Meanwhile we get to see Susie and Clever Trick through the brush buckets at 23ab. They get a great shot through there.

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9:36am:

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Susie Berry and Clever Trick

Dressage Score: 36.5
Place: 52

We’re still on Ros on the live stream but we can see from the fence analysis that they’re clear through the Lake at 9/10.

We do get to see Christoph through Huntsman’s at 26. They pop through there making it look very easy. Then we rejoin them to see them finish CLEAR INSIDE THE TIME! A smooth round from them.

Back to Ros and the horse is absolutely flying these fences. His ears are pricked and he’s galloping along very easily and jumping out of his skin. Easy peasy. At Badminton! They take the flag at the b element at Huntsman’s at 26 but no worries there. They’re coming towards home now.

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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9:30am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo

✨ Multiple 5* winning combo!

Dressage Score: 25.3
Place: 4

Ros and ‘Walter’ have a beautiful ride through the Agria Corners at 6 and 7. Ros had her line planned and didn’t miss a beat. She sets him up very nicely at the water at 9/10. She jumps the right of the a element of 10 to drop into the water. Very deliberate. Smooth and pro, of course. They tap tap at the rails at 13 but it slows them down none. Walter’s on fire. They go through the water at 14 in a beautiful rhythm.

We see Emma and Icarus coming towards home. The horse looks great. He gets a lovely shot over the penultimate fence and then they’re over the last. Emma shouts with joy. The horse is still galloping and she struggles to pull him up. A great feeling to finish cross country at Badminton. A real shame about those early penalties.

We also see Ian across the finish after a great round – just 3.6 penalties to add. Awesome. Ian looks tired, the horse, not so much.

We see Christoph galloping in front of Badminton house, looking to be having a great run. The live stream’s focusing on Ros so we don’t get to see a lot of him.

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9:27am

🇩🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Christoph Wahler and D’Accord FRH

Dressage Score: 32.2
Place: 25

We haven’t seen any of Christoph but the fence analysis is showing them as clear through fence 7.

Ian takes the quick route at 17/18, jumping the big corner and ditch in one. Superb through there. Really confident. They’re having a great run through Badminton estate. They’re brave off the drop at 21 and then get in close to the b element, but the horse is really responding to Ian and they put that right behind them.

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9:24am

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Ian Cassells and Master Point

Dressage Score: 30.7
Place: =18

We don’t get to see a lot of Ian at the start of the course but then we do see them have a great shot through the water at 14 so it seems their round is going well.

Emma and Icarus are through fence 22, the Wiltshire Brewers Brush.

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9:20am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Emma Thomas and Icarus

Dressage Score: 46.9
Place: 79

Cheg back after a bathroom break – thanks Sally 🙂

OK, there’s been a bit of action for Emma, who’s had a drive by at the corner at 7. They’re back round and on their way carrying an early 20, that’s a shame for them.

Wills has also had some troubles. They have problems at the drop at the a element of 23. He has to circle back and try again, but then has another refusal at the brush at b. That’s the end of their day, unfortunately.

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9:17am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Wills Oakden and A Class Cooley

Dressage Score: 34.4
Place: =39

Wills Oakden clears the massive oxer at 13 as our latest starter. Austin is straight as an arrow as he goes clear through the gymnastic KBIS Chasm with Colorado Blue. He’s looking fairly strong on time as he also clears the HorseQuest Quarry.

And here we go: Austin has 26 seconds as he jumps the penultimate. Let’s see if he does it…yes, he’s done it!! Our third inside the time, and well inside at that with 7 seconds to spare. What a ride from this incredibly special horse. GOOOO SALTY!

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9:09am

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue

🌟 5* winning combo!

Dressage Score: 30.8
Place: 20

Emily is still clear at the Quarry as Austin and Colorado Blue, Maryland 5 Star winners in 2023, navigate the Lake neatly. Emily now jumps the double gates clear – she’s going to get into time pretty soon but looking like maybe 20 seconds or so added. Yep, they add 18 seconds but she looks thrilled with how Valmy has finished.

Tom’s chatting now and notes that leaving a couple legs early on took a bit of the steam out, but he says the horse tried very hard. He says this might be the hardest he’s ever had to work with this horse.

We’ve not seen much of Rafe Losano so I’m not sure where he is at this juncture. Austin is clear at the Sunken Road. Oh, here’s Rafael, coming to the last and looking to be working on a clear though they’ll get about a minute of time. Not sure if he’s actually gone clear but he looks very happy as he finishes so it’s looking good for Brazil.

Austin is clear at 19, the LeMieux Eyelash Brushes.

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9:08am

🇧🇷 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Raphael Losano and Withington

Dressage Score: 34
Place: =37

We’re joined now by both Raphael Losano for Brazil and Austin O’Connor for Ireland. Emily King and Valmy Biats give the B corner just a bit of a rub at the Huntsman’s Close, but she’s still working on a clear that’s looking pretty quick so far.

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9:02am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Emily King and Valmy Biats

Dressage Score: 27.3
Place: 5

An exciting pair now joins us, getting a big cheer as they come to the Lake question, in Emily King and Valmy Biats. A really neat line through the Lake question and off she goes.

Lizzie Baugh and B Exclusive we haven’t seen much of, but we catch up with them now as they jump the double gates at 29 clear and head for home.

Lizzie is going to be well into time, with about a minute and 20 to add, but B Exclusive comes home looking full of run and even has a small spook after crossing the finish. Lots of horses finishing looking really strong today, which we love to see.

Emily neatly answers the MARS Sustainability Bay question. She’s now clear over the KBIS Chasm at 15. She’s about 1 second down as she comes now to fence 19.

“My goodness, it’s tough!” Yas says at the finish. “[Piglet] just tried really, really hard for me…I was talking to him, patting him, telling him he was so good.”

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

9:00am

🇦🇺 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Samantha Cesnik and Graftango

Dressage Score: 36.2
Place: =50

We catch up with our latest starter, Samantha Cesnik and Graftango, who are clear at Saville’s Staircase.

Oh no!! Samantha has gone off Graftango at the C element of the KBIS Chasm, she’s up right away but what a bummer.

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8:56am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Lizzie Baugh and B Exclusive
Dressage Score: 39.2
Place: =64

Yas and Rehy DJ are clear through the Project Pony Brush Buckets and the HorseQuest Quarry, still looking like they’ve got their rhythm and are moving forward. This horse seems like the type who kind of has one top gear, but if you can maintain that the whole way around you’ll get somewhat close to the time.

Lizzie Baugh and B Exclusive were clear through the Copse Rails early on last we saw them.

Yas comes to the last and comes home clear on this Badminton debut with 23 seconds of time and a two-phase score of 38.7, punching the air as she crosses the finish.

EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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8:50am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Yasmin Ingham and Rehy DJ

🏆 Reigning World Champion 🙋🏼‍♀️

Dressage Score: 29.1
Place: 8

Our reigning World Champion is on course, making her Badminton cross country debut with Rehy DJ. She gives “Piglet” a good ride at the Lake as her horse takes just a quick peek at the water.

Tom McEwen navigates the LeMieux Eyelash Brushes well with JL Dublin.

Yas is clear through the INEOS Grenadier Sunken Road question at 12.

Here comes Tom to the Huntsman’s Close at 26 and absolutely demolish the first corner, jumping a little flat after running up that hill. Dubs has looked a bit strong in the bridle and perhaps those efforts are taking the wind out of his sails a bit. He’s taken both the front and back rails of that first corner, which will drop them considerably with 11 penalties and presumably some time to add to their card. Not their day today.

Yas clears the Vicarage question, looking to be taking her time just a bit but looks could be deceiving.

Yas goes to her voice at the Sunken Road and navigates that clear. Tom is through the double gates and has just two singles left to go. He’s not actually going to have a TON of time but he’s had to take off the gas (and will have done so anyway with that pin in mind). He’s jumped the last and will add 27 seconds to his card to go onto 44.2.

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8:48am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Tom McEwen and JL Dublin

🌟 5* winner 🙋‍♂️

Dressage Score: 22.4
Place: 2

Tom McEwen and JL Dublin, who are a top pair in terms of picks to podium this weekend, are on course and make easy work of the influential first water, a true throwback question as Harry Meade dubbed it.

Will Rawlin is about 20 seconds over as he jumps the penultimate fence. Ballycoog Breaker Boy is looking a bit weary as he comes to the last, but he’s still jumping well and they finish on 61.6 with 40 seconds’ worth of time.

Tom just checks up slightly to make the angled brush in the water at the MARS Sustainability Bay and makes neat work of that question. He then lives slightly dangerously at the KBIS Chasm at 15, twisting in the air over the final element and giving both he and “Dubs” a bit of a wake-up call.

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8:45am

🇩🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Arne Bergendahl and Luthien NRW

Dressage Score: 36.2
Place: =50

Oh duck! We see them just as they get wet at 9/10. The horse does so well. He looks to be relishing his cross country, which we know he loves. They get a great shot in, dead center, right stride. But then he just loses his footing as he lands. He was almost too powerful there. A wet end to their Badminton, but both up and no worse for wear apart from some water in the ears.

Meanwhile Will’s coming to the end of his round now.

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8:42am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Will Rawlin and Ballycoog Breaker Boy

Dressage Score: 30.6
Place: =16

They take the flag at the second corner at 7 but look to be OK. But then the flag gets them at 10b – the brush in the lake. 15 goes onto the live scoreboard but that will be reviewed so the penalties may be taken off.

The Jacks are almost home. Jack (guy) is careful through the Quarry at 28. They don’t quite get the stride at the white gates at 29 and 30 but the horse sorts things out. They come over the pheasant log and then over the last. The horse looks great. What a feeling to complete your first 5* cross country. The horse looked to enjoy himself also, he wants to go again!

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8:38am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Felicity Collins and RSH Contend Or

Dressage Score: 37.1
Place: 55

Oh, they have a frustrating 20 at the second corner at 6/7. That’s a shame for them early on. We see them come to the Lake at 9 and 10 and the horse stops at the second rolltop into the water. He’s looking at the water the whole way into there. Her hand goes up. She lets him get his feet wet before walking off course. Every day’s a school day.

Jack is quick again through the Chasm at 15. Jack (horse) really looks down into the ditch at the LeMieux fence at 19 but Jack’s sitting back and pushing on.

We see Gaspard finishing with Zaragoza, only 22 seconds over the time. That was quick considering the mishaps they had.

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8:34am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Jack Mantel and Jack Daniels

⭐ Rookie combo alert!

Dressage Score: 41.2
Place: 74

Ooo, Jack and Jack have a moment at the Agria Corners at 6/7. They jump the first one well but then slither over the second. Jack (guy) does a great job to keep his balance there. They continue on.

They’re very quick through the sunken road at 11 and get really close to the rails on the way out.

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8:30am

🇫🇷 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza

Dressage Score: 30.7
Place: =18

Gaspard has the course to himself as he gets his Badminton cross country underway. This mare is really quick – he calls her Zoom Zoom Zaragoza.

They have a bit of a moment at the Lake, he’ll be glad to get that over with. Then unfortunately they come into the sunken road at 11 a bit quick and activate the frangible device.

Things continue to be a little dramatic. They get a good shot into the water at 15, jump a little low over the hedge at b and then the mare seems to lose her footing on the way out of the water. Nothing really to do with the fence it seems. They both get wet, but the horse didn’t actually fall. They continue on but the judges will be reviewing that carefully.

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8:25am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Tom Woodward and Low Moor Lucky

Dressage Score: 27.9
Place: 6

Ah! They have a problem at the corner at 7. He jumps 6 really well but the turn’s not there for 7 on the related distance and they shoot past. He comes back round and jumps it but the hand’s straight up. That’s a real blow after such a great dressage score. But it looks like they’ll reroute from here.

There’s also troubles for Seppe. They activate the frangible device at the rails at 12 and then have a hairy jump at 17 and Seppe’s hand goes up. Enough for them today.

Joe ended up picking up three 20s on course and was therefore eliminated.

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8:23am

🇧🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Seppe Vilain and Kawa De La Cour Z

Dressage Score: 33.9
Place: =34

We see Seppe as he sits tight over the c element at 10. The horse twists over the brush and kicks out the red flag with his hind, but Senne doesn’t move an inch. There’s a flag question there for them.

Meanwhile, Lara’s completed a fabulous clear round with some time.

We see Joe at the final water and oh dear, Harbin stops at the keyhole. They just didn’t get the stride there.

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8:18am

🇳🇿 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Joe Meyer and Harbin

Dressage Score: 40.4
Place: 71

Oh, we see Joe having trouble at the sunken road at 12. They don’t get the stride and come to a halt at the rails. That’s a shame. He circles back round and continues on. Harbin stands a long way off the hedge in the water at 14 but he stretches on over.

We see Ryuzo through the finish, he’s picked up plenty of time but has jumped clear.

Lara’s still going well as she nears the end of the track. We see them navigate the Quarry at 28 very neatly.

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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8:12am

🇧🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Lara De Liedekerke-Meier and Hooney d’Arville

🌟 5* winning combo!

Dressage Score: 31.7
Place: 22

Lara shouts Good girl! as she gallops away from the hay wagon at 4c. They make nothing of those tricky corners at 6 and 7. No bother for them. We see her get a great shot into the Lake at 9/10. They pop through the combination at 19 and there’s another Good girl! They’re having a great round and actually making those enormous fences look fun.

Ryuzo loses his knitting down the big step at 21a and his horse is wonderful, staying on the line while Ryuzo sorted his reins out. He gets a great jump over the b element. He takes the slightly slower route through Huntsman’s, going around the tree to get very straight for the corner. That works neatly for them.

Tom and Rocky are nearing the end of their round. They come into the arena with the horse looking to have gained confidence on the way round. What a valuable educational experience for this young horse. 20 jumping penalties and plenty of time.

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8:06am

🇯🇵 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Ryuzo Kitajima and Feroza Nieuwmoed

Dressage Score: 33.5
Place: 31

Ryuzo and Feroza get a good shot through the sunken road at 11 and then we see them quickly through the water at 14. Very neat and tidy through there.

Tom and ‘Rocky’ are very neat through the sunken road at 12 and look to have put that mistake behind them. He’s letting the horse travel on. He has a little look at the water at 14 but Tom supports him and they continue on with their round.

Black Ice is still going really well. They’re clear up to the HorseQuest Quarry at 28abc. There’s a click-click as the horse picks up through there. This sure seems to have been a great round. Nearly home now. They rattle the second white gate at 30 and can see home now. The horse accelerates away from there, plenty of running left at the end of the course, for sure. They’re through the finish 36 seconds over. Fantastic round from them.

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8:03am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Tom Crisp and Dassett Rock Star

Dressage Score: 34.9
Place: =42

Tom makes nothing of the staircase fence at 4 and gallops on along the track. He sets up for the corners at 6/7 and gets the first one really well, but then the horse doesn’t seem to read the second one, he doesn’t really turn and they pick up a 20 there. Tom could have circled between them as they’re separately numbered but decided to go straight after that good jump at the first. He comes back round and continues on for an educational round for this lovely young horse.

Black Ice is very neat over the rails combination at 12. He’s very confident through there. They’re so smooth through the Chasm at 15abcd. Very nice.

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7:59am

🇩🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice

Dressage Score: 35.2
Place: =44

This is an exciting young combination. They’re very quick through the Lake at 9/10. The horse gets a big pat and a ‘Gut boy’. Wow, that was confident.

Dan’s still going really well as he nears the end of his track. He comes back for the white gates at 29 and 30, really respecting them. They’re a bit over the time, this horse isn’t the fastest, but they’re running on along nicely and the gelding seems to be relishing his time out there. They come through the finish, clear jumping with a fair bit of time.

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7:55am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Kylie Roddy and SRS Kan Do

Dressage Score: 30.1
Place: 14

Oh no. We see their round start and end straight away. They come down the staircase really well at 4, but they’re a bit short and don’t get the distance to the hay wagon at c. The horse puts his back legs down on it, trying so hard, but Kylie’s ejected out of the saddle and flies over the horse’s head. SRS Kan Do gallops on down the track, not wanting to give up on his cross country day. Kylie’s up and looks to be no worse for wear.

Dan’s continuing on nicely. He doesn’t look to be really pushing for the time but he’s having a super ride with his longtime partner. They’ve got the course to themselves for a minute. He decides to take the alternative at Huntsman’s, he’s certainly done his homework and knows all his options as it didn’t seem to waste much time.

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7:52am

🇳🇿 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Dan Jocelyn and Blackthorn Cruise

Dressage Score: 34.8
Place: 41

We catch up with Dan at fence 13 and they fly those rails as though they’re tiny. They come round to the water at 14 and look good and positive through there.

Oh, Google is a bit unsure of the drop at 21a. It’s close, perhaps there was a step back there – that’s one for the judges.

Oh no, Tiana’s run into trouble at the Quarry at 28. They get right underneath the c element, the stump on the hill, and the mare just can’t get her legs up. They circle for the alternative. A round of two halves. Superb until those troubles. But they come and finish up. A shame as they really were having a fabulous ride early on.

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7:47am

🇧🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Senne Vervaecke and Google Van Alsingen

Dressage Score: 38.4
Place: 62

We get to see them through the water at 14 and they look to be enjoying their time out on cross country thus far. Oh, they’re sticky through the KBIS fence at 15. They add a stride and it’s not there, but Senne gives his mare the support she needs to sort things out and they make it through without penalties.

Oh no. David and Galileo have had a fall at fence 26 – Huntsman’s Close. The horse catches the fence, it totally deforms, the safety devices well and truly doing their job. Galileo’s quickly up and walking round. David looks winded but then we see him up too. The vets and medical teams will be there checking them both out.

After having such a great ride, Tiana sadly picks up at 20 the Mayston Equestrian Sunken Road Fence at 21. They drop down the step great but then go straight on past the choice of brushes at the b element. That’s a real shame as they looked to be going brilliantly. They continue on.

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7:43am

🇺🇸 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Tiana Coudray and Cancaras Girl

Dressage Score: 34
Place: =37

Tiana and Cancaras Girl as great through the Lake at 9/10 – very neat and tidy through there. She decides to go round the tree at 12 and adds a little stride through that sunken road fence but they’re through and clear. They’re quick and neat through the water at 14ab, very efficient through there.

David’s having to work quite hard round here. ‘Good lad!’ he yells to Galileo, and then another one – ‘Good lad!’.

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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7:37am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: David Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed

Dressage Score: 38.8
Place: 63

David hails a cab at the Savills Staircase at 4. He’s not quite on his line on the related distance between 6 and 7 and then there’s a bit of a flag question at the MARS Lake. He’s taking some chances early out on course but then we see him through the sunken road at 12 and looks brilliant. They make nothing of the parallel rails at 13. Looking good as he gallops on. The horse is really clever through the Chasm fence at 15, skipping on through that complicated combination.

Manuel and Carat’s day ends at fence 12 when the horse grinds to a halt. That comes after another 20 at 10.

Meanwhile Alice and Topspin are through the finish with a clear round.

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7:32am

🇵🇹 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Manuel Grave and Carat de Bremoy

Dressage Score: 41.5
Place: 75

Oh, we see them have a drive by at the corner at 7. They just weren’t on that related line from fence 6 and really had no chance there. They continue on carrying 20.

Alice growls Goooo oooooonnnn! to Topspin as they come into the big ditch and corner at 17/18 taking the straight route. This horse can be a bit ditchy but Alice was having none of that. They fly it.

Bubby’s coming for home. She sees a long one at the last. She points to her horse as she crosses the finish line. A great, positive round for them. 15 seconds over.

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7:28am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Alice Casburn and Topspin

Dressage Score: 37.9
Place: 60

Topspin adds a pony stride as he makes his way through the Lake at 10 – very clever with his feet and looking to be enjoying his time out there. We’re seeing that there’s a flag query for them at the corners at 6. They take the red flag out at the b element. It’s being reviewed.

Bubby takes the straight route at 17/18. That big ditch and corner is jumping really well. They’re smooth through the Eyelash Brushes at 19abc. The cheers are following this popular pair around the track.

We see Arthur at the white gates at 29 and 30, they clip the second but all’s good. They gallop on over the penultimate fence and then into the arena and over the MARS M. He’s more than a minute over the time and picked up that 20, but a Badminton cross country completion for them.

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7:25am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Bubby Upton and Cola

Dressage Score: 30.2
Place: 15

We see them come through the Lake at 9 and 10 and they’re blistering through there. Very confident. Looking good for them. Bubby looks determined.

We catch up with Sammi over the white gates at 30. She asks the horse to Woah and they look great through there. They gallop on and into the arena and then clear the last. 42 seconds over. Finduss PB looks like he could go again.

Meanwhile Arthur is continuing on and has passed the Project Pony Brush Buckets at 23ab.

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7:20am

🇫🇷 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Arthur Marx and Church’Ile

Dressage Score: 37.3
Place: 56

We catch up with them at the Lake at 9/10 and ‘Pumba’ stumbles slightly as he drops into the water over the rolltop at 10a. He’s catlike on his feet though and recovers, but then gets right underneath the brush at c. He makes it over. Phew, a bit heart in the mouth there for Arthur. But they put it behind them and continue on. But then they have troubles at the sunken road at 12ab. They grind to a halt at the a element when Arthur’s not quite got the distance right. They come back round and take the alternative.

Sammi and Finduss meanwhile are showing as clear through fence 25 – the Back British Farming Hay Rack. We haven’t seen a lot of them but by all accounts they’re having a good run.

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7:15am

🇦🇺 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Sammi Birch and Finduss PFB

Dressage Score: 40.8
Place: 73

We don’t get to see the start of Sammi’s round but she’s showing as clear through the Holland Cooper Corners at 17/18.

We see Alex coming towards the silver birch rails at 13. SAVE OF THE DAY COMES EARLY ON. They just clip them a little and Alex is tipped out of the plate. He’s hanging on and Chicko’s really good but wondering whether to duck under the roping. He doesn’t. Alex manages to right himself and just checks his horse is all OK before continuing. But then there’s trouble for them at 17. They’re not going forward and come to a stop. Alex walks off course with his lovely gelding. Another day for them.

Meanwhile, Aistis has completed with Commander VG. He’s showing as having picked up a 20 but we didn’t see it.

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7:12am

🇨🇳 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Alex Hua Tian and Chicko

Dressage Score: 31.6
Place: 21

We see Alex and Chicko bank the hay wagon at 4c but it slows them down none and they gallop on up the track.

Aistis rides the right hand line at 19abc, the Eyelash Brushes, and it comes up really well for him. He sets up for the big drop at 21. Commander VG needs a bit of encouragement, there was plenty of dithering there but didn’t seem to be a step back. He goes and then jumps the skinny brush at the b element nicely.

Jonelle’s just come through the quarry at 28abc really neatly. They’re close to home now. We see her fly the pheasant log and then come into the arena to finish up their round over the MARS M. 29 seconds over. ‘Grape’ gets a huge pat.

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7:08am

🇱🇹 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Aistis Vitkauskas and Commander VG

Dressage Score: 51.3
Place: 81

We don’t get to see the start of Aistis’ round but he’s clear through the Lake at 9 and 10.

Harry gives the first corner at Huntsman’s at 26 a bit of a rub, but he’s dead straight through there and they continue on. He’s close to the time as he makes his way into the arena. Will he do it? YES HE DOES!!! He’s exactly on the time. What a beautifully judged round. A masterclass in cross country riding.

We see Jonelle have a moment at MARS Sustainability Bay at 14ab, taking the right curve through the water and ending up scrambling over the hedge at b. They kick on though and put that behind them.

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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7:03am

🇳🇿 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Jonelle Price and Grappa Nera

🌟 5* winning combo!

Dressage Score: 35.3
Place: 46

We see Jonelle coming into the MARS Lake at 9 and 10. She really makes things happen there, riding really positively and hunting her way through. They come to the sunken road at 12ab and take the direct route but choosing to go outside the tree. The horse is galloping on well and looks to be enjoying her trip round Badminton.

Harry and Superstition are in a really great, quick rhythm, and they’re up on the clock at this point. He brings the horse back for the Project Pony Brush Buckets at 23ab and then gallops off towards the final water.

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6:59am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Harry Meade and Superstition

Dressage Score: 31.8
Place: =23

Harry sees a great spot through the Agria Corners at 6 and 7 and gallops off to really get stuck into the track. He makes a very tight turn at the sunken road at 12ab and looks to be really going for it. A great ride through there. He’s quick through MARS Sustainability Bay at 14ab. and then makes the KBIS Chasm look like a Pony Club exercise. Harry’s got the bit between his teeth, for sure. He takes the direct route at 17/18.

Gemma’s on her way home now and Chilli Knight is still totally full of running. She’s close to the time. 8 seconds as she comes into the arena. So close… Will she do it? YES SHE DOES!!! CLEAR INSIDE THE TIME!!! What a round. She’s obviously thrilled. What a ride she gave that horse and what a horse. Fabulous.

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6:54am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Tom Rowland and Quintilius

Dressage Score: 37.6
Place: =57

We catch up with Tom at the Agria Corners at 6 and 7. He gets a great shot at 6 and chooses to go straight through the related distance, but it just doesn’t come up and they scoot to the side of 7. He opts to put his hand up.

We still haven’t seen much of Joseph, sorry, but he looks to be through fence 27 on the live fence analysis. OK, we see him coming home. He’s fair bit over the time and carrying that 20, but he’s through the finish to complete his Badminton cross country.

Gemma’s having a great ride. She’s very positive at the massive corner and ditch at 17 and 18, taking the quick route there. She’s riding really confidently, giving her horse confidence and putting him in all the right places to set him up for success. They drop down the step at 21a and make the line easily to their choice of skinny brushes at b – the riders get to pick from four there.

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6:50am

🇬🇧 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight

🌟 5* winning combo!

Dressage Score: 29.5
Place: 10

This is a fast combination so it’ll be interesting to see their time. They look strong through the Agria Corners at 6 and swing out to get the line at the MARS Lake at 9 and 10. He was a big wiggly through the two rolltops at 9 and 10a but Gemma keeps him on line and they hunt their way through there.

We see Joseph come down the drop at the sunken road at 21 but then run into troubles. He had to slip his reins and that left him with no steering to the skinny brush at the b element.

Tim looks to have taken his foot off the gas after that 20. He comes right back for the Joules Gates at 30 and then comes round to canter into the arena. He clears the last. 49 seconds over and 20 jumping penalties.

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6:46am

🇮🇪 NEW STARTER OUT ON COURSE: Joseph Murphy and Belline Fighting Spirit

Dressage Score: 39.2
Place: =64

We don’t get to see the start of Joseph’s round but he’s clear through the Guide Dogs Cord Pile at 11ab.

Tim’s had troubles at the LeMieux fence at 19abc. They have a huge jump over the angled hedge, and then over the water filled ditch at b. They’re off their line and don’t make it to the angled hedge at c. It’s an s bend through that combination that didn’t work out for them. They continue on and are very confident off the drop at 21a and make nothing of the tricky sunken road combination.

We see Oliver bring Thomas back for the white gates at 29 and 30. They’re cleverly included to slow riders down at the end of the course. He gallops into the arena and the crowd congratulate them as they clear the last. Oliver punches the air. 12 seconds over. Thomas is still looking fabulous after his efforts, which didn’t seem like an effort at all for this superstar gelding.

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6:42am

🇳🇿 THIRD COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Tim Price and Viscount Viktor

✨ Multiple 5* winner 🙋‍♂️

Dressage Score: 33.2
Place: 30

We first see them as they fly through the Lake at 9 and 10 – blink and you’ll miss ’em. They sure looked to be going well in the early stages of their round.

Oliver is now clear through the keyhole into the water at 24 and we see him make little of Huntsman’s Close, skipping through there with no trouble. Thomas looks great as he nears the end of the course, he flies on through the brush mounds at 27ab.

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6:35am

🇬🇧 SECOND COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class

✨ Multiple 5* winning combo!

Dressage Score: 29.3
Place: 9

Oliver and ‘Thomas’ have left the startbox looking determined. They’re dead straight through the Agria Corners at 6ab. Very confident. Thomas looks great, and certainly isn’t showing any of his 18 years. Ooo, there’s a moment at the Lake. He’s right underneath the b element in the water but Thomas knows his job and he makes it happen. They put that behind them and take the inside line at the Sunken Road at 12ab. Thomas is clever with his feet there to get the striding. Good job. Oliver goes the straight route through the Holland Cooper combination, taking 17 and 18 in one – the ditch is under the corner there at the straight route. Thomas is traveling really well and Oliver’s wasting not a second of ground on his turns.

Kirsty is making this look really smooth, that’ll be reassuring to the riders watching on. She flies through the KBIS Chasm at 15abcd. They take the longer route at the Holland Cooper Corners at 17/18 – two jumping efforts rather than one, with the ditch being jumped separately from the corner. Kirsty’s smooth through the brush buckets at 23ab – the Project Pony fence. Kirsty asks Betty to ‘Come on’ at the brush mounds at 27ab, and she responds. They’re flying for home now. Nearly there. They clear the MARS M at 32 and come through the finish to huge cheers from the crowd. She’s 45 seconds over. She looks delighted with Betty.

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6:30am

🇬🇧 FIRST COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI

Dressage Score: 33.6
Place: 32

They’re off! A roar from the crowd and Kirsty and ‘Betty’ are out on course.

The ground’s quick at Badminton this year and our trailblazers sure look fast as they gallop along the track. They’re blistering through the Savills Staircase at 4abc – really strong through there.

They squeak through the flag at the Agria Corners over the a element at 6 – Betty was drifting through the shoulder slightly, but they’re through and on to the Lake at 9 and 10. They’re brilliant through there – straight and bold. Kirsty’s elbows are going as she pushes for the distance between the two roll tops to drop into the water. She made it happen and it rode brilliantly. The crowd there is enormous already, and loud.

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MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

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Saturday Links from World Equestrian Brands

By on May 10, 2025 12:01 am -

The Mayston Equestrian Sunken Road. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It’s time to tighten your bootstraps and double-check your heart meds: cross country day at the MARS Badminton Horse Trials has arrived, and it promises to be a proper 5* test from start to finish. The first rider sets out at 6:00 a.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. BST, and you can catch every thrilling moment of it via the ClipMyHorse.TV live stream here.

Course designer Eric Winter has once again delivered a masterclass in modern course design philosophy, drawing on a year of “philosophy walks,” build tweaks, and brush fluffing to produce a course that’s every bit as beautiful as it is challenging. Expect a bold trip to the Lake early on, stamina tests aplenty, and a whopping 6847 meters of intense decision-making, all packed into a track that Eric openly describes as “designed for sunshine.”

It’s fast ground — but not too fast, thanks to five weeks of careful watering — and with nearly twelve minutes on the clock, riders will need to ration their gallop, ride smart, and hope their horses are feeling as game as they are.

Get the kettle on, settle in, and follow along with EN’s live blog and full coverage throughout the day — it’s going to be a wild ride.

Major International Events

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

U.S. Weekend Preview

Tryon International Three-Day Event (NC): [Website] [Timetable] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Galway Downs Spring H.T. and Preliminary Challenge (CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

River Glen Spring H.T. (TN): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring]

Unionville May H.T. (PA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Majestic Oaks Ocala H.T. (FL): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Queeny Park H.T. (MO): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring]

Hitching Post Farm H.T. (VT): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Links & Reading

Kentucky First-Time Five-Star Superstars

Pressure Proof Tip with Daniel Stewart: Reframing Isn’t About Hanging Pictures

A Mother’s Day Tribute To Reluctant Horse Moms

Throwback Thursday: 1984 Olympic Show Jumping Team Lived A Dream At Santa Anita

Leadership By High Standards

Sponsor Corner: World Equestrian Brands

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🎨 Ready to make it your own? Explore the Mattes custom configurator and design your dream pad over at World Equestrian Brands here.

Video Break

Without friends, the sport is a lot more lonely. Listen in to some lifelong friends recounting their tales at Badminton earlier this week:

Belgium Aims Big at Badminton

By on May 9, 2025 5:17 pm -

Lara de Liedekerke–Meier and Hooney D’Arville. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

There is some sort of a joke about famous Belgians. I can’t actually remember what it is, except that the point is that there aren’t any. Excepting Agatha Christie’s moustachioed maestro, Hercule Poirot, of course.

In eventing, however, there have been several at-least-quite famous Belgians, primarily Karin Donckers and now Lara de Liedekerke-Meier. And team manager Kai Steffen-Meier – himself not a Belgian, but a German – is attempting to increase that number by giving some of the country’s up-and-coming riders the exposure and mileage that only comes from riding at (proper) five-stars.

While Lara is best placed of the Belgians after dressage at Badminton, scoring 31.7 on her Luhmühlen winner Hooney D’Arville, three others have crossed the Channel in search of big-event experience.

Kai, who rode at Badminton twice, says: “We had some plan behind [coming to Badminton en masse]. I really think that we are, let’s say, a growing nation – but I still think that to make the next step, we need to try to make the development into a five-star nation. I want to make it more normal [for Belgian riders] to go and aim for five-star. So over the winter, we’ve really tried to push for that for this year.

“The timeline this year is very good for us with Badminton, because it gives us enough time to regroup and get to Blenheim [for the European Championships] – it’s not one or the other. I think that’s actually helpful – it’s another bit of exposure and a chance to work under pressure.”

It’s always said that it is key to be working “above the level” at which you are competing, so that you are in your comfort zone when the intensity and pressure are dialled up.

He continues: “It’s absolutely also about being able to feel like we’re stepping down for championships, rather than punching up. I’m trying to make it more normal for them to ride a big track and test that out a bit and learn about it here, rather than at the championship itself. I want my riders to get to a championship and say, ‘huh, it’s a lot easier than what I’ve done already.’”

Lara had double-entered her homebred mare at Kentucky and Badminton, but the decision as to where to run was simple: “Money.”

She elaborates: “Even if you finish third, then you still almost don’t have any money after your transport costs. And when I saw the field… it was not a packed field, but it was a really consistent and strong field. She won Luhmühlen, but I’m not arrogant enough to feel like I could do it again, so I thought, ‘I’ll come here to get the experience’. I keep learning every single day. I hope she’s going to enjoy it and I’m not going to regret my choice!

“I wanted to go to Kentucky because I think it’s a little bit more of a European way of building – Derek [di Grazia] builds a little bit more what she has been used to in the past. Here it’s really big, and she’s really a careful horse, so sometimes she takes a look. I hope she won’t be too careful and lose confidence around the track; I would have maybe liked to do another five star before coming here, but she has surprised me a lot of times in the past, so hopefully she will surprise me again on Saturday.

“It feels really good to be back. I forgot how much atmosphere there is – it’s so special, and I still think of it as the pinnacle of the sport, so I’m so happy to bring her here. It probably wasn’t my first plan – and who has Badminton as a plan B?! Only me, probably! – but she feels really, really good and she tried really hard in the dressage despite having so much stamina right now. I think she’s never felt as fit as she feels here.

“Not that long ago, I wasn’t thinking I was going to win a five-star, and so I’m not thinking about [winning] now. I just tried to do my best, and I could have done better; I don’t think she could have herself. I hope I’ll have nothing to report for myself on Saturday. That’s my mission. It’s a big course for her – it’s another league from Luhmühlen and the crowds are huge. She’s done Le Lion twice, though, and Boekelo, so she can cope with an atmosphere, but nothing beats Badminton. There’s a lot of questions, and we’ll see how she answers them.”

Seppe Vilain and Kawa de la Cour Z. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Second-best Belgian at Badminton (doesn’t that sound nice?) is 24-year-old Seppe Vilain, an amateur rider who works as a civil engineer. He scored 33.9 on Kawa De La Cour Z for equal 34th place.

“He’s a blood horse, but he stayed very calm, and I was able to ride him as I wanted,” says Seppe. “It was perhaps not our best test, but here I thought it was best to play it safe; it’s not a dressage competition. He did pretty well – I was a bit scared of how he’d deal with the atmosphere. It’s the first time he’s seen anything like this, but he was focused and he did the job. He’s 17, and he knows that once he enters the arena it’s time to do a job.”

Wouter de Cleene and Quintera. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Wouter De Cleene, a manager with a road construction company, is in 61st place with 38.1 on Quintera. Fascinating fact: Wouter’s uncle, Dirk van Mieghem, was the first Belgian to complete Badminton 45 years ago.

“I thought I rode a good test, but the flying changes came too early, and so I got bad marks and a bad result. I thought they were good, other than being too early, though!” says Wouter.

“The event is amazing – it’s nice to be here, and with all these people, tomorrow will be a special day. For me, the course is big enough, but I wanted to come and so I’ll just get out there and ride it. I have a good horse, I think.”

Senne Vervaecke and Google van Alsinger. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Squaring off the Belgian quartet is Senne Vervaecke, 62nd with 38.4 on Google Van Alsingen.

“I was very pleased,” says Senne. “She gave me, actually, a really great feeling. The first half of the test went amazing and then halfway through, she got really scared of one of the cameras. It was just really close – halfway, she had seen it and then every time she had to pass it, was like ‘oh, what’s happening here?’ But then we passed there, and she was really well behaved again. So considering the situations, I’m super-pleased.”

He has had the 14-year-old Watch Me mare since she was four.

“She was incredibly difficult to ride and difficult to work with when she was younger. It took us months of training to be able to get out of the stables and get to the arena without landing into one of the fields, stuff like that. I remember the first competition I did with her was like, an 80cm track. We did fence number one and that was good, and then there was a little road to fence number two, and halfway she stopped and turned around and I said, ‘No, no, let’s go back’. And she turned around again, and I said ‘no no, go back’ and tried five or six times, and then halfway when I said, ‘No, turn back’ she turned 90 degrees and was like, ‘I don’t want to go back. I’ll just go this way’. “There was a metal wire fence there, and so she started leaning against it, and I could feel her go to a standstill and she pushes and pushes, and a few seconds later, it goes bang. She goes through it and after that, she was like, ‘I made my point.’ And then I just trotted back to tell the organisers that I broke their field’s fence, and they were like ‘Okay, you can go ahead and continue’.

“All the rest of the course she did perfectly, and she passed that spot like a charm – she just had to make her point that she was the boss and she was going to decide what’s happening.”

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton Horse Trials is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

“You Definitely Know You’re at Badminton”: Riders React to Eric Winter’s Cross Country Course

By on May 9, 2025 4:00 pm -

The Equidry Huntsman’s Close comes late on course at fence 26 this year — and it’s causing plenty of stir among the riders.

The fences are decorated and flagged, the ground is primed, and the consensus among this year’s MARS Badminton Horse Trials contenders is clear: this year’s Eric Winter-designed course is classic Badminton: big, bold, and built to test not just bravery, but brains and stamina, too.

With more than one rider commenting on the flow of Eric Winter’s 2025 track, there’s an appreciation for the course’s galloping rhythm — but no illusion that it’s soft. “There’s not even one fence where you think, ‘they can just go over that,’” observed Germany’s Jérôme Robine, echoing a common sentiment. From the imposing first water to the late-in-the-day demands of Huntsman’s Close, this year’s course asks plenty of both horses and riders. You can take a full gander at the track in our preview here as well as on CrossCountryApp here.

“I think it’s going to shake it up a big amount,” said Emily King, highlighting the course’s emphasis on fitness, rideability, and mutual trust between horse and rider. Others, like Kylie Roddy and Kirsty Chabert, praised the balance between bold questions and fairness, noting the thoughtful presentation and improved flow compared to previous years.

Still, no matter how experienced the combination, there’s an unmistakable air of respect heading into Saturday: “You either Pony Club kick and growl and get on with it,” shrugged Alice Casburn, “or you don’t.”

Here’s a look at what some of the riders in our field are saying about the course:

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Oliver Townend – Cooley Rosalent – 21.1

“I mean, 11 minutes 40 is probably going to be tightly wheeled. She does have the stamina—it’s just up to me to give her the right ride, save where I can, and be as quick as I can. When you’re at a place like this, sometimes it’s your day and sometimes it isn’t. I’ll just be doing my best to give her as smooth a ride as possible, be as quick as I can, and hope she gets the trip at that speed.”

Tom McEwen – JL Dublin – 22.4

“I had a real quick blast round and walk on foot, and it took long enough—so it’s obviously a good, long course. I think it’s all there, it’s all fair, it’s all in front of you. There’s plenty to do—of course, it’s Badminton. I actually thought Huntsman’s Close, towards the end—if that was earlier on, we’d all fly through. But the horses are different types at that stage. This way around usually brings out a bit more of an endurance factor with such a long pull all the way home. Have your wits about you and ride what’s underneath you.”

Ros Canter – Lordships Graffalo – 25.3

“Walter’s not a huge fan of jumping things with things over the top of them—and there’s quite a few of those. So that’ll be a bit more of a challenge for us. But I’ve got every faith in him.”

Emily King – Valmy Biats – 27.3

“I think it’s gonna be a proper—gonna shake it up a big amount. There’s no real tricks… it’s really going to test our relationship with them, our riding, and they’re just big, doming efforts. They’ve got to be fit. The lake’s pretty huge… if we land in balance and they’re honest and know where they’re going, it should be there in front of them. The Vicarage Vee… brave little things like the pinned fences. It’s a bold, attacking course, which suits him, but I need to be clever with my ride so I save enough gallop in the tank.”

Tom Woodward – Low Moor Lucky – 27.9

“You definitely know you’re at Badminton—it’s big, from one to 32! There’s plenty of questions out there… it’s obvious to the horses what the questions are.”

“This way around, the course brings more of an endurance factor. With such a long pull all the way home, you’ve got to have your wits about you and ride what’s underneath you.”

Fiona Kashel and Creevagh Silver de Haar. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Fiona Kashel – Creevagh Silver de Haar – 28.4

“I hate going cross country. Honestly, if I never went cross country again, I think I’d be very happy! I do quite like it once I’ve finished—but that’s about it.

The course is just big for him. He’s not the biggest jumper, and it’s a big, bold, scopey track. He’s 17 years old now, and I’ve come here with the mindset of taking it one fence at a time. If he’s going well, I’ll keep going. If it’s too much for him, I’ll pull up. I’m just going to enjoy the experience.”

Yasmin Ingham – Rehy DJ – 29.1

“I walked [the course] this morning with Chris Bartle, and it’s massive. Classic Badminton—been coming here for many years, so now I’m able to tackle it myself, which is really exciting. We’re on form, and he’s had a really good spring. We’re just going to give it our best and enjoy it.”

Gemma Stevens – Chilli Knight – 29.5

“It is big, but it is actually all there in front of you. There are no tricks, which I think is really nice, and the distances are fantastic. Eric’s really nailed the distances, which makes me happy as half a show jumper. So yeah—just bring it on.”

Georgie Goss – Feloupe – 29.6

“The ground is quite firm, so I think that’ll make for a very fast day. The course looks bigger and bolder than previous years, but I’d say it’s less technical overall. The Huntsman’s Close will definitely catch a few out, and I think the first water is pretty bold.”

Felix Vogg and Cartania. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Felix Vogg – Cartania – 29.7

“I hope it’s difficult enough. I think Huntsman’s Close could cause problems—it’s late on the course, and the line there is still a question. The first water is very bold too. I think that could separate some of the field.”

Kylie Roddy – SRS Kan Do – 30.1

“I think it looks really good. It looks like it might have more flow this year, and I think it’s Big, Bold Badminton—which I hope will suit the horse I’m riding. If you get through the lake and they’re on, you’ll probably have quite a nice spin. There’s nothing ugly. Maybe the corner over the ditch at the bottom is a bit blind, but it is there for them to jump. They’ve built a horse’s track, which is lovely to see and ride.”

Alex Hua Tian – Chicko – 31.6

“It’s [cross country] big. I think it’s very fair, though. Everything’s in front of you. It gives you a really fair chance to jump everything – you either jump it or you don’t. I think the Huntsman’s Close, that big corner, the first big corner, I think will be the telling point, especially for riders on horses that are starting to get a bit weary. That will be sort of the main teller, I would say. The rest of it I think is very fair.”

Harry Meade – Superstition (31.8) and Cavalier Crystal (33.8)

“I think it’s a good course. I’m well aware I might fall off at fence two or three, so take what I say with a pinch of salt! I don’t know if it’s as technically difficult as normal, but equally, there are lots of places where you could have a frustrating problem. I like the lake — I think that’s a really fun, old-fashioned ‘jump in and then see what you’ve got when you land’ kind of question. That will cause some problems, and it’ll be really entertaining to watch.

All in all, I think it’s a good track. It’ll be interesting to see how difficult the time is. I think it wheels quite tight — I haven’t managed to compare that with anyone else, but I found it quite tight, which is good, because the conditions are so fast.

There are plenty of places you could have a frustrating issue, but I’m not sure how many fences there are where you say, ‘Wow, that’s a full five-star question,’ the kind you walk five times and still aren’t quite sure what you’re doing.”

Joseph Murphy – Calmaro (32.6) and Belline Fighting Spirit (39.2)

“I suppose I have a plan for the first horse [Belline Fighting Spirit], and then I’ll make a plan for the second one [Calmaro] — I think that’s how I’m going to see it tomorrow. The first horse is a little inexperienced, but he’s a big, bold jumper. He covers the ground well, and I think the course plays into his hands. But you never know — it’s big jumping early on, and if they go a bit shy or backwards, you might not have the horse you thought you had underneath you. That said, he could also take it on and give me a great feeling, so it really depends on how it plays out. I’m open-minded, and to be honest, I’m ready to perform.”

Max Warburton – Deepairc Revelry – 32.7

“I think it nearly walks nicer than Burghley, but I felt Burghley walked tough and rode very well. Eric’s a clever man. I’d say that’s going to ride tough enough tomorrow, but I think it’s all there to jump. You’ve just got to make it clear and keep kicking.”

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Tim Price -Vitali (30.6) and Viscount Viktor (33.2)

“I think it’s very well presented. Everything seems in front of you, very obvious and clear. Looking forward to jumping some big fences.”

Kirsty Chabert – Classic VI – 33.7

“I had a brief whizz around the course yesterday… and I thought it had such a nicer feel than previous years. It’s more flowing, hopefully less intense for these horses. We don’t need to be pushing them into their extremities of bravery and endurance. We’ve all learned that a flowing course can actually cause just as many troubles.”

Harald Ambros – Vitorio du Montet – 34.9

“It’s a tough course, for sure—but this is Badminton. I think it’s a very fair course. The riders know what to do, and everything is clearly presented.”

Jerome Robine – Black Ice – 35.2

“Everything is just big—there’s not even one fence where you think, ‘they can just go over that.’ It’s always game on. You always have to be focused, and the horses have to be brave at nearly every jump. We already said—it’s kind of a different sport here. Nothing to do with the stuff we normally do.”

Jonelle Price – Grappa Nera – 35.3

“It’s big. You expect it to be big—perhaps lacking a little bit of technicality, I thought, in places. I think the first third is pretty busy. After that, I thought it was fairly in front of you. But it was only the first walk, and sometimes you have to walk around and try and find the difficulty from that point on.”

Grace Taylor – Game Changer – 35.4

“I’ve walked the course… and I think I’ll reserve judgment until after I’ve ridden it! I’ve got some little thoughts brewing in my head, but I’m keeping those to myself for now. You know—it’s Badminton.”

Sarah Ennis – Grantstown Jackson – 35.6

“Yeah, it’s all there. My first impression when I walked it was, ‘this looks nice,’ but I think Eric’s been very clever. He’s kept really tight lines—off trees, off turns—and I just think there’ll be so many silly 20s where you didn’t quite get the right turn or just met it wrong. Or it’s just not your day. But it looks amazing, as it always does. They always do a fabulous job, and that’s where Eric and his team are just phenomenal to listen to.

I’ll have time to watch a few tomorrow, but it’s not ideal waiting all day to go cross country. I hate that. I’d rather be out in the first ten and get it over with. You can only watch so many before you’re done. So yeah… not sure what I’m going to do—probably a lot of box walking. Or something.”

Aaron Millar and Friendship VDL (pictured here at Bramham. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Aaron Millar – Friendship VDL – 35.9

“You know, it’s a true five-star, and it’s very flowing. I like the fact that you walk it and you feel like you can really get the horses up on in the canter and keep them travelling. But, yeah, I’d never underestimate anything, even the last fence or the first ones. Nothing’s a given. I think there’ll be a few inside [the time]. The ground is very good. I’m on a relatively fast horse, and as long as he doesn’t get too strong — he went to Burghley, and the one thing I actually noticed [there as] he was coming out of main arena, down to the coffin [is] he does run a little bit away from the crowd, so I think for me, it’s just getting him settled and then really letting him travel.”

Samantha Cesnik – Graftango – 36.2

“Coming into the lake, giving her a minute to take it in… She’s been amazing at everything we’ve thrown at her, but it’s a pretty special atmosphere out there.”

Selena Milnes – Gelmer – 37.6

“I think Huntsman’s [Close], at the end of the course off that turn, is a lot to ask. I just think it just depends how tired they are. If they come up there quite tired, I might wing around the tree, but the plan is at the moment to go straight. I just wonder how much petrol we’ll have left.”

Tom Rowland – Quintilius – 37.6

“It’s more flowing this year… From the second fence, from that ditch table, all the way around—it’s big, big, big, big, big. And it’s a long way around. You’ve got the pupils up, Huntsman’s Close, and the Quarry.”

Laura Collett – Bling – 37.9

“I think it’s a brilliant track. For me, I was quite pleased that there aren’t too many twists and turns becase she doesn’t really like listening too much! But everything out there feels like a very fair question that the horses can understand and read. I actually think the time is going to be very, very tight, even though we’ve got good ground. They’ve done a fantastic job on it today; compared to yesterday, you can tell they’ve put in a lot of work over the last 24 hours. It’s spongy and amazing out there. Huge thanks to the team that’s been working so hard to get it right for us.”

Alice Casburn – Topspin – 37.9

“There’s certainly enough to do. It’s bold… This is your route. You either Pony Club kick and growl and get on with it, or you don’t. So yeah, there’s a lot to jump.”

David Doel – Galileo Nieuwmoed – 38.8

“There’s definitely plenty out there to jump—lots of combinations where you’ve got to pay a lot of attention and make sure you don’t miss your line. There are a lot of questions out there… Eric’s always very clever with his tracks. You walk them thinking, ‘Oh, this isn’t going to cause too many problems,’ and suddenly it causes carnage. So you’ve really got to keep your wits about you and stay switched on.”

Helen Bates – Carpe Diam – 40.2

“It’s a bit longer than last year, but I do think the course as a whole flows maybe a bit better. I think Eric’s been quite fair in letting us use corners to set up for some more difficult combinations. But yeah, I mean, every fence is going to take some riding, so [you] just definitely have to do a lot more of your walking and thinking about the game plan for tomorrow.”

Sam Watson (IRL) and Ballyneety Rocketman. Photo by Cealy Tetley

Sam Watson – Ballyneety Rocket Man – 40.5

“Yeah, well, Eric’s really clever. He gives us a lot to do — you don’t just roll down to the fences and jump them without changing gear. There’s preparation required, there’s a lot of balance required, and then you’ve just got to let the horse do their job. My job is that presentation to each fence, and I hope, again, he lets me communicate with him. There are a lot of distractions out there around Badminton. But in terms of stamina — galloping an 11-minute, 40 [second] track -—that’s all to his strengths. He loves that. He’s got the scope, he’s got the fitness, and he’s got the gallop. So hopefully, he does well.”

Daragh Byrne – Kilcannon Ramiro – 41.8

“It’s bold. Everything’s in front of you, but you have to go and jump it still. You know, it’s a long way around. Hopefully it’s not too warm. My plan is to just head out to get home and have a nice easy go around, hopefully. That’s the plan anyway.”

Tom Bird – Cowling Hot Gossip – 45.2

“I think it looks strong. It’s a five-star, you know, it’s a true five-star, but it looks jumpable. So I’m actually excited to get out there and give it a crack and try and pull ourselves back up a bit.”

Lauren Innes – Global Fision M – 48.6

“I mean, everything is there in front of you, but you can never underestimate Badminton, and it’s a long track. You just have to be on top of your game on that day. And hopefully we’ll be but, you know, you’ve just got to go out there and give it your best shot.”

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton Horse Trials is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.

“I Thought, ‘This’ll Be A Long Six Minutes!'”: Townend Leads Badminton Dressage With Cooley Rosalent

By on May 9, 2025 3:20 pm -

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Tom McEwen made a valiant effort at clinging onto his dressage lead with JL Dublin, but after holding it for 24 hours, he was elbowed out of the top spot by late contenders Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent, who delivered a smart, consistent test to put a 21.1 on the board.

This week marks ‘Rosie’s’ sixth five-star start, and she’s already a winner at the level two, having taken the title at Kentucky last spring – but despite all this mileage, she’s still just eleven years old and, Oliver explains, greener than most give her credit for.  

“She’s still relatively babyish. I know she had success in Kentucky, but she’s still green with the crowds, and a bit shy,” he says. “One of her last memories [of an atmosphere] is galloping around with me and the crowd all clapping at Kentucky, so this is a big atmosphere and a big day for her. She went in there and really brightened up with the crowds: she spooked when someone let a chair go, and then again when the ring steward took his hat off. I thought, ‘Oh Christ, here we go. It’s going to be a long six and a half minutes!’”

“But once she got in there,” he continues, “she started to breathe and relax. She came to hand quickly — which is what good horses do. You’re always relieved when they do it in the moment.”

Still, though, he was relieved to come to the end of the test, through which he aimed to nurture the young mare and build her confidence.

 “Honestly, finishing and getting out of there with that mark on the scoreboard was the best part,” he says. “It could have gone either way. I took a risk coming out of the first corner — I just let go — and she did go the right direction. It would’ve been very easy for her to stick her head up and goggle around, and that probably would’ve ended the test. But I liked how she came to hand more than anything.”

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

A year on from her five-star win, and two years on from her debut at the level, Rosie is, he says, “a different league. I was dealing with a stringy baby before! If we can keep her like this for the rest of her career, great. If she improves from here — then she’ll be a very, very good one.”

Tomorrow’s cross-country challenge sees Oliver start his day on the evergreen Ballaghmor Class, who sits ninth overnight on a 29.3 – and after many long hours of waiting, he’ll return to the startbox with a different plan of action for Rosie.

 “They’re completely opposite types. She’s very easy to add [strides] with — very nippy,” he says. “She can add strides where there are normally none. Sometimes I’ve got to be brave and make things happen, and other times I rely on her to come back to me quickly. But she’s very good, and there’s a lot of gallop in her pedigree.”

That gallop comes through her damline – her mother was a National Hunt horse, and won the Scottish Borders National at Kelso. 

“She’s just a natural athlete,” says Oliver. “Her pedigree’s second to none, and her father was a 1.50m horse. Somehow, the magic’s happened in the breeding, and it’s worked out about as well as it possibly could.”

Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Day one leaders Tom McEwen and JL Dublin now sit second going into cross-country, just 1.3 penalties – or three seconds and a whisper – behind the leaders. This afternoon also gave us a new face on the podium in Gemma Stevens, whose second ride of the week, the stalwart Jalapeno, partnered her to an excellent 24.7 and third place provisionally. 

 “I’m absolutely thrilled,” says a beaming – and slightly teary-eyed – Gemma. “It hasn’t been an easy preparation with her. She’s definitely been quite on edge, which is slightly new territory for me — normally, she’s very relaxed, almost lazy. But the last few days, she’s been seriously hot to trot. I had to ride her a little tentatively, but honestly, she was still amazing, and she pulled off a serious, serious test.”

The key to eking the best out out of the former Karin Donckers ride, with whom Gemma finished sixth with here in 2023, has been making sure her schedule is tailored to what she enjoys most. 

 “We’re always just trying to keep her fit, sound, and happy — she’s 17 now, and she’s a proper woman,” laughs Gemma. “She knows exactly what she wants out of life, and most of the time, it’s not really to work that hard! So we have to persuade her constantly and keep her happy. She’s quite a cantankerous old girl, so we do lots of different things to keep her interested.”

That includes “lots of turnout during the day, water treadmill sessions, hacking, trotting up hills — things like that. Not too much time in the school, because it really irritates her. But she’s so well-trained that I can just pick her up when I need to. She honestly only goes in the school once a week, because otherwise, I annoy her! She’s a funny old stick — but wow, can she do it when she puts her mind to it!”

Gemma’s excellent test today means that she goes into cross-country with two horses in the top ten: yesterday’s ride, Chilli Knight, sits in tenth on 29.5. 

 “I honestly can’t believe it — I’m chuffed to bits,” she says. “I never thought ‘Alfie’ would be this high up, even with the cross-country still to go. He’s right there, waiting and ready to count.”

Both horses are by the stallion Chilli Morning, as are many of the horses in Gemma stables – but despite some physical similarities they, like Oliver’s two matching horses, will require different plans and rides tomorrow.

 “They’re very similar types, but completely different ways of going. Jalapeno will probably tell me after three minutes that she’s tired — which she’s not — so I’ll be working hard from minute three! But that’s fine. Luckily, I’ve been in the gym! Alfie will want to gallop right to the end. He’ll jump the last fence and still want to gallop around the whole arena. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m also terrified! But if you’re not terrified of Badminton, well…!”

 

Fiona Kashel and Creevagh Silver de Haar. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo hold fourth place overnight on 25.3, followed by Emily King and Valmy Biats in fifth on 27.3 and Tom Woodward and Low Moor Lucky, sixth after the first phase in their five-star debut on 27.9.

We’ve got an all-British top ten going into cross-country, thanks in part to the efforts of Surrey-based Fiona Kashel, who rode the test of a lifetime with Creevagh Silver de Haar to produce a five-star personal best of 28.4. They’ll head into the next phase in provisional eighth place, closely followed by Yasmin Ingham and Rehy DJ on 29.1 and Oliver and Ballaghmor Class on 29.3. 

“I’m overwhelmed! I’m so proud of him,” says Fiona of the seventeen-year-old gelding. “He’s not the biggest mover, he’s not the biggest jumper, but he just tries his heart out. We’ve got a really special relationship — he owes me nothing, and I love him.”

The pair has a long partnership, but although Fiona bought him as quite a young horse, she didn’t have him earmarked as a top-level horse. 

“I couldn’t keep any show jumps up on him as a seven-year-old, and I couldn’t stay on him either — he kept leaving legs,” she says. “I actually tried to sell him, but he wouldn’t pass a vet. I sold him a lot of times, and he failed every single vetting — despite being the soundest horse I’ve ever had! So I kept going with him, and he’s just kept answering every question. Honestly, the last two years, he’s felt better than ever. He’s really like a fine wine.”

Fiona was one of the many riders waitlisted for this year’s competition, and she found out just a handful of days ago that she’d been accepted.

 “This time last week, I wasn’t even in — they only rang me Saturday afternoon to say I was off the waitlist,” she says. “So it’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster to get here. But he’s been on great form this year; he’s jumped some dressage over the winter, and he’s had some really good spring runs, so I’m really excited.”

Despite being waitlisted, Fiona kept working towards the Badminton goal – so much so that she enlisted her dressage trainer, Damian Hallam, to coach her through the test every two weeks this spring. 

That was a tactic that could have proved disastrous, but might have actually ultimately given them an edge – but not in the way that Fiona had planned for. 

“I don’t know if I should admit this, but… I actually learned the wrong test,” she says. “I’m blaming my mother, who does all my scheduling! In January, I texted her, ‘What’s the Badminton test?’ She replied, ‘2024 B,’ so I’ve been having lessons on 2024 B every two weeks.

“Then, on Friday night — when I still wasn’t in — I saw a video of Kirsty Chabert doing a run-through of her test on Facebook, and I thought, ‘That’s not the test I’ve been doing.’ I checked the schedule — it was 2025 C! But I figured, ‘it doesn’t matter, because I’m not in.’”

Then, she continues, came that fateful phone call on Saturday.

“So Damian drove two hours from the New Forest on Monday night to help me run through the correct test. I’d been at Bovington on Sunday, and the horse had galloped Saturday, so that was the only window. Damian didn’t even know the test himself yet, so I’m just pleased I didn’t go wrong. I think my mum’s pleased I didn’t go wrong, too!”

And the feeling of not just getting the job done, but getting the job done like that?

 “Amazing,” she grins. “To do it here at Badminton, in front of everyone — especially since we’re quite local — it’s so special. It’s nice to finally be able to say I can ride! It’s taken quite a while, but I can do it. He just keeps getting better and better.”

So that’s one box ticked – but what of tomorrow?

 “I hate going cross country,” she says with a laugh – and a grimace. “If I never went cross country again, I think I’d be very happy. I quite like it once I’ve finished — but that’s about it! The jumps are just big for him, and he’s not the biggest jumper. It’s a big, bold, scopey course. He’s seventeen now, and I’ve just said to myself, ‘I’ll take one fence at a time.’ If he’s going well, I’ll keep going. If it’s too much for him, I’ll pull up. I’m just going to enjoy the experience.”

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

One horse and rider combination that we’d all expected to see at the business end of the leaderboard failed to disrupt the top bods in a surprise twist at the very end of the day’s sport. That was New Zealand’s Tim Price and Vitali, who set the Burghley dressage record score in 2023 with an 18.7, and who are consistent performers in this phase. But today, the fifteen-year-old gelding fell victim to tension in the ring: he tried to canter, rather than trot, out of his first halt, and while the extended trot started as one of the best, boldest, and most expressive we’ve seen this week, it lost rhythm and impact in the middle when the horse very nearly broke into canter. From then on out, it was a back-and-forth affair: a handful of 7.5s and 8s, and then another tricky moment, tact, and smatterings of lower marks. They left the ring on a 30.6 – a disappointing mark for Tim, but one that still keeps him close enough to the hunt in equal sixteenth place at this stage. 

“He’s been so good all week, and he was going beautifully in the collecting ring,” rues Tim. “He did relax a little bit as he went through, but I needed another ten minutes after the seven minutes of actual test time – he’s just getting so fit. He’s got it all there, if he would just breathe and let me sit on him normally.”

Tim has come so close to winning five-stars on a number of occasions with Vitali, whose biggest struggle, historically, has been in the final phase. It would be just like the sport, he acknowledges, if Vitali now goes on to jump clear on the final day for the first time. 

“I was looking forward to really fighting for a different position tomorrow. But you know how this game goes: you’ve got to go and do all three phases and do them well. It may be just one of these weird weekends where I was nowhere near the lead, and end up with a good result. You just don’t know. It’s a mysterious old game, but he’s very well, and that’s the main thing. He’s healthy and fit and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Tomorrow’s cross-country phase begins at 11.30 a.m. BST/6.30 a.m. EST, and will see 80 horses and riders head out of the startbox – down by one so far, following the withdrawal of Jesse Campbell and Cooley Lafitte, who had a tricky start to their week in the dressage ring to sit 77th at the end of this phase. 

Eric Winter’s course is widely considered to be a more flowing, less technical one than we’ve seen over the last few years, and with fast ground, it would be easy to assume it’ll be a less influential phase than usual – but at 11:40, it’s a serious stamina challenge, and there’s no shortage of colossal questions out there. That time, too, may well prove to be tighter than anticipated: we caught up with Ireland’s Sam Watson after his dressage test earlier, who shared that when he wheeled the course, it came in at 11:55. You can take a look at the challenge that’s been set with our course preview here, and stay tuned for more from the riders on how they feel and what they’ll plan to watch, re-walk, and do out there tomorrow. 

In the meantime, you can recap all of today’s action over on Cheg’s live blog, check out all our coverage and bonus stories so far here, watch it all back on ClipMyHorse.TV, and keep it locked on EN for more from between the boards here at the 2025 MARS Badminton Horse Trials. Go Eventing!

The top ten at the close of dressage at Badminton.

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton Horse Trials is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.



The Galloping Dentist: Catching Up with Harald Ambros at Badminton

By on May 9, 2025 10:25 am -

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.”

MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]

EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton Horse Trials is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.