We received so many crazy good captions for the “Caption It” contest presented by Devoucoux, we definitely had to do a poll to figure out who the winners should be.
Here’s how we’re going to roll with it, under each photo, help us out and rate your favorite caption for that photo. Four winners will be chosen to win a signed Devoucoux shirt by the top rated caption for each photo so let the games begin!
Tiana & Finn with HP fearless leader Joanie Morris (photo courtesy of Nick & Amanda Gauntlett)
I barely had time to recover from my Rolex hangover before getting all riled up about Badminton this week, only to have my hopes for Andrew Nicholson’s Grand Slam victory thrown in the dump by the dashing Jock Paget….who I foresee becoming the next silver fox of Eventing. Be still my beating heart. A bricklayer until 18, and now New Zealand’s best up and coming star, with both a WEG and an Olympic top 10 placing and now a Badminton victory under his belt, what is this kid eating?? How in the world does one go from bricklayer to international Eventing superstar in such a short period of time?! Goodness me.
Events Opening Today: 
Shepherd Ranch SYVPC H.T. I (California, A-6) Great Vista Horse Trials (New York, A-1) Encore H.T. (Michigan, A-8) Fox River Valley Pony Club H.T. CIC1* and CCI1*(Illinois, A-4) Midsouth Pony Club H.T. (Kentucky, A-8) Abbe Ranch H.T. (Colorado, A-9) Surefire H.T. (Virginia, A-2)
Events Closing Today: Mystic Valley Hunt Club H.T. (Connecticut, A-1) The Event at Galisteo (New Mexico, A-10) Paradise Farm HT (South Carolina, A-3) Flora Lea Spring H.T. (New Jersey, A-2) The Spring Event at Woodside (California, A-6) May-Daze at the Park H.T.(Kentucky, A-8) Virginia Horse CIC2*, CCI1* & Horse Trials (Virginia, A-2) Corona del Sol Spring H.T. (Texas, A-5)
News:
Did you hear? Jock Paget won Badminton on Clifton Promise. Jock is only the second rider to ever win Badminton on his first attempt at the event, the first being of course Mark Todd in 1980 on Southern Comfort. Jock said he “felt like he was dreaming” and was extra complimentary about his horse, in the quiet and humble way that he has. While Clifton Promise has never finished on his dressage score before at a 3-day, he certainly chose a good day to try it on for size! [Jock Wins Badminton]
Unsurprisingly, Jock worked for Michael a bit last year after the Olympics. Michael is notoriously private about his training secrets, so it is even more of a compliment that he accepted Jock into his stable for education. Samantha did a super article on Jock last year that helps explain how he went from never sitting on a horse to his first Olympics in 10 years flat. [The Rise & Rise of Jock Paget]
Need a cat-sized galloping robot? You’re in luck. A four-legged robot has been programmed to walk, trot and gallop based on special motion-capture data of horse movement.The robot, known as Cheetah-Cub, is under development at the Biorobotics Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. [Cheetah Cub Galloping Robot]
Extra photos of Badminton Monday including the jog? [Yes Please]
You just can’t keep a good Boyd down…as evidenced by the man himself hobbling around MCTA this past weekend instructing, observing, and generally heckling his riders Caitlin Silliman and Domm Schramm. [I Spy Boyd @ MCTA]
Thrills & Spills from Badminton, all organized into categories according to what fences were problems and who had issues with them. Nicely for us, Horse & Country did all the work, and I don’t have to organize the list for you. Despite the fact that Mark Todd called the course “a three-star track with some four-star elements”, I don’t think we can deny that it still caused problems for some of the top pairs in the international scene. [Badders Thrills ‘N Spills]
Jock Paget and Clifton Promise at this morning's final horse inspection.
I had intended to bring you a final press conference report much in the spirit of my very accurately subtitled report from yesterday, but I feel Jock’s achievement at Badminton this weekend deserves a more serious approach. To quietly stalk the leaders all weekend — when two of the world’s greatest are battling for a Grand Slam win and Ze Terminator seems to be unstoppable — and ultimately come out on top is an incredible achievement. Jock Paget seemed stunned during the press conference today, almost like he was unable to process exactly how this all happened. The reality is that Jock, who used to work as a brick layer and began riding in his late teens, has done what so many dream of doing but so few achieve. To come to Badminton and win on a first attempt — the first rider to do so since Mark Todd in 1980 — is a heroic feat that will serve as a highlight of his career.
Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to story lines for this weekend. While Andrew Nicholson jumped a flawless show jumping round with Nereo, his efforts ultimately weren’t enough to catch Jock and Michael Jung, meaning that champagne he sipped during the press conference must have tasted a little flat knowing he’d missed the chance to win $350,000 in the Rolex Grand Slam. But New Zealand’s incredibly strong showing here this weekend is a reminder that you can never underestimate this contingent. In the same light, William Fox-Pitt also missed out on winning the Grand Slam, an outcome he waited two years to see through after Badminton was canceled last year. He pulled a rail on Parklane Hawk at the last element of the triple combination, although a clean trip still wouldn’t have placed him ahead of Jock.
There’s been much talk this weekend about whether this track can truly be considered a tried and true Badminton course, with Mark Todd most notably comparing it to a three-star course with a few four-star questions thrown in. The course was designed last year by Hugh Thomas to serve as a selection trial for the London Olympics. As Badminton ended up being canceled due to record rain fall in the UK, only a few minor changes were made to the course. Most notably, the Mirage Pond was significantly altered and claimed quite a few riders with its new design. While I’m certainly not a course design expert, I did walk Rolex last weekend and Badminton this weekend, so I’d like to think I can offer some perspective on the matter at hand.
I think this year’s Badminton track was definitely a technical challenge. While the course is relatively flat and the going was easy thanks to fantastic course maintenance, footing and good English weather, the technical questions were piled one on top of the other, and the huge efforts required a very fit horse to get around. When you consider that Savills’ Staircase — a practically vertical ascension up two big steps with two or three quick strides to a skinny — was placed as fence 22 of 30 on course, it puts into perspective just how fit horses needed to be to get around this track safely. And we certainly didn’t see clear rides from all the usual pairs. This course caught out Michael Jung, Mary King, Dirk Schrade, Zara Phillips and Bettina Hoy; need I say more?
To be clear, I don’t think the 85-percent completion rate on this year’s Badminton course should in any way diminish the achievement of pairs who came home safely this weekend. Most of all, we should be incredibly proud of our North American pairs, all of whom jumped clean with minimal time penalties. Let’s break it down: Clark Montgomery safely took Universe around the horse’s first four-star. Colleen Rutledge became the first rider in history to complete five of the world’s six CCI4* events on the same horse. Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master had just .8 time penalties and ultimately finished the weekend in 12th place. And although Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister had two rails today, they looked superb yesterday across country and will continue to build their partnership with a bright future ahead. To put it simply, this weekend was an undisputed success for North American eventing.
We now know Michael Jung is beatable — something I think we all questioned after the first three days of competition at Badminton — and it was actually refreshing to see a vulnerable moment from him during the final press conference when he said he simply did not know what happened with Sam at the final fence in the show jumping. While Michael has deservedly sat on the throne in his eventing kingdom for many years, the door may be opening for a new pair to step into the spotlight. We saw so many talented pairs this weekend who could easily be the world’s next superstars — Vittoria Panizzon and Sandra Auffarth come to mind — and it’s exciting to speculate about who will rise to the occasion. For now, Jock Paget can revel in the fact that he dethroned the very best riders in the world this weekend. And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Go Jock, and go eventing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmhsbGnMd78
Final press conference video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSE_h4UlJaw
As Jenni mentioned earlier, one of the best show jumping rounds at Badminton 2013 belonged to Vittoria Panizzon and Borough Pennyz. The Badmintion radio announcers raved about the gleaming gray mare, clearly in awe of her knee-snapping form and impressive scope. The pair finished on their dressage score of 47.3 to end up in 7th place.
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Vittoria and Borough Pennyz had the best round of the day, in my humble opinion.
I was glued to the Badminton grandstands for most of the day to bring you 29 videos of today’s show jumping rounds, including the North American pairs and the crowd favorites. While you should definitely watch the top three rides from Jock Paget, Michael Jung and Andrew Nicholson, be sure to watch Vittoria Panizzon’s incredible trip on Borough Pennyz. This fantastic mare completely stole the show today at Badminton with her scopey jumping style, and she and Vittoria clearly have a lovely partnership. Vittoria and Borough Pennyz had the best show jumping round of the day, in my humble opinion. I’m still uploading videos from today’s exciting Badminton show jumping conclusion, so keep checking back to this post. Note: Some of the lovely spectators sitting around me were very excited about the rounds, so I apologize for any offensive words you might hear in the videos. Go eventing.
Jock Paget and Clifton Promise — 1st place
Michael Jung and Sam — 2nd place
Andrew Nicholson and Nereo — 3rd place
Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo — 4th place
William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk — 5th place
Steffano Brecciaroli and Apollo — 6th place
Vittoria Panizzon and Borough Pennyz — 7th place
Andrew Nicholson and Avebury — 11th place
Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master — 12th place
Mary King and Imperial Cavalier — 13th place
Jock Paget and Clifton Lush — 14th place
Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister — 17th place
Clark Montgomery and Universe – 27th place
Nicola Wilson and Opposition Buzz — 30th place
Michael Jung and Leopin FST — 47th place
Pippa Funnell and Redesigned — 56th place
Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz — 57th place
Jock wins!
It was a conclusion no one expected at Badminton. Michael Jung and Sam jumped a beautiful show jumping round with just one fence to go, and Radio Badminton had already declared him the winner. But then the last rail fell in a shocking moment, making Jock Paget and Clifton Promise the winners of this year’s Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials by 0.3 penalties in their debut at this event. Jock and Clifton Promise had never jumped a clear show jumping round at a three-day event until today, according to Badminton Radio (Note: they jumped clean at WEG 2010), and they picked an incredible time to step up to the plate, blocking the reigning Olympic, World, and European Champion Michael Jung from claiming a victory that seemed in the bag.
To make the story line even more exciting, this is Jock’s first CCI4* win, and he becomes the newest rider to win Badminton on a first attempt, the most recent being Mark Todd in 1980. Jock and Clifton Promise quietly stalked the leaders all weekend, sitting in fourth place after dressage and moving up to second place after cross country on the merits of a double clear trip. And he went double clear again today in the show jumping to clinch the win on a day when double clear trips were hard to come by. We saw 14 double clears out of 63 show jumping rounds on a day where every rail mattered, with just one pole down pushing riders far down the leader board.
William Fox-Pitt, who came into show jumping in third place, also dropped a rail with Parklane Hawk, pushing him into fifth place overall. Andrew Nicholson, on the other hand — William’s Grand Slam rival for the weekend — jumped a beautiful clear round with Nereo to finish in third place. The entire crowd rode that round with Andrew, and the atmosphere grew more and more tense with each fence. Sandra Auffarth also jumped a stunning clear round with Opgun Louvo, which moved her up to fourth place overall. She has a lovely partnership with this horse and rode superbly. That rounds out the top five in an order we certainly didn’t expect to see.
The first jump on course ended up being the bogey fence. Situated right in front of the VIP tent where hoards of people were seated, it became very distracting for the horses and caught out many riders, including Tiana Coudray. Tiana and Finn seemed rattled after that and dropped another rail later in the course to fall to 17th place. William smartly trotted by the first fence to show Parklane Hawk the crowd before starting his round, although he ultimately pulled a rail at the third element of the triple combination. The final fence on course also fell multiple times, with Michael and Sam being the most notorious pair to pull it.
Clark Montgomery and Universe and Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master claimed two of those 14 double-clear show jumping rounds, which moved them up to 27th and 12th place, respectively. Today was not Colleen Rutledge’s best show jumping day, as she and Luke had a number of rails down. But I still say to hell with the rails, as Colleen still accomplished her goal of completing five of the world’s six CCI4* events — something no one else in history has accomplished on the same horse. I hope Colleen and all of our North American pairs are proud of their performances here on a big international stage this weekend. And now we need to find a way to ship Colleen and Luke to Australia for Adelaide!
The riders are receiving their awards now, and Jock Paget, Michael Jung and Andrew Nicholson will attend the press conference immediately after to talk about their rides. I’ll be bringing you a full report on that after it concludes, as well as much more analysis from Badminton. We’ll make sure you get the photo hookup shortly. What an incredible finish to Badminton! Go eventing.
Jock Paget and Clifton Promise win!
Michael Jung falls just short; Jock Paget’s clear round propelled him into the lead. In an afternoon filled with drama, here’s how it went down:
Fourth into show jumping, Andrew Nicholson put the pressure on with a clear round on Nereo, finishing on 40.2. William Fox-Pitt sadly had a rail out of the triple on Parklane Hawk, dashing his hopes at the Grand Slam. Second-placed after cross-country, Jock Paget and Clifton Promise had never jumped a clear round at a three-day until today, leaving no breathing room for Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam. In a completely shocking moment, the last rail fell for Michael Jung and Sam, a heartbreaking fence down, leaving Jock Paget and Clifton Promise the winners of Badminton 2013.
Video: Jock’s winning SJ round
Video: Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam just barely tapped the last.
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American Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister had an unfortunate two rails down, to drop down to 17th. Still, Tiana has to be pleased with her first Badminton performance.
After a double-clear round, Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master jumped up the leaderboard to 12th, from 22nd after cross-country. Way to go, Rebecca and Rupert!
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Jenni Autry will be along shortly with a full report, photos, and videos. Stay tuned!
Click below for a live blog of the Badminton competition from our friends at the Horse and Hound, and click here for the Horse and Hound’s complete Badminton coverage. Eastern time is Badminton time -5 hours, meaning that the first Monday ride is 11:00am local and 6:00am ET. The final group of the top 20 pairs is scheduled to start jumping at 1:30pm local, 8:30am ET.
[Badminton Radio (Sidebar), Watch Online on FEI TV (Subscription Required), Final Inspection Results, Show Jumping Live Scores, TV Listings, Badminton Audio Interviews]
XC Live Blog Coverage: H&H website editor Carol Phillips will be bringing you all the action from both showjumping sessions on the final day of the competition.
Video: Our understanding is that FEI TV will carry the show jumping world-wide for a fee, and the BBC will have online coverage for UK viewers. [More Info]
Radio Badminton: If you can’t access the FEI TV video, Radio Badminton provides live audio from the event. Click here and look for the Radio Badminton link in the sidebar.
If the live blog doesn’t work in your browser, click here.
Go eventing.
Clark Montgomery and Universe show jumped a brilliant double-clear show jumping round at Badminton. Photo by Jenni Autry.
The first group of riders has finished the show jumping at Badminton. Super-reporter Jenni Autry is fiercely defending her position in the stands, so she is temporarily unavailable for play-by-play update. However, she’ll have an excellent view of the final drama, so stay tuned for her full update at the conclusion of today’s action.
For three North American riders, the day is already done. Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz had more than a few rails down, finishing with 24 penalties added to their cross-country score. But, Luke and Colleen are now the first horse/rider to complete 5th different CCI4* together, with no cross-country jumping penalties! Congrats to Colleen and her crew for such a huge accomplishment.
Rebecca Howard proudly sits at the top of the leaderboard of the first group that jumped– going double-clear today, and finishing on a score of 52.1. She almost finished on her dressage score with Riddle Master, but for two seconds (0.8) over the time on cross-country. I think we can forgive that…Well done, Rebecca!
Clark Montgomery also made a great showing at his debut with Universe. The “pingy little horse” (as Badminton Radio hosts described him yesterday) saved a bit of jumping for today, also going double -clear. I’m sure Clark is absolutely thrilled with Buzz, and they sit 8 places behind Rebecca on 60.7.
[First Group Show Jumping Results]
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The final American, Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister have not jumped yet. Tiana finished clear on cross-country yesterday to lie tenth, so she’ll be in the pressure cooker of the final group ahead. Good luck, Tiana! [Update: Tiana and Finn pulled two rails to finish 17th.]
It’s lunch break at Badminton right now, and the tension is building… will there be a Grand Slam winner? Will Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam continue their world domination? Will Jock Paget and Clifton Promise steal it from all of them? Show jumping resumes at 8:30am ET.
Show jumping videos:
Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master
Michael Jung and Sam are the pair to beat today at Badminton.
Sixty-three horses move on after the final horse inspection — including all the U.S. and Canadian pairs — at Badminton and will show jump today starting at 11 a.m. local time. Seventy horses completed the cross country, and four withdrew before the inspection: Mark Todd and Ravenstar, Ludwig Svennerstal and Alexander, Mattia Luciani and Parko 4, and Lauren Shannon and Zero Flight. Andreas Dibowski and Butts Leon were the only pair to be spun. Five pairs were held and passed upon reinspection: Jock Paget and Clifton Promise, Caroline Powell and Boston Two Tip, Sebastian Mateu and Born Again, Nicola Wilson and Opposition Buzz, and Jim Newsam and Magennis.
Jock Paget and Clifton Promise.
It’s another beautiful day here at Badminton, with sunny skies and temperatures expected to rise to seasonal highs today. While we definitely saw some tired horses at the jog, I’m happy to report that the vast majority of horses looked to have recovered beautifully after tackling the cross country yesterday. Jock Paget and Clifton Promise — who are currently in second place — gave everyone a bit of a scare when they were held as the third pair to jog. Thankfully, the horse passed on reinspection. The large crowd that turned out to watch the jog was also surprised when favorites Nicola Wilson and Opposition Buzz — who are sitting in 16th place overnight — were held, but they also passed upon reinspection to loud applause.
William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk
All of the North American pairs looked fantastic in the trot up, with Ringwood Magister feeling particularly good. Just like at the initial horse inspection on Thursday, Finn played the whole way up the jog lane as Tiana tried to stop him from cantering. He also pranced the whole way back down, with the crowd giving him an appreciative cheer. Clark Montgomery and Universe (41st), Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz (51st), and Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master (22nd) will all show jump in the morning group, while Tiana and Finn — who are sitting in 10th place overnight — will show jump in the final group to go at 1:30 p.m. local time. Check back for more jog photos, and stay tuned for much more from Badminton!
[Final Inspection] [Cross-Country Results] [Show Jumping Times]
