Classic Eventing Nation

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo: your 2023 Badminton champions. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

When we started today’s showjumping finale at Badminton, it all seemed rather cut and, well, maybe not quite dry: wire-to-wire leaders Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, assuming no absolute disasters befell them in the ring, were almost certain to win — the only question was how many of the originally two, and ultimately four, fences in hand she’d need to use to get there. Michele Saul’s eleven-year-old British-bred gelding (Grafenstolz x Cornish Queen, by Rock King) had had just one previous career rail in a long-format international, and that had been in his seven-year-old season, but after the taxing test of yesterday’s competition, and with the pressure of being in pole position looming overhead, would we see a dramatic change in form on this final day?

As it turned out, no: Ros and ‘Walter’ executed a truly classy clear round to secure the diminutive former World Champion her first ever five-star victory.

And taking the Badminton title feel?

“Quite cold, actually,” quips Ros, sheltering from the sudden downpour that had kicked into gear just as the prize giving got underway. “It’s a long, long journey to get here, and to get to a result like this, and it’s great.”

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

That journey began at the very start of ‘Walter’s’ career: Ros debuted him in his first British Eventing competitions in 2017, his five-year-old year, and has largely retained the ride throughout — though he did spend a season under Tom McEwen in 2019, culminating in a top ten finish in the Seven-Year-Old World Championships, while Ros was on maternity leave with daughter Ziggy. Throughout, she’s rated him as a real star, whether taking him around his CCI4*-S debut — at Burnham Market’s Blenheim eight- and nine-year-olds replacement in 2020, where he was second — or his CCI5* debut, here last year, where he was also second, or his British team debut, at the World Championships last year, where he was fourth.

“He’s an amazing horse, and he wouldn’t be very good at sitting home doing nothing, so Badminton, I think, is his highlight of the year,” she says. “He’s amazing, isn’t he? He really is. He hasn’t got a classic technique; he jumps a bit with his head in the air, but by God, does he want to clear those fences when he gets in there. I just think he’s the out and out event horse. He loves every phase, and he loves himself, which is great, and he loves the attention from everybody else. This day couldn’t have gone any better for him, I don’t think.”

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Though Ros had an extraordinary 16.6 penalties in hand — that’s four rails and a time penalty that she could have happily used — she kept her characteristic level head and used up just 1.6 of them, crossing the finish line with one of the scant four clears today and four seconds’ worth of time penalties. It’s seldom we see such a big margin coming into the final phase of an event — the last time was Burghley in 2016, when Australia’s Chris Burton and Nobilis 18 entered the ring in the lead with 20 penalties in hand, and ended up using 16 of them.

“I think we’ve got the mud to thank for that,” laughs Ros. “But he didn’t care, did he? He didn’t notice the mud; it wasn’t about that for him this week.”

Getting to a five-star at all is hardly a solitary feat — and winning one takes the combined efforts of a huge number of people, including, in this case, grooms Sarah Charnley and Travis Lee, and Ros’s family, including Ziggy, who’s been able to be a part of the whole week of competition thanks to help from Ros’s mother and husband Chris.

“The biggest thing since becoming a mother is the team I’ve got around me; I just couldn’t do without them,” says Ros, who was particularly pleased to have her mother along for the ride. “She doesn’t really like coming if she doesn’t have a big job to do and we had two grooms here this week, so it was touch and go whether she’d come and watch — so I’m delighted she’s here, because she’s the main person that keeps the wheels running.”

And, of course, you can’t get to the top without a great horse — and Ros truly knows one of those when she sees one. She’s had the pleasure of partnering the late, great Allstar B, with who she became World Champion in 2018; she piloted her other ride here, Pencos Crown Jewel — a maternal half-sibling to Lordships Graffalo, and both a product of Pennie Wallace’s breeding programme — to ninth place, and she’s got something truly exceptional in this eleven-year-old superstar, who’s now become a Badminton champion at just the start of his top-level career.

“It’s an absolute privilege, to be quite honest,” she says. “It’s a privilege to ride Walter and to have him in our life, because not only is he a great horse to ride, he is the most wonderful character. He’s got character in absolute abundance. He makes us laugh every day. He’s quite untrainable on the floor, but he’s just a brilliant person to have around. I truly feel privileged. When Allstar B started to become successful, I felt quite a lot of pressure riding him, and so I’ve been determined to enjoy Walter — but it’s easy to enjoy him because he just gives his all, all the time, and I just think he really enjoys doing the job he does.”

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

Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class take second place in the sixteen-year-old gelding’s eighth five-star start — and eighth five-star top ten. Though they tipped a rail at fence three, they held the rest of the round together and crossed the finish line just one second over the optimum time to climb ahead of overnight runners up Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue.

“I was happy with third, and to finish second is as good,” he says. “I think for any of the horses who’ve finished the competition, they’re all absolute winners, because it was not an easy week at all, in any way, shape, or form. Any horse that has finished here is pretty special.”

Though just one of Oliver’s two starters finished the week here — the 15-year-old Swallow Springs was pulled up by stewards on course — the rider credits his runner-up as being one of the best horses he’s ever had.

“He’s unreal, isn’t he? I don’t know how many Badmintons and Burghleys and Kentuckys he’s done, but he’s still not out of the top five,” he says. “I’ve had too many 2nds with him, bless him, and that’s probably down to the jockey, but I can’t tell you how proud I am of him and the team behind him who know him so well — he literally is part of the family. It’s just a huge relief for me that I haven’t mucked it up too much and that he’s had another amazing run here.”

While the two-time five-star winner is nearing his twilight years, Oliver is still looking to the future with the game, gutsy Courage II son.

“I don’t want to keep him going too long, but every year, he’s still improving,” he says. “He’ll tell me when he’s had enough. I get on him for the first time on the 2nd of January every year and we look at each other and go, ‘do you want to go again?’ So far, it’s been a yes.”

Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Yesterday’s heroes of the day were Ireland’s Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue, who skipped around the tough track and difficult conditions to post the fastest round of the day and climb from 34th to second — and although their two rails and 1.2 time penalties dropped them a placing to third today, they’ve been no less lauded for their contribution to Irish eventing. Their finish here makes Austin the first Irish competitor to make the podium at Badminton in forty years — the last to do so was the now racehorse trainer Jessica Harrington in 1983.

“Hopefully it’s a bit of a lift for eventing at home, and following somebody like Jessica Harrington into that position is pretty amazing,” says Austin. “I’m naturally disappointed; I don’t think he jumped as well on this ground as he normally jumps, and it caught up with us. But hey ho — we’re third at Badminton, on the podium with two heroes, two of the best riders in the world, beside me, so I couldn’t be happier.”

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

One of the horses with the best chance of a clear round today was the hugely consistent Toledo de Kerser, and he and Tom McEwen duly delivered the goods. Their clear round inside the time allowed was one of just two in today’s competition, and it allowed them to climb one spot from the fifth place they’d held onto after each of the first two phases.

Although they’re arguably one of the most formidably competitive pairs on the circuit, having won a swathe of medals — including team gold and individual silver at the Tokyo Olympics — and a five-star, at Pau in 2019, Badminton has never really been the happiest of hunting grounds for them, nor for Tom generally.

“It’s the only one I’ve ever done any good at,” he laughs. “Finally! Badminton hasn’t really been my place — it might be my most local place, but I just do stupid things all the time. To come out and have a nice fun weekend with my best buddy, it’s quite nice really.”

Tom and Toledo had come into last year’s competition as the firm favourites, though their week ended early when they took a hugely uncharacteristic tumble late in the course. This year, he was still considered among the favourites to win, but his own attitude had shifted — instead of fighting for the top spot, he would just enjoy each phase with the enormously experienced sixteen-year-old. And so, though his time penalties yesterday might have stood in his way, he has no regrets about the way his week has played out — and nor should he.

“Cross country was so easy [for him], just a little bit slow,” he says. “But when they get a bit older, you have to look after them. There’ll be another day — maybe a Burghley in a dry season will be perfect for him. It’s so lovely that he’s had a great time; he was phenomenal all week and he’s come out really well.”

Though the pair have jumped countless excellent clear showjumping rounds together, this one stood out to Tom as a particular highlight.

“It’s probably the best round he’s jumped since Burghley when he came fourth about a billion years ago. I think it was the most connected round; there’s been the odd bit maybe, [where it’s] just not[[quite] as good. For me, there wasn’t one thing that I would change on the whole round. He was unreal, and he was absolutely loving it. If there was a second lap maybe we might have caught back up  a little bit more — though maybe not with Ros!”

Fighting off the onset of jetlag after a quick dash back from Kentucky on Sunday night might not be every rider’s idea of a dream lead-up to an event, but Tom credits the great performance of his ride there, runner up JL Dublin, with helping to set him up for success here.

“I think, probably, having an amazing run with Dubs last week has really helped,” he says. “He was phenomenal last weekend, so then to come out and do roughly the same again this week has been fantastic. Obviously this has been different, with proper testing conditions. It’s been testing for all — I think you’ve definitely seen some amazing riders and some amazing brains; people actually making decisions, and different decisions on course. It’s been very interesting to watch who did what, and when, around the course. And today, you can see how well they’ve all come out.”

Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Tom Jackson rounds out the top five, having completed Badminton with the twelve-year-old Capels Hollow Drift in similar circumstances to last year’s Burghley, where the pair were runners up: they began the week outside the top ten — fourteenth, in this case, on a 28 — and then delivered a swift clear across the country to move themselves towards the business end of the leaderboard. Then, on the final day, they once again delivered an elusive double clear round and got to watch themselves climb, climb, and climb some more. This time, it was from tenth to fifth place, a result that must surely put them well on the British selectors’ radar ahead of this summer’s European Championships at Haras du Pin.

“It makes him even more impressive, doesn’t it,” marvels Tom upon being told he’d delivered the first clear of the afternoon session. “What a horse he is. To give as much as he did yesterday and then come out today and give even more — he just goes above and beyond and it’s just a privilege to ride him. What a horse. I can’t stop saying it. He just gives you everything all the time, and what more can you ask for? I’m just so happy with him.”

One trip to France could well be in the bag for the pair now — but could another, next year, possibly be on the horizon? 30-year-old Tom’s hopeful but determinedly pragmatic about the prospect: “I’d like to, but I’m not sure we’re quite there yet. But we’re we’re getting there, hopefully we can keep edging closer.”

He’s followed in the top ten by an exultant Gemma Stevens in sixth place aboard Jalapeno, with whom she had a solitary rail to hold her post-cross-country spot on the leaderboard, Tim Price and Vitali, who dropped from fourth to seventh after tipping three rails — “the same as at Burghley, but a better three than at Burghley,” he says — Bubby Upton and Cola, who had two rails but nevertheless maintained their spot in the order and completed a climb from first-phase 31st place to eventual eighth, and Pippa Funnell and Majas Hope, who also had two rails and dropped down one place to tenth, 29 places up from their first-phase result.

Luc Château and Viens du Mont. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

That’s a lot of significant climbs to celebrate over the weekend, but none beat out France’s Luc Chateau, who won the Glentrool Trophy — awarded to the rider who executes the largest first-to-final-phase climb over the week — after rocketing up from 56th place after dressage to eventual 11th with Viens du Mont.

“My horse was tired after yesterday, but he has a huge, huge heart,” he says with a broad smile. This is just the horse’s second five-star: the pair finished ninth at Pau last year on his debut. He’s been an out-and-out cross-country machine throughout his career, and this is his 19th FEI run — and his nineteenth clean cross-country round in an international — and though he added 21.6 time penalties yesterday, which was considerably quicker than the average, he’s now added time in that phase in just five of those nineteen runs. His two rails today shouldn’t rule him out as a horse to keep an eye on with the European Championships around the corner.

Lillian Heard Wood and LCC Barnaby. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Lillian Heard Wood put a cap on a great week with the seventeen-year-old veteran campaigner LCC Barnaby, tipping a solitary rail but crossing the line inside the time allowed to finish 20th — an impressive forty-place climb from the first phase.

“I’m thrilled,” she says. “I just had the one down at the plank — I’ve had a plank down early before so I had a feeling I might have it down, and then I think I overcorrected. But honestly, I’m so happy. Normally if I have a rail, I’m a nightmare — I hate having rails. But it was muddy in there; he was exhausted yesterday; I was thinking the course was tough. I thought, ‘keep your wits about you, Lillian’, and it rode really smooth. I’m so happy to have done it.”

This is Barnaby’s thirteenth five-star, and so inevitably, Lillian has begun to think about what the finale of his prolific career might look like.

“Well, he’s really sound and he has been for a long time,” she says. “In the last year, and continuing on, each time I do [an event], it’s up to him — I’m not going to push him. The minute he feels like he’s less than he was, then I’m done. I’ve competed another five-star horse up to this age, and at the last one I did with him, he felt less than the horse he was before, and I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’. [Barnaby] didn’t feel that way this time, so we’ll see, but it’s totally up to him. He’s given me everything I need. If he wants to keep doing it, he can.”

His retirement, when it comes, will be an active one: “He doesn’t want to be done, so I’ll probably have to let some kid ride him!”

In any case, whether we get to enjoy watching him around another five-star or if Badminton does turn out to be his last hurrah, he’s been a huge part of Lillian’s life and a fundamental catalyst for so much of her learned experience — even if, or perhaps because, he’s always been a bit of a quirky soul.

“He’s actually been kind of a nightmare his whole life,” she laughs. “Now he’s wonderful! It actually makes you think about where they need to start in order to be a horse that can do this — it’s not necessarily an easy, simple, quiet horse. I’m thinking about the other horses in my barn and I’m like, ‘OK, this one’s a little bit wild — that’s probably a good sign!’ But it’s pretty cool because when you’re at an event like this, where it’s very difficult conditions, and I’m inexperienced at this event and I want to freak out, I just keep saying, ‘most experienced horse, most experienced horse, you’re gonna be OK, he’s the most experienced horse’. Even if you don’t know, he knows it’s OK. I probably won’t ever have this feeling again in my entire career, so I’m going to enjoy it.”

Katherine Coleman and Monbeg Senna set the standard in the first session. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Just one rider in this morning’s ten-strong jumping session managed to pin down a double clear round, and that was US competitor Katherine Coleman, who closed the book on Monbeg Senna‘s first five-star in fine style. The 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse maintained his high-flying jumping style, well demonstrated throughout yesterday’s cross-country, to make the influential course look very nearly easy.

“He was super,” enthuses Katherine. “I knew he had it in him — he’s such a super jumper. I just didn’t want to let him down out there, and he jumped brilliantly. What a horse!”

Though she made light work of the track, she explained that the challenge set by Kelvin Bywater was not at all insignificant: It’s really big — the depth of the water trays, that combination — I think it’s a proper Badminton show jumping track,” she says.

For Katherine, this week has been a particularly special one: it has marked her long-awaited return to five-star, a level at which she last competed back in 2017, when she contested both Badminton and Luhmühlen with Longwood. Now, after putting in the miles and the hard graft with the excellent Monbeg Senna, who she bought from Ireland’s Aoife Clark as a newly-minted Novice horse in 2016, she’s back — and not only has she nailed the long-awaited completion, she’s done so sans jumping penalties to take home a very respectable 23rd place.

“What a mental week,” she laughs. “This is his first five star and with the lack of preparations, when we set out yesterday I just wanted to complete, so we were a bit slow — but I still had a lot of horse left in the end, which is wonderful to know. I’m like, ‘ooh, I could have gone a little bit faster’, but I’d rather finish feeling that way than the other.”

As she told us yesterday, it truly does take a village to get to this point — and she’s had an enviable support team, from groom Hannah Quick to a full line-up of friends helming her on-site fan club.

‘It’s a huge team behind every horse that’s here,” she says. “Our groom probably got five hours of sleep in total this week. It’s a real testament to all the team at Badminton.”

And with that, we come to the end of another Badminton: it’s been a rather wet and wild one, but a competition to remember, certainly. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming days for some bonus content from the last couple of weeks of five-star action, but for now: Go Eventing.

The final top ten at Badminton 2023.

Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Live Stream – Badminton TV] [Radio Badminton] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]

Overnight runners-up Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue demonstrate the general mood of the morning at a soggy final horse inspection. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

After the close of competition yesterday, which saw thirty horses complete after battling the holding ground, we were all pretty unified in one sentiment: this morning’s horse inspection would be an interesting one. How many would withdraw overnight? How many would be sent to the holding box? In a passing chat with one of the commentary team, I put my bets on our numbers going down by three; he said he reckoned five.

British-based Kiwi Hollie Swain (28th) wrangles a very fresh Solo up the trot strip. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

As it turned out, we were both wildly wrong, which is something I never begrudge when it comes to something like sound horses. All thirty of yesterday’s finishers materialised in front of Badminton House this morning, and all thirty were deemed fit and ready to compete by the ground jury of Angela Tucker, Xavier Le Sauce, and Andrew Bennie — and even better, several of those thirty still looked as though they could tackle another batch of solid fences, particularly fiery Solo, who spent most of the trot-up alternatively trying to canter down the strip or send poor Hollie Swain crowd-surfing.

Charlotte Holifield takes the top groom’s prize. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Treehouse Sporting Goods was on hand at the inspection to award a prize for the groom of the week, who was deemed to have taken the most robust care of the horse or horses in their charge throughout the course of the competition. The prize went the way of Charlotte Holifield, longtime groom for Oliver Townend’s Ballaghmor Class.

Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno, sixth overnight. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Now, we head into the showjumping finale, which will begin at 11.30 a.m. (6.30 a.m. EST) with the ten riders placed between 30th and 20th. The top twenty will jump at 2.55 p.m. (9.55 a.m. EST) — and although we saw all our competitors looking fresh and well this morning, there’s still plenty of potential for movement: the rain has kicked back into gear today, which will turn yesterday’s holding, sticky ground into the kind of bog that’ll be particularly tricky for horses to jump out of on the final day. There are some extraordinary margins to play with, which riders will be glad of — particularly overnight leader Ros Canter, who’ll head into the ring with Lordships Graffalo with a healthy nine penalties in hand over Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue. That’s two rails and two seconds over the time to play with — which could open up further if the riders before her struggle in the conditions. Third placed Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class sits 12.2 penalties off the lead, giving Ros three rails in hand over them, and from top spot to tenth place is a margin of 24.7, or six rails and a time penalty.

The top ten going into showjumping at Badminton.

Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Live Stream – Badminton TV] [Radio Badminton] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]

Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

There was a palpable air of trepidation ahead of cross-country day at Badminton, and fairly so: yesterday, the heavens opened heartily throughout the day, turning the grounds into a veritable mud bath — and a dry night and still, breezeless sunshine today meant that that slop quickly turned into the trickiest sort of sticky, holding ground for eventing on. Beyond that, there were MIMs clips galore to take into consideration, including that contentious one into the Lake — but now, with the day’s sport behind us, the relief is nearly tangible. It’s been something of a classic day of sport: there’s been room to climb from the low ebb of the leaderboard to very near the top; there have been thrills and spills that have ultimately proven harmless; and time and time again, we’ve seen wise decisions and good horsemanship, whether that’s been the decision to leave the stopwatch behind entirely (Harry Meade, notably, among others), to put one’s hand up when feeling a fit and well horse tire (Alex Bragg; Emily King, and more), or to withdraw entirely if the conditions weren’t quite right (we saw six pairs scratch before their ride, most notably seventh-placed Laura Collett and Dacapo, ninth-placed Tim Price and Coup de Coeur Dudevin, and tenth-placed Harry Meade and Tenareze).

Now, we’re left with 30 competitors down from the 64 who completed dressage, and there’s been no shortage of action, with seventeen eliminations, eleven retirements, and no shortage of safety devices activated — even if just a scant few opted for that direct route at the Lake, which largely jumped well when chosen. Chief among those non-completions were some of our top ten: overnight third-placed Oliver Townend and Swallow Springs, who activated a collapsible table and were later pulled up by stewards; overnight second-placed Kitty King and Vendredi Biats, who suffered some truly rotten luck when not quite making the distance of the widest fence on course at 5, and eleventh-placed Pippa Funnell and Billy Walk On, who opted to walk back unscathed after a stop at the MARS Sustainability Bay water at 10.

Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Dressage leaders Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo remain at the top of proceedings after delivering the second-fastest round of the day — adding just 11.6 time penalties — as one of the final pairings out on course. This was her second round of the day: the first, aboard Pencos Crown Jewel, didn’t just provide useful intel for her later trip with last year’s runner-up, it also netted her another spot in the top ten. She currently sits seventh with the mare with 26.8 time penalties, hoisting them up from seventeenth.

“It felt hard work out there — harder work than on the mare, in terms of galloping,” says Ros, who has nine penalties in hand going into the final phase. “The galloping definitely felt drying and sticky. He had to dig deep out there for the first time ever, which was probably a bit of a shock to him halfway round, but he’s so honest, and such a fantastic jumper — but he’s an economical jumper at the same time, so you can’t get much better.”

But although she and the rangy 17.1hh gelding, who she partnered to fourth at the World Championships last year, made the tough day’s sport look almost easy, going for the clock isn’t actually among the former World Champion rider’s natural skills, she explains.

“You’ll see me at Aston-le-Walls on Thursday, and I’ll be going around for 25 time faults,” she says with a laugh. “It takes quite a lot of mental work to get me in the frame of mind to be competitive. I tend to struggle at the smaller events, but I think I’ve turned it into a strength, and I work hard [on it] while I’m here. I don’t have much fun, and I do a lot of mental preparation, but I think I know myself now, and that pays off.”

Rosalind Canter and Pencos Crown Jewel. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Both Ros’s rides today came from the same breeder, Pennie Wallace, and share a dam, Cornish Queen — a testament to the rise and rise of British breeding efforts. ‘Jasmine’s’ run, too, was testament to the faith and patience that Ros and the horse’s owners, Kate James and Annie Makin, have held in the fourteen-year-old.

“She’s actually nearly 77% Thoroughbred, so I was fairly confident that she was going to go round. In hindsight, I could have pushed a bit harder, because she came home still very responsive and still jumping well — but I couldn’t be prouder of her really. She’s only little, and I never really dreamt she’d go around Badminton, but she just did.”

Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

There’s been so much discussion within the sport about the importance of cross-country, and the influence it must hold over the outcome of a competition — and though there’s no doubt that the conversation about safety devices, all-weather surfaces, and tired horses will continue on at fever pitch over the coming weeks, there’s one thing that can’t be disputed: today’s Badminton track really did allow extraordinary cross-country horses and performances to rise to the forefront. Though there’s several riders who gave brilliant examples of that — take France’s Luc Chateau and Viens du Mont, for example, who climbed from 56th to 11th, or Switzerland’s Felix Vogg and Cartania, who rose from 42nd to 13th — the most exemplary of the lot was Ireland’s Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue, who seemed to skim right over the top of the boggy ground to deliver an unruffled, truly world-class clear round with the fastest time of the day, adding just 10.8 time penalties. That was good enough to boost the Irish partnership, who finished best of their nation at Tokyo despite their travelling reserve call-up, from equal 34th all the way to overnight second place. And even better? The gelding pranced his way back through the finish looking ready for another loop of the course — a testament, he says, to the work the O’Connor Eventing team put in day in and day out to keep ‘Salty’ feeling top-notch.

“He’s the real deal, and he’s been the real deal for a few years now and luckily he’s healthy, he’s well, and I’ve got a great team at home,” says Austin. “They do a great job — as good a job as I do getting here.”

Though his round was, to the viewing eye, the easiest of the day, Austin tells us that Salty still didn’t find today’s course and conditions a walk in the park: “He just tried the hardest he’s had to try around five-star. God, did he try.”

This, though, is what we do this sport for, he explains — the chance to face an unexpected challenge head on, and rise to the occasion.

“Eventing is about weather, and weather changes,” says Austin. “It was hard work even for a very, very good horse, but surely to God, that’s what eventing’s all about.”

And even with that time — a lightning fast one, considering how many horses we saw come in two minutes over the 11:35 optimum — Austin reckons there were a couple of places on Eric Winter’s course where he could have snuck a few more seconds into his pocket.

“He was a little careful down the Savills Staircase to begin with, which I didn’t mind because it was better than being rash,” he says, ” and actually, the hedge to the narrow little ditch [at 13ABCD] had to get a little bit agricultural, but otherwise, everything walked as it rode.”

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

Oliver Townend remains in third place overnight, though with a different horse than the one he’d started the day with: he was third out of the startbox this morning with the former Andrew Nicholson ride Swallow Springs, and was certainly one of the earliest riders that fellow competitors in the riders’ tent would have been keen to watch for useful intel, but the usually very consistent 15-year-old never seemed to truly fire on all cylinders from the get-go, and the pair were ultimately pulled up at fence 24 after banking the second of the collapsible tables at 19AB and then appearing to bank another fence, too. But when he left the startbox for the second time, this time on veteran Ballaghmor Class, with whom he’s never finished outside the top five at this level, the round was a different story entirely. They made best use of their long partnership — which has seen them win both Burghley and Kentucky previously — to get home with a relatively swift 21.2 time penalties, moving them from sixth to third overnight, despite riding on some of the worst of the day’s ground.

“He’s very, very special, and I know I always say it, but I’m not eloquent enough to tell everyone how much he means to me,” says Oliver. “We’ve been together since he was four years old and we know each other inside and out. We’re great mates. There’s no reason for him, at this stage in his life, to do what he’s just done, but he’s like me — he can be a little bit of a nightmare at home when he’s not busy! We’re very similar in character, and we’re both just a lot better with each other. Life would be a lot more boring for me without him, and without those special old horses. You can just rely on them.”

Though they got the job done, their round wasn’t without its occasional rough-and-ready moments, including a tricky jump at the HorseQuest Quarry at 27:  “I trusted him a few times out there,” says Oliver. “When he finds the ground hard work or he starts getting a little tired, or a little bit stuck in gear, he’s very difficult to shorten — he’s basically a great stayer. A couple of times today I’ve not been able to see a distance, and I’ve thought, ‘just keep going until the stride pattern lands on the fence’. And just about every time, it’s worked. He helped me out coming out of the Quarry — when I came out of the corner we were a little bit all over the show, and then we went on the big one. It’s moments like that that you think, ‘thank god I’m sat on you’ — because if he had put down, that’s what makes you look like a bit of a monkey, or have a bad fall, or do something stupid, whereas those good horses dig you out.”

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Tim Price may have halved his chances at a win when deciding to withdraw his Maryland 5* champion Coup de Coeur Dudevin, but Tokyo ride Vitali more than stepped up to the plate as one of the earliest horses out, romping home with 24 time penalties — which remained the fastest round of the day for no short time — to move from equal 11th to overnight fourth. Now, though, he’ll have to contend with tomorrow’s showjumping finale — arguably the two-phase specialist gelding’s weakest phase at this point in his career.

“He’s just an athletic horse — he sort of flings himself and throws himself, and he’s got a long stride and doesn’t fight in front of the fence,” says Tim. “Those things [make him] quite a handy five-star horse, but we’re still working on the show jumping. I’m hoping for a better go that tomorrow, and that would be the last piece on the armoury to set him up for his future. He’s really cool, and he really gave me everything I asked him — to stand off, move up, stay close, operate. He was super with everything, so I was really happy with him.”

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

The mixed zone at a major event is a funny sort of place: often, it’s a hive of activity, with rather too many bodies clustered into a small space, all watching different horses and having different conversations and, at the same time, interviewing a number of riders who all seem to appear in swift, thick groupings after a long break of no one at all. But when Olympic team and individual silver medallists Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser set out on course, it was different — and everyone, no matter which country they’d come from to report on proceedings, fell silent and jumped nearly every fence along with him.

It’s hardly surprising, really: the pair, who won Pau in 2019 and have been among the most consistent competitors in the sport in the last number of years, came to this event last year as the hot favourites, only to suffer a shock fall in the latter third and shelve their dream for another year. This time, though, Tom — fresh off a second place finish at Kentucky with JL Dublin — changed his mindset entirely as he left the startbox with his exceptional sixteen-year-old.

“I’ve messed up here beyond belief too many times with the most amazing horse, so I came this year with the idea of actually having fun,” he explains. That served them beautifully: they put in a very, very good clear round, though their 30.8 time penalties — “perhaps I could have been more positive in places” — meant that they wouldn’t climb from their overnight fifth position, which they hold going into tomorrow’s final horse inspection.

“To be fair, he put in a near enough perfect round in terms of jumping performance, but the ground is horrific — it’s now really holding, and it’s tough on them.”

To mitigate the difficulty of the conditions, Tom found several key places on course where he could slow down a touch and let his horse catch his breath, which might not have been a tactic that lent itself to speed, but certainly will be one he’ll be grateful for tomorrow, when he tackles the finale of the competition on one of the best showjumping horses in the field.

“There were a few places where we could recover — for me, it was sort of the first part, which is quite difficult in terms of knowing how you’re going, and the lake, weirdly enough, before we dropped down by the house,” he says. “And actually, out the back was very good going where I could recover, and I could gain a bit back, and he was really recovering very well — but it was hard, hard work. For him to have some big jumping efforts — and especially with the two big oxers at the end — you have to conserve. You have to have the mindset that we’ve got rain forecast all day tonight and tomorrow, so we’ll need some left in the tank.”

Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Just a scant few of yesterday’s top ten remain at the business end of proceedings after cross-country, and one of those is Gemma Stevens (nee Tattersall), who channelled the spirit of her late, great Arctic Soul to bring Jalapeno home to sixth place, dropping just two places from fourth with her 32.4 time penalties. Her air punch of exaltation said it all, though: she and her team have put an extraordinary amount of work and thought into fine-tuning the mare’s fitness routine on her return from injury, and this, her first five-star since Pau in 2019, has been a testament to that effort.

“It was really, really good — but also terrifying, really hard!” says Gemma with a laugh. “[It’s] such a relief to get to the end, I’m not gonna lie. It’s really tough out there today — I don’t think the conditions could be any tougher. We’ve got drying, soggy ground, and sun with no wind, but my horse was amazing. She kept trying the whole way, she kept jumping really well, and so I kept quietly, gently just pushing her along basically, but they just don’t seem to travel through this ground, so it was hard.”

Gemma was one of a huge number of riders to opt for the longer — though only very slightly — route at the lake, which was a last minute change of plans when the mare came into the complex feeling just a touch starstruck.

“I had every intention of going all straight ways for sure, including at the lake,” she says. “She jumped the oxers and the two tables really well and I thought, ‘Do I, don’t I?’ But then, as I came around the corner to jump the jetty just before, I felt her go, ‘bloomin’ heck!’ And I thought ‘no, go long’, because that was my instinct at that point. And I think it was the right one.”

Of course, despite the lake’s late appearance in the course this year, it was far from the last big question on course: Gemma was also among the considerable number of riders to express her dislike of fence 26, the Jubilee Clump Brush, which was an angled ditch and brush fence on a turn — and it was only once she could get that big leap behind her that she felt that homecoming rush.

“I had to kick and I just thought, ‘I hate this brush, and I just want to get home now!’,” she says. “So I went round, and I saw the stride, and I thought ‘Uh oh, here we go, we’re off. We’re going now, Jala!’ And to be fair, she went. Then she jumped actually beautifully all the way home, and actually I felt like she galloped up to the end really well.”

Bubby Upton and Cola. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Young rider and recent university graduate Bubby Upton put her Badminton demons to bed — she’d picked up a run-out here at the final fence last year — by executing a classy clear with 24.8 time penalties aboard her longtime partner Cola, boosting her well up the rankings from overnight 31st on 31.4 to 8th as we head into the final day.

“I don’t think [the round] was quite as polished as Burghley and 99.9% of here last year,” says Bubby. “There were a couple of moments where he didn’t quite go on the stride that I thought he would and I think, to be honest, that’s probably the deep ground. It was so tough out there. I’ve never quite had to ride as positively as I did out there. But he kept plugging along; he dug so deep, and boy did he work hard for me out there, so I’m so proud of him.”

Though they were among the fastest rounds of the day, Cola is actually a horse that Bubby has never found naturally swift — it’s his consistency and rhythm, she explains, that helped her to get home relatively quickly in the tough conditions.

“His top speed is not fast at all, but I never have to pull on the reins,” she says. “I know him inside out and he just chugs away in the same pace — keeps going, keeps digging deep — and that’s why he’s fast. I can waste so little time, and he’s so easy that I can get away from fences is really fast. But I think I’m kind of kicking myself a little bit because if I just sat a bit quieter a couple of times he wouldn’t have had to chip in and scramble out of things, and then he probably would have come home even more full of running.”

Pippa Funnell and Majas Hope. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

As just the fifth pair out of the box this morning, Pippa Funnell and Majas Hope were one of our true trailblazers — and that’s not the first time they’ve provided that sort of role. At the European Championships in 2019 they were the British pathfinders, which is a fitting role for them to take: Pippa’s experience, and the gelding’s exceptional cross-country form, more than make up for how tricky he finds the first phase. Today, as he did then, he put the dressage well behind him, delivering the goods and executing a swift climb. He now goes in to the final day in ninth place, 30 places up from yesterday, after adding 24.8 time penalties to his 32.6 on the flat.

“He’s the best horse in the world to sit on in this phase, and the worst horse in the world to sit on for the first phase,” says Pippa, who explains that although he’s a real specialist in this phase, he’s not necessarily easy to prepare. “I’ve got so much confidence in him: he knows his job. But he has to be surprised — I can’t warm up, so the first fence I jumped was the first fence [on course[. You can’t go near the warm up fences, and so you just have to hope that your eye is in.”

Pippa’s ride was interrupted by a hold just before she came to the controversial lake question, with its divisive MIM-clipped direct route — and that hold, she explains, influenced her choice to skip the popular indirect option and give it a jolly good crack. She was just the second rider of the day to make this choice; the first, New Zealand’s Dan Jocelyn, had gone just before her and activated the safety device — she, on the other hand, executed it sans penalties, though she wasn’t sure until she’d returned whether she’d pulled the feat off or not.

“William ran over to say ‘don’t do the lake’,” she says. “Meanwhile, I had spectators saying, ‘are you aware that you’re missing the left fore?’ And I went, ‘Like, an over reach boot?’ and I saw I’ve got an overreach boot, and they said ‘shoe’, and I said, ‘Oh well, I can’t do much about that!’ So psychologically I did think, ‘Oh no, I’m missing a shoe, am I going to do the lake?’ Anyway, he jumped the table and made that distance short, and he felt so good, so I thought, ‘If I can’t do it on him, I’ve got no chance.’ And then I did it and I didn’t get a very good stride! And then I heard this clank and I thought, ‘Oh no — but I can’t look around now, I’ve got to look at the corner.'”

Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Last year’s Burghley runners-up Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift take a little leap up the leaderboard from 14th to 10th overnight, adding 30.4 time penalties to their dressage score of 28 and once again showing the up-and-coming young horse’s exceptional ability over a tough track.

“He’s just class,” beams Tom. “It’s his second Badminton, his third five-star, and he just gets better and better. Those conditions are really difficult out there, and it’s not his favourite going, but he just dug so deep and really gave me everything.”

Though many riders will choose to watch some of the early action ahead of their rounds at major events like this, Tom was one of several who opted to avoid the screens and rely on instinct — though he did take some vital feedback to heart.

“I got a bit of feedback from the warmup saying to forget about the watch — horses are just getting tired, and that’s sort of what I did,” he says. “The feedback I got was, at the lake everyone was looking quite tired, and actually there when I kicked on he really started to move away and I thought ‘well, maybe I’ve got a bit more under me than I thought.’ But coming up to Huntsman’s, I felt him go, ‘Okay, are we nearly done yet?’

That was when he brought in the big guns in his toolbox: “I don’t normally talk when I’m going around, but that’s the first time I was getting the voice out and encouraging him along — like, ‘come on boy, keep going!”

Lillian Heard Wood and LCC Barnaby. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Both our US competitors completed with clear rounds, too. Lillian Heard Wood now sits 24th, climbing from 60th after adding 48 time penalties with the veteran campaigner, LCC Barnaby, who now has thirteen five-star runs under his belt and roundly put their Badminton demons of last year, when Lillian fell on course, to bed.

“He was awesome,” says Lillian. “I went pretty slow, because when he started out, I could feel him labouring in the mud — not like he was tired, but he was like, ‘What is this?’ And I really wanted to finish, and maybe I let that get too much in my head, but I was like, ‘It’s okay if you want to do it at this speed — I just want to do it, so however you want to do it, I’m down!’ It’s probably one of his last runs — I didn’t want to not finish it!”

Katherine Coleman and Monbeg Senna. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Katherine Coleman and Monbeg Senna now sit 26th, up one place from 27th, after adding 62.8 time penalties — but both horse and rider impressed when they hit some tricky patches on course and exhibited serious stickability and gumption, particularly at the solar panel water question at 15AB, where the horse nearly jumped Katherine out of the tack, but both stuck to their line and made it out the other side.

“[He’s got] so much scope,” marvels Katherine. “There was a lot of prayers said before this event, I have to be honest. Especially with the ground being as it is, and our lack of runs. I just set out and was like, ‘I just want to come home,’ and set it out at that pace where I’m not trying to beat him around, I’m just trying to finish. It’s his first first-five star, and he does have tons of scope, which you do want to be sat on for the last day, but I was just worried. But God, he was so good through the solar panels, because I was a little bit late to power him up there, and he was a little further off of it than you want to be at that fence. So I was like, ‘Whoa!’ and obviously layed all over the back, and had to sit tight there. But what a horse to jump out. I mean, I just couldn’t be prouder of him.”

This is Katherine’s first trip to Badminton since 2017, and the gravity of the moment wasn’t lost on her.

“Especially being on a horse I’ve produced, it’s really special,” she says. “There’s no other event like it, I don’t think. Especially when you when you watch — you’re back in the barn and you’re thinking ,’I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to do it.’ And then you go out there and you get a horse that gives you their heart, and then it’s just so special.”

Tomorrow’s final horse inspection begins at 8.30 a.m. (3.30 a.m. EST), and will be followed by the first batch of horses and riders at 11.30 a.m. (6.30 a.m. EST). The top twenty will jump at 2.55 p.m. (9.55 a.m. EST). Keep it locked on EN for all the updates — and until then, Go Eventing. Or go to bed. Or go to the Lake for a drink! The world is your oyster!

The top ten after cross-country at Badminton.

Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Live Stream – Badminton TV] [Radio Badminton] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]

The Isuzu 4 Bar at 9 will require a very positive ride.

It looks like the sun should come out today over Badminton House, but will the drizzly weather of the past couple days mean our competitors will be doing a little tough mudding across the country today? We’re about to find out and we’re going to take you along for the ride! Keep refreshing this page for by-the-minute updates on all of today’s action.

We will kick things off at 11:30am BST/ 6:30am EDT/ 3:30am PDT as our first pair on course, Wills Oakden and Oughterard Cooley, leave the start box. Full order of go can be found right here and before we start you can also familiarize yourself with the course thanks to Tilly’s walkthrough here and the course map here. Due to the previous days’ weather a few changes to the course have been made.

If you’re looking to tune into the action yourself you can do so via Badminton TV, which requires a subscription, or you can listen in via Radio Badminton.

Here’s wishing safe and swift rides to everyone today!

Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Live Stream – Badminton TV] [Radio Badminton] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]

11:08 a.m. Thanks for joining us for our live updates today — in the sage words of my colleague and live-update partner today, Shelby Allen: “A lot happened.” Stay tuned for a full post-phase report from Tilly later. As a special treat and parting gift I leave you with one of my personal favorite parts of Badminton cross country day, Labs In The Lake:

11:01 a.m. Well, that concludes an exceptionally exciting and perhaps unexpected cross country day at Badminton. We saw exactly no-one come even really close to coming inside the optimum time and Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo will have nearly 10 whole penalty points in hand heading into show jumping tomorrow. Here’s a look at the top 10 after cross country:

10:58 a.m. Oh no, Billy Walk On is just a little unsure today. He says ‘No thanks, mum’ at the log into the MARS Sustainability Bay — apparently where he stopped on course last year. Pippa puts her hand up and calls it a day.

10: 55 a.m. Blackthorn Cruise rattles the pin on the third to last fence. Dan looks over his shoulder, but it appears to have stayed up. They jump the last and what a thrill for Dan after this horse has come back from previous injury!

10:51 a.m. We’re getting down to the last couple competitions of the day. Reigning Badminton champ Laura Collett, who sat 7th after dressage with Dacapo, withdrew before today’s phase. We would have otherwise seen them in the order between Oliver and Izzy. New Zealand’s Dan Jocelyn is cracking along on course and clear so far. Pippa Funnell and Billy Walk On are our most recent on course.

10:47 a.m. Oliver and Ballaghmor Class are home clear with 21.2 time! That bumps them up from 6th into 3rd. Oliver is absolutely pumped.

10:45 a.m. Izzy is up and walking off, she’s smiled now and is looking alright — just had to catch her breath. Meanwhile Oliver is gunning for home.

10: 44 a.m. Oh no, Izzy! Izzy Taylor and Graf Cavalier both take a tumble at the KBIS brush, the same fence that caught her out earlier! Graf Cavalier is up quickly but Izzy is taking her time, just looking a little winded.

10:42 a.m. ROS!!! What a woman and what a horse!! They finished with 11.6 time penalties, to easily keep the lead!

10:41 a.m. Ros takes a (planned) long route through the quarry and has 30 seconds to get home. She’ll be over time, but looks like she can still stay in he lead.

10:39 a.m. Ros makes the big question in the lake look like child’s play. Oliver is clear through the owl hole and bank. Luc Chateau finishes a really nice round without jump penalties.

10:36 a.m. Oliver is saving seconds wherever he can and leaves a stride out to the Coronation Corral. Ros and Lordships Graffalo are clear through the MARS M.

10:35 a.m. A bit long on the takeoff through the owl hole — if Ros were any taller she’d have a face full of brush! — but clear so far for this pair and looking very good. We’ve now also got Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class on course. These are two big rounds happening at the same time right now.

10:32 a.m. Our dressage leaders Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo are on course now. This isn’t my math, but our commentators say Ros can be 51 seconds over and still stay in the lead.

10:31 a.m. We’ve completely missed Helen Martin and Andreas, but the scoreboard says she’s been unseated at fence 18. Luc Chateau and Viewns du Mont are clear halfway through the course.

10:28 a.m. A problem for Wills Oakden as Arklow Puissance as the horse takes a big pop over the ditch in the coffin and then then Wills tries to jump the c element but Arklow Puissance doesn’t. Arklow Puissance is now taking himself on a nice little tour of the course and quite enjoying himself.

10:26 a.m. Bubby is really pushing for home … sees a fantastic stride to the second to last … and she and Cola are home! Fantastic result for her with, I think, the third fastest round of the day which will shoot her into 6th for now.

10:21 a.m. Gah, Spano de Nazca gets a little deep to the first corner in the Huntsmans Close and goes out the side door instead. Georgia elects to retire there. Meanwhile, Bubby Upton are on course and clear through the first third or so.

10:16 a.m. More problems on course: Emily King very suddenly makes a decision to run past the big corner in the lake. Did she feel something off on landing from the drop? It’s unclear, but she puts her hand up and she and Valmy Biats walk off course. Meanwhile Georgia Bartlett and Spano de Nazca have a runout at 13a.

10:15 a.m. A master class as usual from WFP. He finishes his mare about a minute and half over time with her ears pricked and looking for more. They’ll retain their 8th place position not he leaderboard.

10:08 a.m. A hold-your-breath moment for William Fox Pitt at the up bank and owl hole as Graffennacht scrambles to get her feet under her. Look at how still in his body WFP stays to let the mare figure her legs out:

10:06 a.m. Harry Meade joins John Kyle in the commentary box and explains his decision to withdraw his second ride Tenareze, who sat 10th after dressage, saying that after his first run on the experienced Away Cruising he wants to save his less experienced horse for a day with better conditions. It looks like Tim Price may have made a similar decision with the young Maryland 5-Star winner, Coup De Coeur Dudevin, withdrawing even though they sat in 9th after dressage.

10:03 a.m. Arthur Duffort completes and William Fox Pitt and Graffennacht start out on course.

10:00 a.m. Ok, I’ve had to take a little minute to get my wits back about me after that swim, but we’ve got Arthur Duffort and Toronto D Aurois nearing the end of the course right now. Selena Milnes had a stop at fence 13 and we’ve just heard that she’s now retired a couple fences later. Lauren Innes (sadly sans crown) and Global Vision M are the latest to join us on course. They’re clear through the owl hole now.

9:57 a.m. NOOO, oh poor Tom, oh no. His great round so far all comes apart in the lake as he gets popped out of the saddle and then into the drink. What a good sport though, as he takes a little swim to much applause and laughter from the crowd.

9:52 a.m. Tom Crisp and Liberty and Glory have been on course for a hot minute now and have looking accurate and also fairly fast at this point. Kristina continues on and is through Huntsman’s Close now.

9:49 a.m. Another bummer for Kristina as Google just glances past the big corner in the lake. Bill also has a glance off late of course at fence 26 and elects to retire.

9:45 a.m. A bummer for Kristina Hall-Jackson and CMS Google — the horse doesn’t quite get his eye on the C element of fence 8 and comes to a stop.

9:44 a.m. Bill looks like he’s actually riding with a full airbag at this point. It either popped off at the end of that staircase or possibly through the up bank and owl hole — they had a bit of a scramble there as well.

9:42 a.m. Aw, we thought Alex and Quindiva were having what looked to be a pretty nice round, but he puts his hand up to retire at fence 18. Not sure why as of now.

9:40 a.m. Whooooaaaa… Huberthus AC takes a peak at the steps down and Bill Levett very nearly goes over his head, but rights himself in time to make it through in one piece.

9:39 a.m. Tom and Toledo complete a very stylish round and it moves them up from fifth to third at this point. Austin O’Connor still holds the fastest time of the day. Here they were at the ditch and brush late on course, still looking full of running:

9:36 a.m. Tom is continuing to have a very accurate round. Alex Bragg Quindiva also join us on course and are clear through the Coronation Corral.

9:33 a.m. OH NO! We’ve just caught sight of Kitty King and Vendredi Biats, who had sat in second place overnight, and they’ve fallen at the giant log pile. It looks like Vendredi Biats had either banked it or his hind end came down on the end of the jump, rolling them both over. They’re both up and looking fine but Kitty will be so disappointed.

9:32 a.m. Tom can breathe a sign of relief as he and Toledo clear those solar panels which caught him out last year.

9:31 a.m. Lillian and Baraby are home clear and 2 minutes over time. She should be so thrilled!

9:29 a.m. One to watch, Tom McEwan and Toledo de Kerser are on course and clear through the Coronation Corral. Meanwhile Arthur Marx unfortunately ends up on the ground after his gelding takes a peek and a funny stride to fence 13.

9:26 a.m. France’s Arthur Marx and Church’ile activate a pin at fence 6. Gorgeous job for Lillian and Barnaby through the big drop into the lake and over the corner.

9:24 a.m. We’re got USA’s own Lillian Heard Wood and the LCC Baranby on course now! So far so good and clear through the owl hole. Meanwhile Alexander Whewall opts to retire a couple fences after the lake.

9:19 a.m. Alexander Whewall takes the direct drop into the lake with Ellfield Voyager who just kind of loses steam in the water, thinks about taking the big corner at a trot and then says, ‘maybe not…’ They collect a runout there and meanwhile Aaron Millar and KEC Deakon don’t quite get straight to the C element of the coffin. KEC Deakon twists his hind end and unseats Aaron — that’s the end of their round.

9:16 a.m. Well done Katherine! She picks up 31 time penalties, but that was a fantastically classy round and Monbeg Senna comes home with her ears pricked.

9:15 a.m. Nearly home now for Katherine and Monbeg Senna …

9:11 a.m. Caroline Powell jumps the last and despite picking up 40 penalties, she’s looking thrilled with Greenacres Special Cavalier, who, even more importantly is looking quite pleased with herself in her first Badminton effort. Also on course now are Gireg le Coz and Aisprit De La Loge.

9:09 a.m. What a save for Katherine!! Some balance lost of the A element at the solar panels but check out this riding:

9:07 a.m. Katherine is clean through the MARS Sustainability bay and looks like she’s having the time of her life. Then a hugely positive effort through the bounce and owl hole! Nicely ridden!

9:05 a.m. USA! USA! Katherine Coleman and Monbeg Senna join us on course, and — oh — another stop for Caroline Powell unfortunately, this time Greenacres Special Cavalier just peters out ahead of fence 17.

9:03 a.m. Shoot – Caroline Powell was having a cracking round but Greenacres Special Cavalier second guesses the bank up to the owl hole, has a scramble up it and then a stop at the owl hold. They circle around to the option and continue on.

9:00 a.m. Oh nooooo, Cooley for Sure knocks a hind leg on the b element of fence 15, the second of the two solar panels. It bounces Greta Mason right out the saddle. She tried valiantly to hang on to her horse’s neck but ends up on the ground.

8:53 a.m. New Zealand’s Holly Swain was having a nice go, but Solo adds a stride to the MIM clipped table at fence 22 after the big M jump and they activate the frangible technology.

8:48 a.m. Impressive display of horsemanship here by Richard Jones: it looked to my eye like he and Alfies Clover were having a great go, but suddenly he slows and puts his hand up to retire after jumping the footbridge at 17. Clearly he knows his horse very, very well. Alfies Clover looks happy and has his ears pricked as he starts his hack back to the barn.

8:46 a.m. Alfies Clover gives Richard Jones a nice big jump over the big spread at Isuzu 4 bar.

8:42 a.m. Muzi Pottinger adds one stride too many in the early combination at 6ab the Joules Coronation Corral. Just Kidding catches a leg on the second upright gate and Muzi is out of the saddle.

8:40 a.m. Susie Berry has elected to retire after Ringwood LB has just seemed a little tired against the effort of today. She’s pulled up to a trot between fences.

8:38 a.m. Felix Vogg has completed with Cartania. He’s had a great round and finishes with a score of 61.5.

8:37 a.m. Caroline Clarke has fallen off at the Rolex T Bar at 11. It wasn’t the takeoff spot she would’ve liked, and Touch Too Much just seemed to shy at the ditch underneath. He tripped on landing which had her out of the saddle. The horse is enjoying a nice canter around as grounds crew is trying to catch him.

8:35 a.m. Touch Too Much took a long hard look at the spread of Isuzu 4 Bar once he was already in the air. He came down slightly on the back bar, but they carry on.

8:33 a.m. RSH Contend OR did not seem to even pick up on the ditch at 26, the Jubilee Clump Brush. Felicity made an extra effort to bend their line out to get very straight, but the horse seemed to canter right into the ditch and deposited Felicity on the ground.

8:32 a.m. “I am so relieved. That was really hard. It was hard work and the horse tried her heart out over ever single fence,” says Gemma Stevens after her cross country. She says the jumps feel even bigger than they are due to the sticky ground and warm conditions this afternoon. “She’s a chestnut mare and she fought all the way.”

8:30 a.m. The breastplate has broken for Possible Mission and Tom Rowland, but they won’t pay that any mind as they come to the last two fences.

8:29 a.m. RSH Contend OR is showing just how careful they can be with Felicity Collins in the saddle. They didn’t get anywhere near touching the frangible LeMieux Mound.

8:27 a.m. Tom Rowland goes the more direct route through the Lake, and gets it done with an extra step in the water.

8:27 a.m. Gemma finishes with her red hot Jalapeno for a current score of 55.7.

8:25 a.m. Gemma said before cross country that this wet ground wouldn’t suit her mare, but she’s got an expert rider helping her navigate this track.

8:23 a.m. Alice Casburn has finished with a minute and 10 seconds over the time after such a great round.

8:22 a.m. Gemma goes the long route at the Lake, and slips her reins with some gutsy cross country riding through the corner.

8:22 a.m. Francis Whittington finishes with over a minute of time penalties.

8:18 a.m. Alice Casburn is in the minority of riders to chose the direct route at the Lake, and she’s done it beautifully. Meanwhile, Gemma Stevens is working quite hard this morning. She fights hard through the keyhole bounce, losing a stirrup, but getting the job done.

8:17 a.m. DHI Purple Rain is a big, rangy horse, who you might expect to struggle some in the deep footing, is just finding its well within his efforts.

8:15 a.m. The Ground Jury will definitely be reviewing Francis Whittington’s effort through the corner in the Lake. The horse was just splashing through the water and it’s unclear if he properly cleared the fence between the flags.

8:10 a.m. Dynasty has run out of gas at the corner before the Lake. He looked tired coming to this one, and just banks the wide corner before sliding onto the ground on landing, sending Hector out of the saddle.

8:07 a.m. Dynasty makes a massive effort for Hector Payne at the keyhole bounce. They got there just slightly off their line, and Dynasty really made the effort to lift himself off the ground through the keyhole.

8:05 a.m. Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue finish as the fastest combination so far today. They’re just 27 seconds over the time.

8:03 a.m. There’s early trouble for Andrew James and Celtic Morning Star. The horse seemed to just shy at the big drop at the B element of the Lightsorce bp Hollow at 8. This caused them to take the pin of the first element before coming to a halt at that drop. Andrew choses to trot around and let the horse pop down the drop before putting his hand up to retire.

8:01 a.m. Colorado Blue is looking like the most fit horse we’ve seen today. He springs through the MARS M Tables and goes the direct route through the Lake successfully.

7:59 a.m. Mind your head Austin O’Connor! Colorado Blue nearly shoves his rider up through the brush in the keyhole bounce.

7:58 a.m. Commander VG looks like he’s getting a little tired, and Aistis Vitkauskas makes the choice for the long route at The Lake.

7:56 a.m. We are hearing from Harry Meade at the finish. He says he didn’t even bother with a watch today with Away Cruising, and decided to rather just ride off intuition.

7:53 a.m. What a shame, Rose Nesbitt did not get a good takeoff for the bounce owl hole with EG Michealangelo. The horse tries to skitter up the bank, but can’t make the owl hole and goes sliding into it before making an effort. It looked like he scrambled onto his knees, but Rose didn’t fall. Despite this, her airvest did deploy and we’re guessing it may have been judged as a horse fall. They both look healthy walking off the course.

7:49 a.m. Anna-Katherina and DSP Quintana P peck across the Pedigree Dog Kennel table, and they’re both on the ground on landing. Both horse and rider are quickly up.

7:47 a.m. Anna-Katherina is the first to go the long route at the Lightsource BP Pond. She gets an awkward jump out, but they’re clear.

7:46 a.m. Germany’s Anna-Katharina Vogel skips up the bounce to the keyhole. At this point, she’s about 30 seconds down on her time, which is about the norm for today so far.

7:44 a.m. Tom Jackson finishes quite a bit over the time, but what great riding from Tom. While he did have time, so has everyone else, and he really had a masterful ride.

7:42 a.m. James Rushbrooke is giving Milchem Eclipse such a positive ride, especially through the Brush Boxes.

7:41 a.m. Tom is another rider who chooses the long route at the Lake, and they get a beautiful spot to the corner.

7:40 a.m. Ros Canter in her post ride interview calls Pencos Crown Jewel “a weapon.” And that she was! Ros says the going is deep, but in hindsight says she could’ve even pushed a little more on the time. She had 26.8 time penalties.

7:39 a.m. We’ve got clarification on Izzy Taylor. She was eliminated for jumping the B element twice at the KBIS Brush Boxes.

7:38 a.m. Tom Jackson is putting forth a great effort this early in the going. Capels Hollow Drift is absolutely attacking.

7:35 a.m. Kirsty Chabert’s Opposition Loire has a drive by at the Lightsource BP Hollow, which is very early in the course. She circles around but the horse again stops, so she’s put her hand up to retire.

7:34 a.m. Harry Meade gets Away Cruising home with 37.2 time penalties.

7:32 a.m. Izzy has been pulled up. Officials on the ground allow her to get off to fix a martigale that’s come undone during her course. It’s unclear if that’s the reason she’s been pulled up or if she has been eliminated.

7:31 a.m. Izzy has a questionable jump through the KBIS Brush Boxes. At the A element, he just slightly drifted right — clambering over the fence and falling slightly on his rump on landing. She chooses to continue on, but I find it hard to believe that she will make it through here without 15 penalties.

7:30 a.m. Away Cruising also slightly crawls through the corner in The Lake for Harry Meade. He definitely won’t be breaking any speed records as he helps the horse home.

7:30 a.m. Izzy Taylor is clear through the MARS Sustainability Bay. She bends her line out to choose five strides here.

7:25 a.m. Ros is another of the riders who choses to take the slightly longer route at the Lake. Pencos Crown Jewel doesn’t quite catch on to the brush corner inside the water, but understands the assignment just in time. He does take out he flag with his hind leg, but should definitely be clear.

7:23 a.m. Tim Price finishes exactly a minute over the time — that will be 24 penalties, but he’s still the fastest so far.

7:20 a.m. Pencos Crown Jewel gets to the log in the Mars Sustainability Bay water on a long three strides, but Ros Canter sits right up and gets it done.

7: 16 a.m. Pippa Funnell completes to a huge round of applause. They’ve got her with 24.8 time penalties as the fastest so far at this early stage.

7:12 a.m. World Number 1 Tim Price has joined us on course with Vitali.

7:10 a.m. Majas Hope comes running out of his hold. He looks full of energy with a nice, big jump into the Lake. She’s only the second to go the direct route, and the first to do it successfully.

7:09 a.m. Dan Jocelyn has been restarted at Huntsmans Close. He smartly chooses the long route and he’s only got a few left to home.

7:08 a.m. Our only score update at the moment is that Wills did have 28 time penalties added at the finish.

7:06 a.m. We’re still on a hold here. Stay tuned.

6:59 a.m. We’ve got confirmation that Oliver Townend was stopped by the Ground Jury and will not continue. Forced eliminations are within the discretion of the GJ. We’ve also got Dan Jocelyn and Pippa Funnell held on course as repairs continue to be made. Tim Price has been held at the start.

6:55 a.m. What a treat to watch Pippa Funnell around this track with Majas Hope. She’s good on her time through the MARS Sustainability Bay so far.

6:52 a.m. Dan Jocelyn picks up 11 penalties at The Lake. He’s activated the frangible pin on that drop in.

6:50 a.m. Fiona Kashel comes off of WSF Carthago at the Jubilee Clump Brush at 26. The horse looked a bit tired and when Fiona went to get into jumping position, WSF Carthago just put the landing gear back down before the ditch on the takeoff side.

6:47 a.m. Oliver will be awarded 11 penalties for activating the frangible table at 19b, The MARS M Tables. Swallow Springs seemed to come to these elements a little tired and put in a big effort over the 19a table, but despite Oliver’s massive efforts to get to the b element in four strides, it’s just too big an ask for the horse. He clears the table, but lands down on top of it, especially with the hind legs.

6:45 a.m. What an effort by Swallow Springs through the KBIS Brush Boxes! Oliver gives the horse a big pat for digging deep.

6:43 a.m. Oughterard Cooley is looking a bit tired for Wills. He clambers a bit through the Jubilee Clump Brush, and Wills is carefully navigating the horse over the last few fences.

6:42 a.m. Fiona Kashel and WSF Carthago scramble through the Holland Cooper Owl Hole, but thankfully the brush is forgiving.

6:40 a.m. Wills has decided to go the slightly longer route at the The Lake, and meanwhile Oliver Townend is through the first three fences with Swallow Springs — he will be a good indicator of how catchable the time will be today.

6:35 a.m. Great riding by Wills through the MARS Sustainability water. He gets to the big log drop just a little bit off the fence, but really supported the horse exactly right to get him through the log in the water.

6:33 a.m. Wills has settled right into the pathfinder role — tackling all the combinations so far quite beautifully.

6:30 a.m. Wills Oakden and Oughterard Cooley are the first pair out!

6:25 a.m. Grab your wellies, folks. First horse is out on course at 6:30 a.m. (eastern)/11:30 a.m. local

The controversial lake features an interesting, and more difficult, question this year, with a broad brush corner to a frangible rail into the lake, followed by another corner in the water.

It’s (finally) cross country day at Badminton! The riders have walked the course and made their plans — everyone’s doing no-rain dances, we suspect —  and now it’s time to see how it all pans out.

The consensus is that it’s big — no surprises there! — there’s a lot to jump out there, and the ground is going to be VERY influential. Oh, and the pin into the lake is being talked about, a lot. One or two riders have very strong opinions about having a log with a frangible device down a drop into the water — and they’re not afraid to voice them.

The course this year is designed by Eric Winter, who has held the course designer role here since 2017 It’s 6600 meters with an optimum time of 11 minutes and 35 seconds and there are 45 jumping efforts — though we’ve seen two fences removed ahead of the start of competition. You can check out the course in full in our comprehensive course walk with Eric, available here.

Gemma Stevens shows off the width of the log piles at 5AB.

The veteran Badminton watchers amongst us will notice a fair few changes to the course this year. First up, we’re going the opposite direction to last year, so riders will be heading out clockwise around the track, coming to the Lake, the Quarry, and Huntsman’s Close late in the course and tackling the majority of the terrain early on.

Eric says that this year’s cross country is “all about holding a line and adjustability”, so the riders will be hoping their horses have got their accuracy heads on as they set off out of the start box. They’ll need to be quick-thinking and make adjustments as they go if they’re going to really take on the course this year — so plan A is fine, but they need to be prepared to veer off those carefully laid tracks as necessary. There’s new terrain, a new loop, and lots of safety technology to come.

Will anyone get lost and end up in the Beaufort’s back garden? Will we need a Mario Kart-esque pop-up shouting ‘Wrong Way’? Just how muddy will it be? We’ll have to wait and see!

Who will claw their way up the leaderboard? Who will drop down? And who will be right up there at the end of the day? It’s all to play for at Badminton 2023 — and this could be a great year for horses to make serious leaps up to the business end of the standings with a good clear round.

How will today’s events fit with the form? Follow along with EN’s Form Guide here.

And watch out for EN’s live updates of all the action from the cross country course — coming soon!

Keep up with EVERYTHING by following @goeventing and checking out EN’s coverage of the the Big B.

Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Form Guide] [Live Stream – Badminton TV] [Radio Badminton] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]

Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo (1st) / Pencos Crown Jewel (17th) / (GBR)

“I’ll hold my hands up and say I’ve never ridden in conditions like this above two or three-star level. I’ve actually only been at this level for four or five years and we’ve been blessed with sun and hard conditions most of the time. So it will be a new experience for me, definitely.

I think it’s a serious question. Tomorrow it’s going to be a case of reacting, looking after the horses but being attacking so that they have the best ride possible.”

Oliver Townend and Swallow Springs. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Oliver Townend and Swallow Springs (3rd) / Ballaghmor Class (6th) (GBR)

“I love it. It’s just special to be here at Badminton — I wore out VHS videotapes watching this place … it’s just a huge privilege to be here. It’s obviously going to be very, very tricky, and we’re going to have to be sensible and it’s just going to one of those Badmintons — it doesn’t happen very often. We’re going to have to go out and ride the horse, ride the course, look after them and see where we get to.”

Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno (4th) (GBR)

[On the rain and the fact that it’ll likely make the cross country more of a stamina test] “[Jalapeno’s] really blood and, I can’t tell you, no stone has been left unturned with this horse’s prep — she’s been swimming once a week and galloping once a week since the middle of January, because I wanted a long, slow process. I didn’t want to pummel her with too much at once because she gets a bit sore in her back and her body. So we’ve gone for the long, slow thing and I’ve been so careful with her prep and I hope I’ve got her ready. She’s fit. She’s actually something like 85% Thoroughbred blood, so she is really blood and hopefully that’ll carry us through those last two minutes. It’s always a little bit of an unknown thing, isn’t it?

“I think one of the most difficult fences on the course is actually the one after Huntsman’s Close — [The Jubilee Clump Brush at 26], the one on its own, and it’s off a really tight turn, and it’s got a big ditch on an angle, right at the end. They’re going to be a bit tired, you’re going to go to turn just going to want to go in a straight line, so I think that is a tricky fence. As always, down the bottom [in the Vicarage ditch field] is intense — there’s lots of big jumps, but it is all in front of you. It’s there to be jumped, it’s fair, the distances are great. [Eric] is really good about building fair distances, so you know you can get in there and just attack. I think it’s Badminton. Clearly the ground is a little bit soft, so it’s going to be a stamina test.”

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

Tom McEwen and Toledo De Kerser (5th) (GBR)

[On the fence he’s particularly concerned about] “The fourth last [the Jubilee Clump Brush at 26] — I think it’s just a crap fence. It’s a brush with an open ditch, and I just think it’s fairly antisocial on a horse that’s ten, possibly eleven minutes in.

“The course is new, it’s different, [Eric] hasn’t linked up things from last year — that they spent a lot of money building — so as a spectator, which is what the sport is about, it’s quite interesting. There’s new places and new areas to go in, so in many ways, it’s very, very positive. But, probably like everyone, a little bit at the Lake, it’s in the hands of the gods to a degree — you can ride it as well as you can but it doesn’t always work [with the pins]. I think we’re very lucky with the draw [going 48th, he’ll be able to watch a fair few competitors before him to see how it rides]. To be honest, I think [Eric’s] built a really good course.”

Laura Collett and Dacapo. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Laura Collett and Decapo (7th) (GBR)

“It’s going to be muddy. It’s a great track, a proper 5-star course in all the dimensions and everything, but to be honest, now, it’s just going to be about feeling what you’ve got underneath you. I don’t think we’ll be really riding to the minute markers, it’ll just be a case of looking after the horses, and especially with [Decapo], just keep him thinking that it’s easy. But it’s not going to be easy!”

William Fox-Pitt and Grafennacht. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

William Fox-Pitt and Grafennacht (8th) (GBR)

“He’s built a good course — there’s lots of variety. I like the differences, I like the ups and downs and the bending lines. It can be threes, or fours, or fives — or god knows what — nothing is black and white.

[On the controversial lake fence, which features a MIM-clipped rail into the water] “Sadly, I think we should all probably cut the lake and go the long way. The lake is a horrendous fence this year. What’s the matter with a log? Why couldn’t we have a log and brush like the first water? I think that’s very, very sad, and I think Eric has got that wrong for the sport. Yes, he wants more penalties. Yes, he wants to level us. Yes, he wanted a cross country competition. But, to me, that fence is a 50/50, and it’s not on how you ride it. Some will fly over it, some will knock it, and my horse — I hope she will rub her back legs over it dropping into the water, that’s what good horses do. So to me, it’s a bad fence and I’m going the long way — so a few time faults, too bad. It’s a trickier line to the corner [when you go long] — the corner on the water’s deep enough, the corner’s quite big in the water — so I’m more nervous about that. But, we’ve had a warm up at the first corner, so hopefully she’ll be on that and she’ll turn in the water well. I’m sad about that fence. I think if we all had enough balls as riders, we should all boycott it and go the long way as a whole field. We all know our sport’s changing. We all know it’s getting shorter and easier and trickier, and everyone wants penalties for knocking flags, but if we don’t fight this, what is it next? It’ll be show jumping poles before we know it. I’ve always said it’ll end up in the arena. We’ve really got to try and preserve it and as a group of riders — I’m being quite opinionated! — but I think we’ve really got to stand up and have a voice of unison, which generally we’re not good at.”

Tim Price and Coup de Coeur Dudevin. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Tim Price and Coup de Coeur Dudevin (9th) / Vitali (=11th) (NZL)

“I think it’s the biggest five-star I’ve seen for probably a year. It’s decent, it’s got some lovely profiles about it, and it looks very jumpable. I think we’ll see lots of fun pictures and things. It’s a cool course. The ground is obviously the question mark, and the stamina requirement, but that’s hopefully what we’ve prepared for and I’m excited to have a go.

“I remember Andrew Nicholson saying to me once, ‘When the ground’s like that, go and put them in it’. It’s part of your training and preparation.”

Harry Meade and Away Cruising. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Harry Meade and Tenareze (10th) / Away Cruising (16th) (GBR)

“I think it’s interesting. I think quite a lot has changed. It’s nice to have some of the footwork exercises back like jumping down the staircase, and I think it’s interesting jumping that rail down a step. The section around the lake — it’ll be very interesting to see how horses jump that huge rail into the lake, as it’s a long way down into the water. I think it’s a good Badminton course with some new things.

[On the weather and, in turn, the ground] “I think the important thing is that we’ve got to ride the horse that’s underneath us. I’d be dead against any mutterings of changing anything — I don’t think they will do — but in terms of changing length and distance of the course, I’d be one for saying you ride the horse that’s underneath you. We set out knowing it’s not going to be a sprint, it’s not going to be going out like the clappers, because the big thing is you’ve got to get home, you’ve got to jump the last fence — you need enough horse underneath you and it’s about judgment of pace. Hopefully when it’s soft you get some good riding because people go out with feel rather than just chasing the clock.”

Pippa Funnell and Majas Hope. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Pippa Funnell and Billy Walk On (=11th) / Majas Hope (39th) (GBR)

“I hate the lake — I think we all do. It’s a horrible fence. I think it could be one of those fences that, with us early ones, if we do go straight and the pin goes a few times, I don’t think people after us will take it on, and I think that will be the penalty of the early draw. It will be sad if the lake is not jumped because the pin goes — it might not go, it might jump well, or a lot might opt to go long. It’ll be interesting. There’s lots of pins out there — so many pins you could make a dress.

“It’s going to be a day tomorrow where we just have to ride with our heads and ride tactically. The hardest thing on the early horses is weighing up how the competition’s going to unfold. Is the going, going to get tougher and take effect? Do you take as many risks on the early ones? I don’t know, and I think that’s where it might be quite tactical. Let’s hope we don’t have any more rain.

“I think we have got to be sensible. It’s going to be a day that, possibly, people are going to walk home if the horses aren’t enjoying it.”

Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier (13th) (NZL)

“It’s a big course. There’s a lot to jump out there. Funnily enough, the one I really, really, really don’t like is the one just before the Quarry, [Jump 26, the Jubilee Clump Brush], which is a little bit hard on them because it’s just pulling them round quite unnecessarily — it’s just a bit unkind at that stage in the course. I think each jump is very nice and very jumpable, and beautifully presented, and it’s just putting everything together — that’s going to be the fun bit!”

Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift (14th) (GBR)

“It looks like Badminton — you get to the second fence and think, ‘we’re here!’ I think it’ll be interesting, especially with the ground conditions this year, and I’m hoping that being early on is going to be an advantage for me.”

Izzy Taylor and Happy Days. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Izzy Taylor and Happy Days (19th) / Graf Cavalier (32nd) (GBR)

“It’s definitely not going to be a dressage competition! We had a lot of rain last night and I think it’s forecast more rain, so I’m imagining minute markers go out the window and we ride our horses that we’re sat on at that minute the whole way round and give them a good experience.

“I think the stamina is going to be the biggest test. It’s very intense in [the Vicarage ditch field] and it’s going to be very energy sapping, and it’s twisty as well. So after that, they’ve got to take a breath and rejuvenate every part of them to make their way home.

“There’s already been a lot of chat about the lake and I think we’ll all have an answer by, maybe the fourth one round. The biggest challenge, I believe, will be getting the time.”

Gireg le Coz and Aisprit de la Loge. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Gireg Le Coz and Aisprit de La Loge (=20th) (FRA)

“It’s very, very big. Very big. I’m a bit more confident than I was last year because I know that we can do it, and I couldn’t be on a better horse.”

Tom Rowland and Possible Mission. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Tom Rowland and Possible Mission (=22nd) (GBR)

“It’s Badminton, isn’t it? There are just so many places, I don’t really know that there’s one horrendous fence — I know everyone’s talking about the lake and the pin there — but, to me, there’s just so many places where you could have a stupid problem, right basically from the first step to the last. I think you’ve just got to be aware. A lot of the jumping towards the end — I think they’re decent enough combinations on tired horses.

[On the ground] “My horse has done quite a few five-stars now but he’s always done them on good ground. I’ve always said I’d like to do one on wet ground because he goes at his own pace, and chugs along, and I’m kind of hoping it might slow everyone else down, and he’ll just keep going. He was literally hunting as a three-year-old so hopefully he’ll just keep on going at the same speed and everyone else will go a bit slower!”

Hector Payne and Dynasty. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Hector Payne and Dynasty (25th) (GBR)

“There’s a lot to do — I think there’s a bit of a step up on last year. I’d like it more if it was a little bit more on the firmer side out there, but Eric’s built a fair course — it’s all there in front of you. I think maybe there’s the odd extra place to have a little glance off this year. I think that coffin’s going to catch a few people out. There’s some of the obvious fences as well. It’s good questions all the way round.

[On the ground] “There’s a couple of wetter patches on the cross country, but I think the team are aware of that as well, but generally, considering the rain, it’s quite impressive really. At one point yesterday it looked like it was going to get very soft.”

Kristina Hall-Jackson and CMS Google. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Kristina Hall-Jackson and CMS Google (26th) (GBR)

“It’s pretty big and technical. Burghley was massive, so at least I have that under my belt. There’s a lot to jump out there, it definitely won’t be a dressage competition.”

Muzi Pottinger and Just Kidding. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Muzi Pottinger and Just Kidding (=29th) (NZL)

[On the weather, and the ground] “It sounds like they’ve shortened the course a little bit — I think originally, there was a rumor it was going to be 12 minutes, down to 11 and a half. Certainly the going is going to be tough — it’s going to be more tiring on horses. It’ll be a nice feeling not running out of puff at the end of the day [Just Kidding is a Thoroughbred]. I am a little bit concerned about the ground for my guy — he’s not a big, scopey jumping horse, so I am a little bit worried about him having to jump such large fences out of an extra couple of inches. It’s pretty tough for him, he busted a gut last year and it was perfectly firm ground. We’ll have to pray for no more rain.”

Emily King and Valmy Biats. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Emily King and Valmy Biats (=29th) (GBR)

“It’s a proper track; there’s lots to do, as always. It’ll be interesting to see at the riders’ meetings, what the feel is. It’s going to be influential. You’ve got to get stuck in and look after them on the ground. [The horses] might get tired quicker, we’ve got to be mindful of how they’re feeling.”

Bubby Upton and Cola. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Bubby Upton and Cola (31st) (GBR)

“It’s obviously absolutely enormous. It’s a real test, but I’m really excited. [Cola’s] an absolute machine so I can just hope I can do him justice. Hopefully with his massive feet he’ll quite like the deep ground!”

Greta Mason and Cooley For Sure. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Greta Mason and Cooley For Sure (33rd) (GBR)

“I think the course suits my horse. He’s a really big, bold, brave horse and it’s the kind of course that makes you go out and attack it, which I think will suit both of us. There’s a lot to jump out there, especially if we get a lot of rain over the next couple of days, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue (=34th) (IRE)

“I think it’s big — typically Badminton. It’s less galloping — I think it’s quite intense. It’s going to take a bit of jumping.”

Susie Berry and Ringwood LB. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Susie Berry and Ringwood LB (=34th) (IRE)

It feels a long way round. There’s questions the whole way. We’ll give it our best crack. I think I’ll jump to the staircase [at 4ABCD] and be like, ‘good boy, you’re fine’, let him take a big breath and then build from there.”

Fiona Kashel and Creevagh Silver de Haar. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Fiona Kashel and WSF Carthago (=36th) / Creevagh Silver De Haar (46th) (GBR)

“It’s very big and bold. I think it’s all jumpable, but I think it depends on what your riding and what kind of horse you’ve got. I think it’s all in front of you. For me, I think, hitting thirty fences perfectly is not going to happen, so you’ve just got to be reactive to what you’ve got.”

Bill Levett and Huberthus AC. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

William Levett and Huberthus AC (38th) (AUS)

[On how his eleven-year-old horse at his first 5* will cope with the conditions caused by the weather] “I honestly don’t know how he’s going to go, because he’s never been asked this sort of question, and now the rain’s come. Some horses can cope with it and the older, experienced ones that have got bags of gallop and stamina are going to go to the top, and the ones that are at the top have all that going for them. It’s going to be an interesting class. Down there around the solar panels [at 15AB in the back field] is going to be deep. You’ve certainly got to ride with your head. I’ve already talked to my owner and said, ‘look, if he’s not feeling it, if we have too much going on and he’s losing confidence, I’m just going to pull him up’. I want to look after him, fundamentally, and have a horse to go forward, because he feels like he’ll be a nice horse, I just have to wait for my day. He could go round and gallop really well, I just don’t know.”

Helen Martin and Andreas. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Helen Martin and Andreas (=40th) (GBR)

“I know they’ve done everything they possibly can with the ground. We’ve just got to get out there and ride it.”

Alex Bragg and Quindiva. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Alexander Bragg and Quindiva (48th) (GBR)

“The back end of the course is already a little bit deep. They’ve done a fantastic job trying to put some better ground in for us, but I think this rain is going to be against everybody and we’re just going to have to slog through it. I really think that people may have to select their routes through certain combinations, especially around the water jumps, depending on how the ground is holding up. And obviously, the dreaded lake. Nobody wants 11 penalties. You don’t want to be turning, slipping and having that — as well as knocking your confidence, it puts you out of the mix. I think it’s going to be a bit of strategy and tactics, as well as just hoping.

[On the weather] “I don’t like riding in this weather — I’m a bit of a fair weather rider. I feel it’s tough on the horses, but it’s what we’re trained to do. We just want them to dig deep. I know this mare will be more worried about people’s umbrellas. She’s very, very sharp and spooky — so, please, if I’m out on the course, just get wet for five minutes while I jump past!”

Felicity Collins and RSH Contend OR. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Felicity Collins and RSH Contend OR (49th) (GBR)

“It’s very different from last year. There’s loads and loads to do out there.

[On how the conditions, and subsequent stamina test, will affect RSH Contend Or] “I’m trying to think of the last place we ran at a big event on soft ground — we haven’t had that many recently. He’s not a Thoroughbred in his breeding, but he’s a Thoroughbred in his brain, so hopefully that will help us out there.”

Rose Nesbitt and EG Michealangelo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Rose Nesbitt and EG Michealangelo (=50th) (GBR)

“It’s obviously a different way round. On first impressions I actually prefer it the way round it is this year. I think all the questions are obvious to the horses, it’s just about keeping your line. If we have more rain, I think it’ll be pretty influential, so we’ll have to see.”

Alice Casburn and Topspin (53rd) (GBR)

“I think the ground’s now getting a little bit wet — it’s going to play a big part in it. Also, if you’re on a running machine, it’s on an incline, and I think that’s what’s going to make it — with him, because he doesn’t pull, last year was quite downhill so I could let him catch his breath, whereas, this year, I think it’s not until you get to fence 27 that they can finally take a bit of a breather, and it’s a bit late then. The intense part [in the Vicarage ditch field], for me, isn’t as bad as it was last year, but the accumulation of everything is definitely going to make it tough. It should suit [Topspin], he never really normally minds the mud, so if the jockey can do her job on the day, he should be good. But there’s two people in this — me and the horse — so it’s all down to me now, isn’t it, really.”

Tom Crisp and Liberty and Glory. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Tom Crisp and Liberty and Glory (54th) (GBR)

“I think if the rain keeps falling it’s going to be a different competition. It’s a whole layer or two of effort when the ground gets a bit soft and wet. For me, I hope it’s not a dressage competition. I’m on a very good jumping horse and I’m looking forward to tomorrow and seeing if we can pick our way up the leaderboard. But it’s going to be tough for any of us out there.”

Andrew James and Celtic Morning Star. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Andrew James and Celtic Morning Star (55th) (GBR)

[On walking the course as a first-time competitor this year] “It looks a lot bigger when you’re riding! When you watch it on TV, you’re like ‘We’ll be fine’, but this morning, the butterflies are there and the nerves are kicking in. But we’ve got the family here, and parents and owners, and lots of distractions, and it’s just amazing to be here.”

James Rushbrooke and Milchem Eclipse. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

James Rushbrooke and Michem Eclipse (57th)

“Obviously it’s my second time — last year it seemed so massive and so imposing. This year it seems massive and a bit more technical; you’ve got to think. It’s more intense — you jump one fence and then all of a sudden there’s another fence that’s twice as big, only seven or eight strides away. It does feel a little bit more of a challenge.

[On the ground] “My horse is Irish with big feet so hopefully he’ll just go across the top of it, but he’s used to the mud, he’s been hunting and stuff like that, so he should be fun.”

Alex Whewall and Ellfield Voyager. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Alexander Whewall and Ellfield Voyager (59th) (GBR)

“There’s lots to jump, but it’s five-star so of course, it’s going to be isn’t it? If it was any less it would be boring.”

Lillian Heard Wood and LCC Barnaby. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Lillian Heard Wood and LCC Barnaby (60th) (USA)

“The two that I think are the hardest are the coffin [at 13ABCD] — that’s set up really, really tough. And then I think the lake — the water there with the big drop in and the corner, so that’s intense. But coming from someone who fell off at Badminton last year at a really silly fence, I am not counting any jump out as one that can get me!”

Francis Whittington and DHI Purple Rain. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Francis Whittington and DHI Purple Rain (61st) (GBR)

[On the ground] “I think the ground is going to play such a massive part to the competition as a whole and how the horses take to the course. You can have a really easy, straightforward fence, but when the ground deteriorates around it, you can turn it into one of the biggest and most trickiest fences, so we’ve got that to contend with. Running up from the Vicarage ditch all the way uphill there through Huntsman’s to the end there is a really long way in these conditions.

“I know how I’m going to ride and gallop around it — I’m going to start out steadier and I’m going to make the decisions that I know are going to be right for [DHI Purple Rain], and I’m going to accept my time faults and make that decision right at the beginning to nurture him round the country to the end of it. It’ll come down, on Sunday, to riders making sensible decisions for their horses. We’re not perfect at making the right decision in the heat of the moment, but I think that’s going to be really important this week.”

Lauren Innes and Global Fision M. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Lauren Innes and Global Fision M (63rd) (NZL)

“I know he jumps out of the mud and he’s a good jumper and he’ll keep galloping. I’ve just got to think positive and carry on with the week!”

We also caught up with course designer Eric Winter, who we previewed the course with a couple of weeks ago, to hear his take on the course, the controversial lake question, and how he thinks today might play out.

“For sure, it’ll be a very different day’s sport to normal [because of the rain], but we do have fourteen deformable fences out there, and looking after the horses is our main priority,” he says. “We’re very alert for tired horses, and we’ll be doing for the sport we possibly can. Every fence has a trailer with it with plenty of material to fill in holes, and we’ve resurfaced some areas already, so we’re doing our best to maintain the footing.”

One thing that he expects to go out the window is any notion of beating the optimum time: “I don’t think anyone will make it in this weather. Throw away your stopwatches and ride to the best of your ability. You cannot ride around this thinking you need to be up on the minute markers. You need to just canter round and jump to the best of your abilities.”

Though those couple of fences on slopes have been removed, Eric explains that he didn’t want to shorten the course and deviate from the original route, because he didn’t want to run horses on less comprehensively prepared ground: “We felt that the best bit of footing, the bit that had been prepared and drained, is the one we’re running on. If we shortened it, we’d have to move horses onto ground that doesn’t have sand on it, that hasn’t been spiked so it won’t drain as well, and so actually, it would probably end up meaning they ran in wetter ground. If we stay at the same length, we can try to keep them on better ground.”

Of those rails into the lake, he says, “The sport’s changing. We’ve got fourteen deformable fences on the course, and it was a deliberate plan to go in that direction. I think we’re going to have to accept that that’s the way the sport is going to develop. If those rails were secure, we might see horses fall rather than have 11 penalties, but that’s not where we are as a sport. We’re moving forward, and we’re staying up with the times on what is acceptable to us as a sport. We’re trying to portray the sport in the best possible way, and I don’t want to see horses falling across the water. Maybe they have 11 penalties; maybe they don’t — but these rails don’t break easily. It would take six of me to stand on one of those rails to break it. If we look at the whole dynamic of the combination, there’s a lot of things that can happen: they could have the rail, or they could have a run-out at the corner, or they can take different options, and that’s a lot of exciting things in one area. Part of our remit is to be public entertainment, and that has to fit within what the public is prepared to accept — and what we’re prepared to accept as horse lovers. We’re not prepared to see horses on the floor, and if we have the tools to avoid that, we should use them.

“The lake has had a log in for five years, and it was time for a change. Should we say that that’s all we can build into water? If I’m wrong, I’ll hold my hands up and apologise and say I got it wrong. We’re sort of in uncharted territory with the clips, but the rail is now only 97cm high, and so riding properly is the key to it. I want to see them jump it properly, not just roll around the corner — they need to take a second or two to set up and do it properly. We’re looking after the sport and the horses and the riders, whether they like it or not.”

So, there you have it — let’s go eventing!

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