Classic Eventing Nation

Sunday at Badminton always feels like three different days of three very different lengths, all rolled into one: there’s the morning’s long, slow final horse inspection, which is a full-scale, high-tension competitive endeavour in its own right; a couple of hours later (and approximately four coffees) the first session of competitors, which offers up an opportunity to see what’s been built and how it’s riding over the course of an hour; and then, a couple of hours after that, the final session, in which the top twenty come forward, everything moves at approximately 470 miles per hour, we’re all quite constantly trying to do eighteen different things, including watching, interviewing, and overreacting all at the same time, and then, 87 gasps and 38 or so little standing leg kicks to help horses jump better and 219 poles, give or take, and at least one instance of accidentally yelling a very bad word very loudly when someone tries to eat a jump rather than actually jump over it, it’s all done. We have a winner. A maelstrom of hugging, an orgy of emotion, and then something like calm while the prizegiving unfolds (for another sixteen hours, roughly), and we don’t know what to do with it at all. 

And look: that’s just from a media perspective. If it all sounds a bit mad and manic, just consider for a moment that it’s probably not even 5% of the complexity of thought and emotion and versatility that the riders in the top places have to conjure up. It’s no surprise at all that some can’t keep every plate in the air all at once on the day. And it’s even more extraordinary when someone can. 

When someone can keep doing it, over, and over, and over again, it becomes something greater. It becomes something like a generational talent; something you know will be spoken about long after the moment ends; long after we’re all old and decrepit and no longer writing these stories. 

Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

That’s what it feels like to watch Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, who just keep showing up, doing the work, and getting things done time, and time, and time again. Sometimes, of course, the conditions aren’t ideal, as when they won Badminton two years ago when it was basically a swimming gala. Sometimes the unexpected can happen, as when they were awarded a contentious flag penalty at Paris in 2025. Sometimes life gets in the way. But they keep on rolling on, and now, they’ve added a second Badminton title to their 2023 crown, their 2024 Burghley victory, their 2023 European Championships title, their World Championships fourth place, their Olympic team gold medal… look, trust us, we can keep going. All this, and only thirteen years old: it often feels like the broader media landscape of our sport tries to position fischerChipmunk FRH as the next La Biosthetique Sam, but is Walter actually his heir apparent?

Let’s rewind a touch, though, and unpack how it all happened. There was this morning’s final horse inspection, at which overnight leaders Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent were held, as was Oliver’s second ride, Ballaghmor Class, who was sitting in ninth place. Ballaghmor Class didn’t return; Rosie did, and so we headed into showjumping with Oliver holding a three-point lead – not a rail, but no shortage of time, in hand. 

In the morning’s showjumping session, 33 horses and riders laid down their trips, with just two of them jumping clear – a 6% clear rate. Last year, the designers here had built a particularly square, up-to-height track, and that, combined with the tricky ground, earned them some pushback – but it’s great to see that they stuck to their guns and once again built a true five-star showjumping track, which is an area in which the European five-stars ordinarily cover themselves in more glory. Great, of course, from where we stood – but a daunting prospect, no doubt, for the riders who had to tackle it. 

First up to bat in the afternoon session was seventh-placed Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal, jumping out of order. The pair made easy work of the course, adding nothing to their scorecard and ensuring they would finish on their 33.8 dressage score and retain or better their seventh place. Three rails fell in the next round, for France’s Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza; then one for Germany’s Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice. There would be a further five rounds beyond theirs before we saw another clear, which came for Tom McEwen and JL Dublin, giving them a smart finish to an up-and-down week. And then, again, rails, rails, rails – another eight rounds’ worth. 

Coming in in overnight fourth place, Ireland’s Austin O’Connor set the stadium alight with an exceptional clear with Colorado Blue – never a sure thing for the gelding, whose star is at its brightest on cross-country day – and then he had the agonising job of waiting to see if it would be enough to move him into a podium place. 

It would: the next round, from third-placed Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight, was a surprise and a heartbreaker, and five rails tumbled for the pair despite Gemma’s wealth of experience in pure showjumping. 

And then there were two. First came Ros, who didn’t, perhaps, have the round of her life – there were some gasps and maybes along the way – but the job was done, safely, efficiently, and properly, to finish on her 25.3 dressage score. An extraordinary hush fell as Oliver Townend entered the ring with his two-phase leader Cooley Rosalent, who had jumped a clear round to win Kentucky the prior spring, but has a mixed bag of results in this phase. Fence one, which faced the members tent and had fallen over and over again throughout the day, stayed up. Likewise fence two, and three, and four – and on and on the pair travelled and skipped around the track, while Ros waited quietly in the collecting ring. Eight, nine clear – and then at ten, an oxer, a little tippety-tap and the tell-tale thud of a title lost in a split second. Once again, Oliver would have to settle for being the bridesmaid. Once again, Ros would be the bride. 

Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

“He’s just the most amazing horse,” says Ros, who becomes the first rider to regain, rather than retain, the Badminton title on the same horse. “He just relishes it. He absolutely loves it in there – he loves anywhere, though, where there’s people watching him. I think most horses, as they get older, they know the crowd, and they almost get trickier because the anticipation is always there. But with Walter, he relaxes in that environment in a nice, bubbly way, and he just thoroughly enjoys himself.”

Ros had closely studied the patterns of the morning’s rounds, and made a plan of action after noticing the issues many riders were having with the first fence.

“I felt that some in the morning session, because they got down there and then the bell went, they maybe didn’t quite get a chance to get it up the gears and get the canter positive before the start,” she says. “So I really made sure that I got down there quickly and then had enough time to get my canter going, because Walter would sit pretty in a fairly average canter if allowed to. So I just had to remind myself what canter I needed to get and let him do his job.”

Walter’s joy in this environment, and the depth of his partnership with Ros, meant that she could rely on him to help her out when she didn’t feel wholly herself. 

“I was quite nervous today. It’s been a long old day without Caroline, because she was always keeping me busy. So I was stuck by myself quite a lot, overthinking and questioning my life choices of trying to be an event rider. I think I worked him up a bit, but he helped me out.”

This is her first Badminton without her longtime friend, trainer, co-owner, and confidante Caroline Moore, who was an enormous and influential presence in the eventing community as a coach, but much more than that for Ros. Now, she’s had to face one of the biggest challenges of her career while also grappling with mourning her friend, who passed away in March following a long battle with cancer.

“Even when she wasn’t with me, over at the Olympics and stuff like that, she was on the end of the phone, she was texting me, and all those things,” says Ros. “And this – it’s really what it would have meant to her as well, because she might not have achieved such great things when she was riding, but she put her life and soul into her career and was so selfless with everything she gave. Me winning was… she just loved it so much. So I think — I hope – she’s looking down with a smile on her face.”

All around her, though, people stepped up to try to help her fill that gap.

“[British team trainer] Chris Bartle was always there anyway. So he’s always been a fantastic support,” she says. “A couple of weeks ago, he said, ‘you know, if you want me to step in and just watch videos and things, just send them over.’  He’s always got my back anyway.”

And, she continues, “Nick Turner, who’s a great friend of Caroline, and who’s very involved now with the Performance Mentoring Programme [the subsidised training programme Caroline started] with me — I went for a jump with him on the way to Badminton. I actually used Nick just before I went to Burghley last year, because Caroline wasn’t well enough to help me. I just rang him literally the day before sort of having a panic – he’s an hour down the road – we stopped off, just had a few fences, and then he was there as well today. So between the two of them, they got me sorted.”

At the end of the day, though, “this was for Caroline, really. She was huge because she just was selfless in her, you know, attention to detail and everything that she gave to me. Not only was she the best trainer and mentor, but she was the most wonderful friend as well, and I have so many special memories of everything we did together. She was by my side my whole career, and it’s the first time I’d done anything like this without her, so I’m just so pleased that I managed to make her proud.”

Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

For owners Michele and Archie Saul, and breeder Pennie Wallace of the Lordships Stud, it’s also a huge moment and another wonderful reward for many years of work and support. And for Ros, it’s another chance for the horse she so reveres to get the flowers he richly deserves. But this whole funny old game never just comes down to big-day performances: at the end of it all, it’s always about the love of the horse, and Walter gives her and the team of people around him plenty of reason to adore him.

“It’s not just what he gives on this stage, it’s the character he is at home as well,” she says. “He’s just fantastic. He enjoys his life, he knows what he wants, and he tells us what he wants, and in between, he’s pretty chill and happy, but like, he licks you to death — he’s like a puppy in the stable. He knows he’s the best and he’s full of self-importance, but at the same time he’s just completely wonderful. I love him.”

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

For most riders, being second at Badminton might sound like a dream come true – but perhaps less so when it happens over and over again. That’s been much the case for Oliver Townend, who has won the title once before, back in 2009, and certainly hasn’t had any trouble capturing major victories at plenty of other five-stars in the years since. 

But Cooley Rosalent, at just eleven years old and already a winner at the level in her own right, looks to be one of those horses who’s just biding her time, with another huge week to come in the seasons ahead. 

“She’s unbelievable,” says Oliver. “She’s been first, second, and third at five-star level now, and hopefully, it’s only the start. She improves every time, she learns something every time, and I learn something every time. I couldn’t be happier with her. We’ve got two incredible horses at each end of their career, and I’m just the luckiest rider in the world to have both of them.”

Oliver led after the first phase with the mare on a score of 21.1, and led after the second phase, too, though he added 1.2 time penalties when opting for the long route at Huntsman’s Close. Then, of course, there’s today’s rail – but, he says, “I wouldn’t do anything different. I thought her performance was as good as any horse’s performance this week, really, in terms of the way she did things. She’ll come on for the run — and I really believe she will come on for the run. She’s had a good experience again, she’s just coming eleven, and she’s unreal, isn’t she?

“I thought she jumped a very good round — probably a better round than when she won Kentucky, really,” he continues. “She touched one fence, and that’s this place a little bit for me as well, you know – this is the fifth second place I’ve had here, and only won it once, so it takes a bit of winning, this one. But she can go around any course in the world. She can be competitive in any class in the world. She’s blood enough for Burghley, she moves good enough, and jumps well enough for a championship horse. So she’s — ability-wise — got everything.”

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

For Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue, it must feel a bit like deja-vu: they’ve previously wound up on the podium here at Badminton once before, back in 2023, when Ros took the win with Walter and second place went to Oliver and Ballaghmor Class. This year, though, he proved that ‘Salty’ doesn’t need difficult ground conditions and a sloggy cross-country day in order to shine – the 2023 Maryland winner can do that anywhere, and in any circumstances.

“I think he’s probably one of the best horses eventing in the world, to be quite honest,” says Austin, who added just 0.4 time penalties today to his first-phase score of 30.8. “I think you’re probably looking at three of them [on this podium] – they’re not flashes in the pan. They’re unbelievable, consistent horses. My lad is a bit older than these two, but he doesn’t know that. Just like me!”

Their round today wasn’t just one of the best of the day – it was arguably the best of the horse’s career.

“It’s a magic feeling, and it’s a great privilege to be riding at Badminton,” he says. “It’s a great privilege to be on the podium — to jump a clear round. But it’s not simple in there. There’s a lot of pressure. So I guess there’s just so much relief, as much as anything. But the most pleasing aspect for me was how the horse actually jumped. I mean, I think he’s never jumped a round like that in his life.”

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

Austin and Salty’s first-phase score, too, represents a personal best in this phase, and though it still gives him a job to do in climbing up the leaderboard on cross-country day, the pair’s consistency in doing so is pure vintage eventing. 

“It’s amazing, isn’t it, to be sat up with these guys on the Sunday evening,” “It’s a very, very special result. The horse is in great form, and we’ve had an unbelievable week. Sadly, if I was in a different era and these two weren’t around, I’d have won two Badmintons! But there we go. Probably history will tell you that I’m competing with probably two of the best event horses there’s ever been, so I can’t really grumble.”

Still, he laughs, “Somebody said, ‘Where are you going in the autumn?’ I said, ‘Wherever these two aren’t going!’”

Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Harry Meade’s afternoon-starting clear with Cavalier Crystal scored him fourth place, up from seventh, while Superstition dropped two rails – and one in quite dramatic fashion – to drop one spot from fifth to a final sixth. 

“Cavalier Crystal was just magic,” says Harry, who is now firmly on track to become World Number One at the end of the month, pending the next few weeks’ global events. “I think that was as nice a round as I’ve ever felt any horse perform at a three-day event. She’s just – she’s magic.”

Today’s course played into the mare’s strengths: Harry’s had to work hard to teach her to lengthen her stride for cross-country, and she’s always been more naturally inclined to increase the tempo of her footfall instead, which was exactly what the distances in the ring required today.

“It was a big track and I think it was clever, because the time is quite tight,” he says. “But actually, Cavalier Crystal was, I think, seven seconds inside the time. And I think the key thing is, you couldn’t take an inside line anywhere. All you could do was come in a quickened rhythm, but you couldn’t allow the stride length to go longer, because all of the related distances were on orthodox to slightly compressed distances. Therefore, you had to make up the time with the timing of the footfall, not opening up the stride.”

Harry Meade and Superstition. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Of Superstition, who opted to go through, rather than over, one of the fences, he says: “he still jumped really well. We had one quite dramatic heart in the mouth moment. That would have been a long way to come to not finish a three-day event, but luckily, he stayed on his feet.”

Emily King and Valmy Biats. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Sandwiched between Harry’s two horses on the final leaderboard is Emily King, who finishes in the top five for the second year in a row with Valmy Biats, despite tipping a rail. The pair began their week in this position but slipped out of the top ten when adding 7.2 time penalties yesterday, and Emily was delighted to complete the climb back up, even with that mistake.

“Sack me!” she laughs. “He jumped really big over the oxer before fence four, and my eye picked up five to the water tray, and then I knew in my head that that was too wild. So I basically didn’t land and set up straight away. I think that big jump threw me off, and I nearly got drawn in on the one less. He’s a really strong, bold horse, and wouldn’t be a horse that is easily adjustable at the last minute, which I asked him to do and then we just got close. But I mean, he jumped exceptionally. He felt like it was just a normal day at a normal show.”

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

Germany’s Christoph Wahler had two frustrating rails with D’Accord FRH, which just dropped him one place to seventh thanks to the strength of their performances over this week – they were one of just six pairs to finish inside the optimum time yesterday after beginning their week on a 32.2, which makes the outsized thirteen-year-old an exciting heir to the throne vacated by former top horse Carjatan S, a mainstay of the German team.  

Bubby Upton and Cola. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Bubby Upton secured eighth place with Cola III, but also had two rails down – though such was the influence of today’s showjumping course that they actually still climbed four places from overnight twelfth. 

“It was completely my fault,” she says. “He jumped fantastically, and I just got a very forward shot to the MARS oxer at four, and it was a short six, so I just couldn’t get him back in time. So in hindsight, I should have just been brave and gone on the five and taken a stride out, and that was completely my fault. And then coming into the final line, again, I was just a couple of inches too far off the oxer, and with him, there isn’t room for a couple of inches’ error. I’m obviously disappointed to have let him down, but it doesn’t detract from how amazing he was once again, and hopefully one day we’ll get all three phases.”

Tom McEwen and JL Dublin. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Tom McEwen’s classy clear with JL Dublin helped them climb from sixteenth up to ninth on the same finishing score as Bubby and Cola – though their 11 penalties for taking out the corner at Huntsman’s yesterday, and their 10.8 cross-country time penalties, meant that the tie-break didn’t go in their favour. Still, after a turbulent day in the office yesterday, and a week that began with a second-place position after dressage, it’s a reassuring finish – though, perhaps, a week that’s proven the very talented gelding’s strengths might be best suited to championship pathways and foreign five-stars. 

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

Tim Price rounds out the top ten on Vitali, who we’d hoped might have come good in this phase when not fighting for the win – but alas, it was a classic three-railer for the gelding, who still managed to climb three places today. 

An excellent clear in the morning pushed US representatives Tiana Coudray and Cancaras Girl from 52nd place to 44th, while Grace Taylor and Game Changer moved from 37th to 30th even with two rails. Grace, for her part, has a different kind of progression on the brain after her father, British team selector Nigel Taylor, presented her horse for her – in a besuited, slightly lame (himself, not the horse) and cheerful sort of way: “I think I need to put him on a bit of a fitness programme if he’s going to do some trot-ups for me,” she says wryly. “I said to him, ‘Nigel, I think we’re going to have to take you swimming.’ So I’ve got him a gym membership, and he’s going to come with me. The pool isn’t very deep, so he’d do well to drown in it.” 

What more sport can you want, really, from Badminton? For us – for now – it’s over and out. Thanks for joining us for the journey, and keep it locked on EN for lots more from the week that was over the next couple of days. Until then: Go Eventing.

The final top ten at the 2025 MARS Badminton Horse Trials.

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

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

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Yesterday was a very good day in the office for Oliver Townend, who retained his first-phase lead with eleven-year-old Cooley Rosalent, adding just 1.2 time penalties, and also retained his ninth place position with eighteen-year-old Ballaghmor Class, who added 4.8 time penalties on Eric Winter’s long, influential course.

This morning, though? That’s probably one he’d rather forget. He was sent to the holding box with both his rides, and while Cooley Rosalent would go on to be accepted after further examination, he opted instead to withdraw elder statesman ‘Thomas’ from the holding box and the rest of the competition. That decision now moves Emily King and Valmy Biats into the provisional top ten after their clear round with 7.2 time penalties yesterday.

Georgie Goss and Feloupe. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Oliver wasn’t the only rider to face the scrutiny of the ground jury, made up of president Xavier le Sauce, Nick Burton, and Robert Stevenson. A further five horses were held through the course of the morning: Will Rawlin‘s Ballycoog Breaker Boy (19th overnight), Georgie Goss‘s Feloupe (36th), Jack Pinkney‘s Rehy Revelation (39th), Grace Taylor‘s Game Changer (37th), and Ian Cassells‘s Master Point (10th — and now 9th). The biggest cheer of the lot came for the acceptance of Game Changer, who was gamely presented by a very unsound, besuited Nigel Taylor, British team selector, historic playboy of the sport, and father of Grace. I’ll avoid getting told off by him for this by also noting that he had a touch of Michael Caine about him (if a bit less surefooted).

Nigel Taylor and Game Changer. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

All were accepted upon re-presentation, though our field still looks rather smaller than it did last night following a spate of overnight withdrawals. Those came from Nicky Hill and MGH Bingo Boy (28th after a 12.8 time penalty clear yesterday), Yasmin Ingham and Rehy DJ (14th overnight with a 9.6 time penalty round), Belgium’s Senne Vervaecke and Google van Alsingen (41st with a steady clear), Harry Mutch and Shanbeg Cooley (44th after picking up 20 penalties and time), and Lizzie Baugh and B Exclusive (43rd with 32 time penalties). That takes our list of 60 finishers down to 54 competitors for today’s finale, which will begin with the first showjumping group at 11.30 a.m. BST/6.30 a.m. EST. After a parade of the morning competitors, the top twenty will jump from 14.45 p.m. BST/9.45 a.m. EST.

We’ll be back with live updates, additional stories, and a full report later on today — and you can follow all the action on the livestream, too, via ClipMyHorse.TV. Go Eventing.

The top ten following cross-country at Badminton.

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

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

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

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

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

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

Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

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

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

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

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

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Harry Meade and Superstition. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That increased difficulty, Christoph says, was dimensional.

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

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

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

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

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

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

Ian Cassells and Master Point. Photo by Cealy Tetley.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The top ten following cross country at Badminton.

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