Classic Eventing Nation

Badminton Social Recap: Mostly Just Some Photos of That Broken Bridge…

By on May 6, 2022 2:46 pm -

If you go and look at the Badminton Horse Trials location tag this fine Friday afternoon, you’re going to see approximately 100 images of the Ford Broken Bridge that has everyone buzzing ahead of tomorrow’s cross country.

Of course, despite it’s imposing look it’s mostly a fence that’s intended to frighten the riders (and the fans, probably more than anyone!), but it should generally ride fairly well. It’s a cool throwback addition to the course that was built for the 2020 event prior to its cancellation — see more on how it was built below:

But, it still makes for a cool photo — we can’t wait to see some action shots tomorrow! Here’s a look at the rest of the social media chatter as dressage wraps up and we fully focus on the task that lies ahead.

Badminton: [Website] [Dressage Ride Times] [Live Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Ultimate Guide] [EN’s Instagram] [EN’s Twitter]

Shannon’s Scenes from Friday at Badminton: Dogs, Dressage, and Dreams of Cross Country

By on May 6, 2022 2:42 pm -

We always enjoy a good look through the lens of our favorite photographers, and this weekend we’re lucky enough to be working with both Nico Morgan for our reports as well as Shannon Brinkman. Shannon arrived on the grounds yesterday and spent today planning her cross country shoots, but of course that involved a walkabout with her camera. Let’s go with her!

Badminton: [Website] [Dressage Ride Times] [Live Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Ultimate Guide] [EN’s Instagram] [EN’s Twitter]

As Ride iQ would say, pat your horse! Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Laura Collett punches the air as her score comes in to lead Badminton. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Sassy Corvett didn’t much like the dressage today, but it’s okay because he’ll give the jumps extra room tomorrow to make up for it. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

It wouldn’t be a horse show without a dog or two hundred… Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

MARS is for dogs too, right? Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Karl Slezak catches up with Badminton Radio after his test with Fernhill Wishes. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Cross country walkers flocked to the buzzy Ford Broken Bridge that will likely ride just fine but is sure making us lose sleep, at least. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Just dreamy. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

How cool of a feeling it must be to ride into this historic arena. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Laura recounts her ride to the adoring media. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Volunteer Nation: Six Events That Could Use a Hand This Weekend

By on May 6, 2022 12:00 pm -

What a good helper! You’re never too young to become an eventing volunteer. (Well, they might not let a baby scribe or be jump crew but … ) Kids love having a job to do and it helps them feel appreciated and involved.

Here are six events that are seeking volunteers this weekend. As always, you can earn merit points when you donate your time through the USEA’s Volunteer Incentive Program. Registering to volunteer through EventingVolunteers.com makes it easy and seamless to both find a job and shift as well as learn what your role will entail.

USEA Events

Waredaca Recognized Spring Horse Trials (May 6th to 8th, 2022)

Poplar Place Farm May Horse Trials (May 7th to 8th, 2022)

Miami Valley Horse Trials (May 5th to 9th, 2022)

Barnstaple South 3-Phase Schooling Show (May 6th to 7th, 2022)

Pine Hill Friends of Ellie Derby (May 6th to 7th, 2022)

Fair Hill International – MAY Starter Horse Trials [El., Int.,Beg.N., Nov] (May 2nd to 7th, 2022)

David Doel is a Man with a Plan at Badminton

By on May 6, 2022 10:00 am -

Davie Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed trot up for the Ground Jury on Wednesday at Badminton. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

David Doel is going to his first Badminton with a plan: he wants to make the British team.

His CV says it all, and this charmingly modest, mild-mannered farmer’s son sees Badminton this weekend as the next logical step in his hopes for team glory with the British equestrian team.

“I need consistency with results,” he explained. “I’m aiming for the top 15 at Badminton now. That should be realistic. And then a year at the top level with Galileo should give us the right sort of exposure.”

David is currently ranked at 16 in the British Eventing ratings and is steadily creeping his way up. He’ll be taking his impressive 17.2 Galileo, owned by Gillian Jones, to his first Badminton where he’ll ride dressage on Friday toward the end of the day.

“Galileo was sent to me to sell originally, and I didn’t actually really like him to begin with,” said David. “He was this slightly gawky looking thing, but he just kept producing the results. But I love him now. And yes – he definitely sees himself as a star.”

David’s Reybridge Eventing yard is on his parent’s farm, nestled in the hills between Chippenham and Calne. The stables are in converted cattle sheds, and it’s a real family affair at the the farm, which has been in David’s family for generations.

Dad Tony has a 350 head of dairy herd, producing milk for Cadbury’s chocolate and a sideline in ice cream from his Lacock Dairy Ice cream.

“I have a job trying to sell ice cream for him in between all the riding!” said David. “I don’t have to wear any ice cream branded stuff though, thankfully!”

David also earns a bit of cash driving HGV lorries over the winter. “It’s something a bit different, and you can get stuck on the yard sometimes, so it’s good to do other things too.”

As David heads to Badminton, he has the solid reinforcement of Nick Turner for jumping training and Adam Kemp for flatwork training. “They have been instrumental in putting together processes and plans to make sure the horses get into shape for Badminton.”

David’s mum Maggie has been instrumental in David’s steady rise. He is still just 29 years old, but his equestrian CV is impressive. “I never felt pressured to ride,” he said. “I was in the Avon Vale pony club, did the pony club championships and just kept progressing really. I never had fancy horses, but slightly tricky ones which we produced.”

David rode in his first BE competition in March 2007, when he was just 14. He left school after doing his GCSEs at 16. He went on to the Pony Trials, and then in 2011 was the British Under 18 national champion, following this with a bronze in the Team GB Young Riders in 2014.

In the ensuing eight years he moved to the senior competitions — “a noticeable leap” — and starting punching his weight in 2019 to number 12 in the BE ranking and 72 in the FEI world ranking.

“We had some good results,” he said. “I’ve been very lucky, but we have a long term plan.” Some of that success, says David, is down to how his mum has framed “the buzz” or the pre competition nerves.

“Mum was fantastic when I was younger,” David explained. “Even when I was a child, she would say ‘can you feel that buzz?’ And then say ‘isn’t that great? That means you will do well’.”

“She talks about the buzz being good. So rather than feeling nervous as such, I now always have it in my mind that it is a good thing, and a positive force. Some people see being nervous or edgy as a bad thing, but I don’t. It’s just great and exciting.”

He does admit to having the jitters along the way — the first time he jumped at Burghley being one time. “It was one of those times when I actually felt sick,” he said. “I was about 20th to go and only about five had got round before me, which kind of made it worse! We did make it round, and I had a plan, which went ok. But that was one of the only times I have felt a bit sick before going cross country!”

David’s yard team are there for him too at a yard which seems to put planning and a family atmosphere first. He does his cross country training at Rabson Manor, near Marlborough, Larkhill and Boomerang.

“It is like a big family here,” said David. “I live just up the road from Mum and Dad, and we socialise a couple of times a week with the yard girls. To get Galileo and myself to Badminton it is a massive process. This all started about two years ago, to make sure he has the right qualifications for it.”

“So that planning side of it was eighteen months ago, and between then and now, the team starts around seven-thirty in the morning through til about five,” he explained. “I have a fantastic group here. We try to have a nice time, and it is really a family yard. We socialise two or three times together. We have a real team ethic here.”

Vet Peter Milligan and farrier Gary Urch are also nearby, while Kelly Davies runs the yard, having previously worked for Steph Thompson and Zara Phillips. He’s supported by Voltaire for saddles, and Kate Negus does his bridles and leather. Gain supplies the feed — it’s a true village.

David is already working his plan beyond Badminton. But says the horses determine what the plan is. “If he runs well at Badminton, we will aim for Pau,” he said.

“No athlete can sustain eight months of galloping, so we make sure the horses get a proper rest in between,” he continued. “Badminton takes a lot out of them so we will give Galileo a decent recovery time. We make sure that the plan is right for the horses and not the other way around.”

David wears the number 113 at Badminton, and will be in the dressage arena on Friday afternoon.

Badminton Links: Website, Entries, Live Stream, Live Scores, Ride Times, EN’s Ultimate Guide, The Form Guide, Course Preview, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagr

Friday Morning at Badminton: Laura Collett Leaps to Lead as Only New Entrant to Top Ten

By on May 6, 2022 9:09 am -

Laura Collett and London 52 deliver their best-ever five-star score to take the lead at Badminton. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 61)

“It’s not often you go into the arena at Badminton and have a lovely time, but that horse is just so nice to ride,” says Laura Collett, smiling through her tears after storming to the lead with her Tokyo partner London 52. Their score of 21 didn’t just eclipse yesterday’s leaders, Tokyo teammates Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser, by 2.4 points — it’s also Laura’s best-ever five-star score of her storied career.

Of course, it comes as little surprise to see excellence from this partnership, who have consistently delivered low-20s marks over the past number of seasons, winning Pau CCI5* in 2020 on a record-breaking finishing score of 21.3 and dipping as low as 20.3 at four-star. But the standard of this field means that even the very best need to bring their A game to stand a chance of moving into the top ten — and when they received their first 10, for their expressive, fluid, and powerful extended trot, it became very clear that that’s exactly what Laura and ‘Dan’ were en route to do.

“This is what we all dream of,” says the rider, who worked swiftly to overcome a slightly underpowered initial entry, which earned them a 6, 6.5 and 7: “H tried to stop at X instead of I, so was a little bit halfway. So there were little bits [that could have been better], but there’s always little bits until you get to [a score of] zero.”

Laura is another high-profile competitor to pare back their schooling regime ahead of this event with the intention of keeping their horses fresh and expressive in this phase.

“We’ve completely changed what we do. I hold my hands up — I messed up in Tokyo,” says Laura, who posted a slightly higher than expected 25.8 with the gelding at the Olympics. “But you can only learn from your mistakes, and I thought, I’m coming here to be brave and stick to my plan. I haven’t once gone into a dressage arena this week, and we’ve just done a lot of hacking and a lot of pole work, because he knows all the moves. It’s just about keeping him with me.”

Though we’ve seen so many horses back off in the atmospheric arena, showman Dan thrived on this busy second day: “It’s so quiet outside, and then you go in there and suddenly you feel it,” says Laura. “But he didn’t react to the crowds — I think he likes showing off! He’s a funny horse to ride at a one-day event now, because he just thinks it’s completely pointless and he bobbles around with his ears back feeling very grumpy about the whole thing. He’s always wondering where all the crowds are, and the nice arenas — so I think he’s pretty happy to be here, and for us, it’s great to be back at Badminton with the crowds.”

Laura Collett and London 52 dance to an exceptional 21. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Nobody else would venture into the top ten throughout the morning, though a couple of Badminton first-timers made excellent efforts to sit close at hand after the morning session. France’s Gireg le Coz and his five-star debutant Aisprit de la Loge moved into eleventh place on 26.7, just two-tenths of a penalty behind tenth-placed Nicola Wilson and JL Dublin, after delivering an elegant effort that lead the way for today’s considerable French effort.

“He’s been very tense the last few days, so I was a bit worried,” says the rider, whose Badminton ambitions began in 2014, when he based himself with Australia’s Sam Griffiths. Sam went on to win that year’s running of the event, and despite its famously tough conditions that year, the thrill of the place stuck with Gireg. Now, eight years on, he returned to Sam’s yard in Dorset for his final few weeks of preparation with the exciting Aisprit. And in his final preparations on the day itself? He opted to keep things as simple as possible.

“I decided just to lunge him before and not come up here, because he gets nervous. But then he was quite with me, and I think my warm-up was quite good,” he says. Though he’d worried about the buzzy environment in the main arena, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that the arena actually felt like something of an oasis of quiet.

“I was a bit worried about the applause for the rider before me, but actually, there wasn’t much, so that was okay — and because the arena is quite big, it doesn’t feel so close, anyway. So it was really just him and me.”

Susie Berry and John the Bull go sub-30 and sit 14th at the lunch break. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Irish five-star first-timer Susie Berry was teary-eyed with delight after a very grown-up effort from the eleven-year-old John The Bull earned them a 28.8 and put them into fourteenth place at the lunch break. The former stable jockey for 2019 champion Piggy March inherited the ride on the son of Luidam from fellow Irish rider Jonty Evans in 2018, and has delivered some excellent results, including third place in Blenheim’s CCI4*-L last autumn and sixth in a CCI4*-S class at Little Downham in 2020.

“He’s fabulous on the flat, but he’s been a little bit inconsistent since Blenheim last year, so I’m glad to come to a three-day and have the time to do him properly,” she says. Though their scores dipped slightly in three of the four flying changes, much of the work delivered was mature beyond their years.

Bubby Upton and Cola put themselves in a close spot to climb after the first phase. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

23-year-old Bubby Upton has come to her first Badminton with considerable hype behind her: the under-25 national titleholder was excellent in her debut at Pau last year with Cola, and has consistently proven herself amongst Britain’s fiercest competition. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that she’s done so, and built up a prolific and consistent string of horses, alongside attending Edinburgh University. That’s required late nights in lorry parks committing to exam revision while her fellow young riders unwind after a long day, and it’s also meant that she spends a considerable amount of time flying back and forth between university and the yard.

Though her first-phase mark of 30.4 might not be quite what she’d hoped for, it’s still enough to put her into 17th place for now, and fourth-best of the Friday morning competitors.

“I kind of anticipated him going in there and going a bit like, ‘wow!’ at the atmosphere, so I gave him five minutes extra than I normally would,” she explains. “And actually, he kind of went in there and thought it was the arena at home, which is great in so many ways, because it shows that whatever the atmosphere, he doesn’t care — but it just mean that then he went in and was a little bit hard work and a bit flat and not really flowing with me like he would have been if I’d done five minutes less.”

Consistently excellent marks through the first half of the test were slightly marred by lower ones for mistakes in the flying changes. Though Bubby’s an undeniable perfectionist – “I won’t be satisfied until I’m in first after dressage,” she says – she’s also trying to enjoy the enormity of what it actually means to be at Badminton as one of Britain’s brightest young stars.

“I kind of didn’t really take it all in until the end of the test — I went in and was really focused on my plan and what I had to do with him. But what a fantastic place! It’s just a privilege to be here, to be honest.”

We’ll be back this afternoon with a full report from today’s action and a catch-up with our North American contingent, plus plenty more live updates from Sally and much, much more besides. Keep it locked on EN and as always, Go Eventing!

The top ten is largely unchanged after the morning session on Friday – except, of course, for where it counts.

Badminton: [Website] [Dressage Ride Times] [Live Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Ultimate Guide] [EN’s Instagram] [EN’s Twitter]

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 61)

Entries for Pratoni del Vivaro’s WEG Test Event Go Live

By on May 6, 2022 9:00 am -

Ingrid Klimke and Equistros Siena Just Do It. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The FEI World Championships will look a bit different this cycle as the disciplines have been split to two different destinations. Eventing and combined driving will have their championships hosted in Italy at Pratoni del Vivaro in September, while all other disciplines (show jumping, dressage, vaulting, para equestrian) will host their championships in Denmark in August.

Ahead of the World Championships, Pratoni del Vivaro is hosting a Nations Cup CCIO4*-S/test event next weekend (May 12-15) as an opportunity to test the venue for the upcoming Games. This event will also serve as the Italian Eventing Championship. Entries have just been published, and it’s quite a line-up that we’ll see. Tilly Berendt will be on the ground for us for this test event, so we’ll have the full scoop on the venue ahead of the Games coming your way very soon.

Featuring on the entry list are 12 federations, including a robust contingent from host country Italy. No Americans will compete, though Lauren Nicholson is listed on the entries with Landmark’s Monte Carlo. Lauren and her team considered the option of travel, but it’s a big trip for a 4*-S and the costs are high, so she’ll instead be traveling solo as an athlete observer for the U.S.

The full entry list, which is subject to change, can be viewed here.

Presumably we may not see all listed pairs actually make the trip down to Italy, but it nonetheless promises to be an exciting competition as well as a preview of what’s to come this fall. No doubt, the riders will be eager to get a taste as well — many will have competed here before but not all.

Stay tuned for much more news from Pratoni — and if you’re planning a trip, you can get the full details here. The FEI World Championships at Pratoni run from September 15-25, with the eventing running first from September 15-18.

Pratoni Test Event Links: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable]

Friday at Badminton: Dressage Day Two Live Updates

By on May 6, 2022 4:15 am -

Will anyone overtake Tom McEwen’s 23.4 at the top of the leaderboard today? Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Welcome to day two at Badminton Horse Trials, presented by MARS Equestrian! We’ve got one more day of dressage action ahead of tomorrow’s exciting cross country test, and while we saw a lot of big stars yesterday we’ve still got plenty to come today that could (and will) shake up the leaderboard. Some notable times for Friday include:

9:38 a.m. BST / 4:38 a.m. EST: Dom Schramm (AUS) and Bolytair B 38.9

9:46 a.m. BST / 4:46 a.m. EST: Karl Slezak (CAN) and Fernhill Wishes 37.8

10:18 a.m. BST / 5:18 a.m. EST: Mike Winter (CAN) and El Mundo 35.6

10:26 a.m. BST / 5:26 a.m. EST: Laura Collett (GBR) and London 52 21.0

2:00 p.m. BST / 9:00 a.m. EST: Tim Price (NZL) and Ringwood Sky Boy 29.1

2:56 p.m. BST / 9:56 a.m. EST: Emily Hamel (USA) and Corvett 39.5

4:12 p.m. BST / 11:12 a.m. EST: William Fox-Pitt (GBR) and Little Fire 27.3

4:28 p.m. BST / 11:28 a.m. EST: Oliver Townend (GBR) and Ballaghmor Class 25.9

Refresh this page periodically for more updates as we get into day two of dressage! Thanks for following along with us.

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

Badminton: [Website] [Dressage Ride Times] [Live Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Ultimate Guide] [EN’s Instagram] [EN’s Twitter]

12:17 p.m. EST: And that wraps us up for dressage! The top 10 remain relatively unchanged and as we look ahead to cross country we know it certainly will be anything but a dressage show. We wouldn’t want it any other way! Tilly will be along later with her report, and in the meantime you can review the big Badminton cross country track that awaits here. Start times haven’t yet been released but we’ll update you once they have — as of now I believe we’ll start cross country at 11:30 a.m. BST / 6:30 a.m. EST. Stay tuned for much more!

12:16 p.m. EST: A 29.4 puts Kylie right into the top 20 as we close out dressage.

The best moment to close the show! GIF via Badminton TV.

12:14 p.m. EST: Oh man, that was such a nice test to close us out. One of the more relaxed we’ve seen and some of the more consistent changes. Kylie looks absolutely thrilled: this has been a lifelong dream for her and she’s deservedly feeling some emotions as she exists. Now I’m crying.

12:10 p.m. EST: SRS Kan Do has a “can do” attitude as Kylie’s really able to ride him forward. He’s quite steady in the bridle for his trot work, a bit more inconsistent at the walk work but he’s maintaining his relaxation.

12:06 a.m. EST: A solid effort for this debutant horse, and Bill will take one trip around Eric Winter’s cross country tomorrow with the more experience Lassban Diamond Lift. Sometimes it’s useful to inform yourself for the second ride, other times it’s negligible if the two rides are night and day different. A 38.3 for this pair as we look ahead to our final pair in the dressage, British rider Kylie Roddy with SRS Kan Do. This pair was 11th at Pau last year and she’s got something in common with Emily Hamel as she just underwent elbow surgery a few weeks ago.

11:59 a.m. EST: Second last to go will be Australian Bill Levett with his second ride, Lates Quin. This is another 10-year-old — quite a few of those this year — making his first 5* start at Badminton.

11:58 a.m. EST: A 34.4 for CHF Cooliser, who had just a bit of trouble in her third change and lost a few other marks to inexperience, but we know she’s capable of going even lower — certainly a great one for Tom to hang his hat on as she gains more mileage at this level.

GIF via Badminton TV.

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

11:50 a.m. EST: A nice effort and big smiles from David, who earns 7s across the board for the Harmony collective mark and a 32.4 to go forward with. Next in will be Tom McEwen with his second ride, the 12-year-old Irish mare CHF Cooliser. This mare shares a sire with a ride of Liz Halliday-Sharp’s, Cooley Quicksilver (Womanizer).

11:43 a.m. EST: Just a handful more to see before we wrap up this first phase of competition. David Doel, who you can read a cool story about here, brings forward Galileo Nieuwmoed.

11:41 a.m. EST: Really nice work from Pippa, who earned some of the better marks we’ve seen for her flying changes. She also earns two 9s for her final halt, and it’s a 26.1 to go into 11th for now.

GIF via Badminton TV.

11:37 a.m. EST: Now for another 5* winner, this time Pippa Funnell with 2019 Burghley winner MGH Grafton Street. They did a 22.8 on their way to that Burghley win and are starting off trending in the high 20s or so.

11:34 a.m. EST: A 25.9 and eighth place for Oliver — that’ll be one of the higher (lol) scores we’ve seen from this horse, but if we know anything about Oliver we know he’ll do just about anything he needs to to get his horses around clear and we should see him well up there, if not even moved up a spot or two, when the dust settles tomorrow.

11:33 a.m. EST: Well it’s not going to challenge Laura for the lead, but this should be a top 5 test I would think. Let’s see how the final marks come in.

11:32 a.m. EST: Oliver gets some pretty low marks for his reinback but then earns a 9 on his early canter work. At this point I don’t know that we’ll see him do enough for a second or third place, but he’s scoring a bit more towards the 8 range for his canter work now.

11:29 a.m. EST: Oliver will be riding for every millimeter today — in Tokyo he scored a 23.6 for Oliver and he would’ve been a bit crestfallen at that mark. He’s earned a 21.1 at this event before, in 2019. So far not trending quite that low but he can climb back down with some good canter marks.

11:27 a.m. EST: Here we go! The final member of the Tokyo team enters the arena and will be vying for that top spot on the board: Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class. Oliver’s a self-taught dressage rider who frequently hits the top of the board and also owns the current 5* dressage score record, earned at this event in 2019 (19.7).

11:26 a.m. EST: A very nice debut for this 10-year-old, who also will only get stronger. They’ll go into the top 10 with 26.0 — lovely!

GIF via Badminton TV

11:19 a.m. EST: A 27.3 will be good for top 12 for William and Little Fire. It’s quite competitive this weekend, you could say! We’ll now move to another British champion, Ros Canter with her second ride, Lordships Graffalo. This is the first 5* for the 10-year-old British Sport Horse gelding. This horse has earned a 21 before, at 4* level, and could be good for a mid-20s today.

11:18 a.m. EST: The judges show a fair bit of disparity on William’s final halt and salute: a 6.5 from Seppo at H, a 10 from Christina at C and Anne-Marie gives a 7.

11:13 a.m. EST: Lovely trot work so far from William and Little Fire, and now just a gorgeous extended walk that is very nearly textbook.

Showing off the big trot. GIF via Badminton TV.

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

11:12 a.m. EST:: We’ll now see William Fox-Pitt with his second ride, Little Fire, who I always want to call Little Foot, so there’s that. This one has consistently trended down in three 5* starts — most recently he earned a 24.5 at Bicton’s 5* last year. William’s got the record for the most 5* wins on record, with 14 to his name — could he add another this weekend? The competition is tough but he’s rather well-mounted for a good crack at it.

11:11 a.m. EST: Well what a nice effort for this horse who should earn a pretty competitive score in his first 5* test. This pair also had an excellent fact-finding event at the very hilly Blair Castle last year, where they finished fifth — that should’ve given Nicola a good feeling that this might just be a Big B horse. They earn a 30.4, very respectable for this debut and good for the top 20 for right now. Just a little more time will really confirm the strength in that canter work, but it’s super exciting as Nicola was able to really put her leg on and ride — that bodes well for the future!

11:08 a.m. EST: Some really stellar walk work here from Erano M. Tom McEwen lost a few marks in his walk work with Toledo de Kerser, which gave Laura Collett the opportunity to make up for it with higher scores. This horse is also scoring well on its walk work and while it likely won’t challenge the top couple, it could go top 10 with a solid mid-20s, as long as the canter continues to trend in the same direction. And often with the more inexperienced horses, their greenness begins to show up in the canter and in particular in the four (four!!) flying changes in this test.

GIF via Badminton TV.

11:05 a.m. EST: Erano M is 13 this year and makes his 5* debut. He’s also a strong horse on the flat, so I think we could see a sub-30 here if he’s up to the technical challenge and doesn’t let the growing crowd rattle him. They’re gathered to see the final few riders and it’s getting intense in there!

11:00 a.m. EST: Padraig unleashes the beast for just a few strides down the long stride for the extended canter, and the horse doesn’t reallyyyy want to stretch down for the stretching circle. I think Padraig’ll be happy to have this done but he’s done a good job (as we would anticipate with a rider of his experience) to manage the powder keg and just ride for the points he could get. Next in will be reigning European Champion Nicola Wilson with her second ride, Erano M.

10:58 a.m. EST: Padraig has the unenviable task of riding a horse that tends to want to really shorten through its neck and throatlatch rather than seek the contact. It’s hard to make a horse like this look relaxed, even if they are more chilled out than they might appear.

10:55 a.m. EST: A 36.5, even a bit higher than we thought this might score, will drop Harry down further than he’d probably like to start. We’ll next see Padraig McCarthy with his second ride, HHS Noble Call. This pair was in the top 10 at the Bicton 5* last year.

10:53 a.m. EST: A bit jumbled for the final flying change and I think a higher score than what we’d likely otherwise see due to some tension, but perhaps a mid-30s to put them well within range to have a good climb if they jump around well tomorrow.

10:51 a.m. EST: A very nice halt from Away Cruising, earning at least one 9 but perhaps deserving a 10.

10:48 a.m. EST: Ah, just a couple of breaks into canter in the early trot work here. I need to stop saying that these horses are going to have good scores, I think it’s a jinx.

10:45 a.m. EST: And we’re back and ready for the final session of dressage! I don’t know about you, but I’ve really enjoyed watching the dressage. There’s something about the quality of riding at these big British 5* events that can’t be matched, and I’ve learned a lot. But, that being said I’m also itching to get a look at the cross country tomorrow, so let’s get right to it!

Harry Meade will bring the 15-year-old Irish gelding Away Cruising forward as the first to see here this afternoon. This horse has been around Badminton once and Burghley twice and came back to do Badminton again in 2019 but withdrew before cross country due to a reaction to an injection. This is one we could see slip below 30 to kick off what should be a thrilling final group of combinations.

10:29 a.m. EST: So Tim Price is our only sub-30 of this penultimate session, but I think it’s safe to say we’ll see at least a few coming in for this last session. Stay tuned for the grand finale that includes Harry Meade, William Fox-Pitt, Oliver Townend, Pippa Funnell, Tom McEwen, Nicola Wilson, and Ros Canter. I think we’ll see a few more additions to our top 5/top 10 before the day is over. Harry Meade and Away Cruising will get us back underway in about 20 minutes.

10:26 a.m. EST: Well it won’t be the memorable test Lauren might have been hoping for, but hey she’s through it and that matters! They’ll earn a 41.5 to go forward with, and Flipper is all of us going from dressage to cross country:

GIF via Badminton TV.

10:23 a.m. EST: “Flipper” just has a look at the cameraman as he comes down into his walk work, and Lauren gives him a “come on and pay attention” reminder. Horses, they’re just like toddlers, aren’t they?

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

10:20 a.m. EST: Our final rider before the last break is full-time accountant Lauren Innes, riding Global Fision M for New Zealand. Lauren’s actually just switched nationalities away from British to Kiwi, and she balances her work with producing “Flipper” up the levels. She’s had the horse since he was five, and he’s now 12. This is the first 5* for this pair, who is also capable of obtaining a sub-30 score having done so multiple times at the levels before. It may not happen in this debut test but the potential is certainly within them.

10:18 a.m. EST: Selina goes for it down the long side for the extended canter. She looks pleased with the effort here — this is a really nice type that should only improve with more time. He’s definitely capable of dipping into the 20s, and Selina earns 7.5 and 8 on her Harmony mark. I don’t think we’ll see that type of score here today but it’s far from a disappointing test. They earn a 31.6, a shade higher than their 30.1 at Pau but such is the way it goes and again: these horses are generally fitter than they need to be for Pau, so that has to factor in at least in part.

GIF via Badminton TV.

10:11 a.m. EST: Next in and penultimate before our final coffee break will be British rider Selina Milnes with Iron. This is a horse Selina’s produced herself, and they were eighth at Pau in 2021. Before that, the last time Selina competed at the 5* level was at Luhmühlen in 2012. And this is a horse that could do well to produce a 30 mark and go on to finish it or just add a handful of time. A proper test could even squeeze them into the 28-29 territory if the stars align.

10:10 a.m. EST: A 30.3 is a very strong debut for Capels Hollow Drift and not far off from the personal bests he’s done to this point in FEI competition. I think we’ll see this one consistently in the mid or low 20s as he continues to get strength and experience.

Capels Hollow Drift shows off his extended canter. GIF via Badminton TV.

10:10 a.m. EST: Gosh, what a nice young horse this is. He’s got some development left to fully confirm his changes, but wow for an 11-year-old doing his first 5* you can’t be upset with this effort, and we should see a nice score for this one just marred by a couple of green bobbles.

10:08 a.m. EST: A 10 hits the board from Seppo Leine at H for the Halt movement from Tom Jackson.

10:07 a.m. EST: Seems accurate.

10:05 a.m. EST: Next in will be British rider Tom Jackson with Capels Hollow Drift. This 11-year-old Irish horse makes his 5* debut this weekend and is just a lovely, big moving type to watch.

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

10:04 a.m. EST: A 39.5 isn’t quite the downward trend we always hope for as a horse gets more experience, but this is probably the most fractious I’ve seen this horse be, and he’s got the excuse of additional fitness for this very long cross country course that awaits.

“Seriously, but where are the jumps?” GIF via Badminton TV.

10:00 a.m. EST: Corvett argues with the upward transition to the canter after the reinback and has just been a little fussier in the mouth than the judges will like to see. A mid or low 30s score will make Emily happy as a starting point here; to this point she’s earned a 38.1 (Kentucky 2021) and a 38.6 (Maryland 2021) and I think we’re probably likely to see a similar score here as he seemed to get a bit more unraveled as he went. But Emily’s a tactful rider who does well to ride what she’s got. She came here to jump around!

9:56 a.m. EST: And here’s our final U.S. rider, Emily Hamel and Corvett who are just in off the waitlist not long ago. Emily also is still recovering from knee surgery but she’s got such a wonderful partnership with Corvett — who you won’t want to miss on the jumping days for his extravagant style — that it’ll help make up for any weaknesses she feels physically.

That big stadium entrance feeling. GIF via Badminton TV.

9:48 a.m. EST: Next to see will be French rider Jean Lou Bigot with his European Championships partner, Utrillo du Halage. Fun fact: Jean Lou is the 1993 European Champion, and he’s got a handful of Olympic and WEG appearances under his belt too. This horse has scored a 29 in the past so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we’ll see him step into the top 15 or 20, but he is looking fairly on the muscle today so far.

9:47 a.m. EST: Shadd’OC says cross country is this way byeeeeeeee:

GIF via Badminton TV.

9:38 a.m. EST: Sammi earns a 38.7 with Finduss PFB and looks quite pleased, it was a really nice test — I thought it might score a bit better, honestly. She shaves just a shade of a point off her 5* test at Bicton last year. Next in will be France’s Ugo Provasi, who survived being held at the first horse inspection with Shadd’OC. This is the first Badminton for Ugo and the first 5* for the horse, a 16-year-old French gelding.

9:30 a.m. EST: A 33.5 for Alex and King of the Mill, a bit higher than what we’ve seen this horse accomplish before but still not a bad score to be on should be jump clear inside the time tomorrow. Next in will be Australian rider Sammi Birch with Finduss PFB. Sammi’s got an incredible story, having battled breast cancer after a 2017 diagnosis while also balancing family life as a mother and riding at the upper levels. I think she’ll have a lot of fans cheering for her this weekend, deservedly so. Sammi also does pure show jumping with this horse, and while they won’t compete for the dressage lead they’ve got a good shot to jump clear tomorrow.

9:25 a.m. EST: King of the Mill is looking very strong and up. Perhaps another one who will benefit from the canter work (or not, sometimes the canter can set off the powder keg — but it’s at least preferable to walking!).

9:21 a.m. EST: Alfies Clover seemed to get grumpier about dressage as he went, but he’ll be pleased to wake up to cross country day tomorrow! Next to see will be Alex Bragg with King of the Mill, who comes forward for his third 5*.

9:16 a.m. EST: Now here’s another British rider and an experienced one with a shot at jumping up the board over the coming days: Richard Jones and Alfies Clover. Richard is local to the other British 5*, Burghley, and rides without his ring finger on one hand after losing it in a weird accident. He’s had to learn how to hold his reins and have control, but over the last few years he’s gotten it down pat and I don’t think you’d ever know the finger wasn’t there!

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

9:11 a.m. EST: Goldsmiths Imber is not a fan of walking (seems like a proper waste of time for a fit event horse, he says), but Arthur’s doing well to stay quiet and just ride for accuracy. The canter work might be good for this one to be able to take a breath. He’ll be glad to get on to tomorrow!

GIF via Badminton TV.

9:07 a.m. EST: Here we go now with France’s Arthur Chabbert — married to our trailblazer this weekend, Kirsty Chabbert — who makes his first start at Badminton with Goldsmiths Imber. He’s an amateur rider as well with a full-time job as a building site manager, which is always just so incredible. He and Kirsty also have a three-year-old son.

9:06 a.m. EST: 8, 8, 7 for Tim’s Harmony collective mark. That’ll put them onto a 29.1 — we’ve seen this pair do just a hair better in the past but it’s not a bad score to start on with a good cross country horse like this one. This is how competitive the marks are so far: this score will go into just the top 15.

GIF via Badminton TV.

9:05 a.m. EST: Tim and Ringwood Sky Boy are getting some better marks in their canter work, a 9 on one flying change. His stretch circle should also score fairly well as the horse is fairly eager to stretch both down and out.

9:03 a.m. EST: This event is sold out for the weekend, which means we’ll see a full capacity crowd tomorrow on cross country. You won’t want to miss the action, and you can still grab your Badminton TV pass for $25 here.

9:01 a.m. EST: “Ozzie” won’t be one to grab a 20 or 21 but he is competitive on the flat…plus, you know, he’s a pretty good jumper. He’s looking fit but settling into a rhythm. Tim knows this horse so well at this point that he can surely just think about make a movement happen, but there is a whole lot to do in this new 5* test. Most riders have given this test positive comments, despite its difficulty and intensity.

GIF via Badminton TV.

8:57 a.m. EST Welcome back! We’re going into the final afternoon sessions of Badminton dressage, and there are still quite a few big names to come that could yet shake up the leaderboard. We’ll see two more groups before wrapping dressage, and first it’ll be Tim Price with the very experienced Burghley winner, Ringwood Sky Boy. At 19, Ringwood Sky Boy is one of the oldest horses here; in fact, stablemate and Jonelle Price ride Classic Moet is the other oldest at the same age. Those Prices know how to keep their horses ticking along, I’d say!

7:28 a.m. EST: Nicky Hill earns a 35.8 for MGH Bingo Boy, and that brings us to our lunch break. Just two more sessions to see this afternoon; we’ll resume at 2:00 p.m. local time, 9 a.m. EST with New Zealand stalwarts Tim Price and Ringwood Sky Boy. Not much change to the top of the board today, but we’ll likely see a few more slide into that top 5 or top 10 this afternoon. Live scores can be found here.

7:21 a.m. EST: A 39.1 for Becky and DHI Babette K, and we’ve now just got one more to see before lunch. That will be Nicky Hill with MGH Bingo Boy, who’ve been around Burghley as well as Badminton and Pau and will be looking for a solid completion this weekend.

GIF via Badminton TV.

7:15 a.m. EST: Becky earns a 9 on her first halt from Christian Landolt at C, but some tension now works its way in as she moves into her trot work.

7:10 a.m. EST: Whoops, a little spook at the camera man for Armanjo Serosah, but they’re through and put in a nice steady test to score a 37.8. Just two more to see now before our lunch break, and our penultimate will be British rider Becky Heappey and DHI Babette K. This pair were top 10 at Luhmühlen in 2021, and they’ve also been around Burghley. This is another who’ll be looking to climb the board tomorrow.

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

7:07 a.m. EST: Joris scores a 35.3 and we’re now joined by another French rider, Cyrielle Lefevre and Armanjo Serosah, making their second 5* start this weekend after making it in off the waitlist.

7:01 a.m. EST: A 36.9 for Cedric Lyard and we now move to Belgian rider Joris Vanspringel with Creator GS, a 14-year-old Dutch horse formerly piloted with Korean rider Won-Jae Hong. This is the first 5* for Creator GS.

6:50 a.m. EST: Next up will be another French rider (apparently today is the French day, lots of them to see!) in Olympian Cedric Lyard with Unum de’Or. This is a 14-year-old Anglo Arab gelding who was top 10 at Pau last fall.

6:47 a.m. EST: Lots to learn watching these tests and listening to commentary. A good reminder to ride every movement and grab back the points you may have lost. A 32.8 for Tom with some great management of expectations during a test that showed some greenness. Tom’s a widely respected producer of horses and it’s really great to see him step up to this top level at long last.

GIF via Badminton TV.

6:40 a.m. EST: A 39.8 for Arthur won’t improve on their 5* best, but it’s going to be a jumping weekend not a dressage weekend — especially with the optimum time of 11 minutes, 44 seconds tomorrow. You’ll want a fit, blood horse tomorrow and Arthur looks to be sat on one. We’ll now have the long-awaited 5* debut of French rider Tom Carlile, who brings forward Zanzibar Villa Rose Z, another 10-year-old who’s been on Tom’s string for about four years.

6:32 a.m. EST: French will send another rider in next, this time in Arthur Duffort and Toronto D’Aurois. This horse has been around Pau and Burghley and will not be one to challenge the top of the leaderboard, so the focus will likely be on relaxation and presenting the horse in the best manner possible. He earned a 37 at Pau and a 39 at Burghley, so Arthur will be looking to shave a few marks off that bit if he can.

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

6:31 a.m. EST: Jewelent wouldn’t have the total strength he’ll develop as he continues with his education, but some really nice work and natural talent coming through here. At 10, this is a big ask for a horse! I think Clare will be happy with this test — the best is yet to come with this one. A 33.2 is quite respectable and will be a good score to work to finish on.

6:26 a.m. EST: A 26.7 for Gireg will go into the top 10 for now. Next we’ll see our next Irish rider, Clare Abbott with Jewelent. This pair were the best placed of the Irish at Europeans in 2021, and this horse has also done well in the Young Horse World Breeding Championships at Le Lion d’Angers. This is the first 5* for the 10-year-old Irish gelding by Valent.

6:25 a.m. EST: A 9 on the extended canter for Gireg and a really great test all together. Some of the best canter work and changes we’ve seen. Really nicely done. A 9, 8, and 8 on his final halt salute and I would imagine some strong marks for Harmony as well.

6:23 a.m. EST: A nice type, this one. He’s gotten 8s across the board on a flying change, definitely going to earn some good marks with this correct canter work.

GIF via Badminton TV.

6:19 a.m. EST: This is another pair that’s got the chops to get in under 30, though this 5* test will be the most technical test this horse has done save perhaps a practice run ahead of this event.

6:18 a.m. EST: Next in the ring will be France’s Gireg le Coz and Aisprit de La Loge, a 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding making his 5* debut this weekend.

6:16 a.m. EST: Nice work really playing to her horse’s strengths, which is, I think, an underrated skill. So often we get stuck drilling and trying to improve every movement, but as Lillian Heard noted yesterday, sometimes horses are the way they are. Maximizing the strengths they have can help you earn back points.

6:15 a.m. EST: Really nice stretching canter work for Bubby and Cola, they receive 7, 7.5 and 8 on that movement.

6:10 a.m. EST: And we’re ready to get back underway, now with Bubby Upton and Cola. Cola is 12 this year, and this is the first Badminton for both horse and rider. This pair has been together for some time and achieved much success as they’ve come up in the British young rider development system. They’re well within capability of going sub-30 today, so let’s see what they’ve got.

5:50 a.m. EST: Libby looks pleased with Heartbreaker Star Quality, earning a 33.4 to sit inside the top 30 for now. This brings us to our coffee break and we’ll resume in about 20 minutes with Bubby Upton and Cola.

GIF via Badminton TV.

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

5:42 a.m. EST: What a good boy True Blue Too seems to be, and a solid partner for Rosie. This horse is just 11 this year and looked a little impressed in the big ring but really did what he could to listen. A 36.5 for this pair. Just one more to see before our first break of the day, and it’ll be British rider Libby Seed with Heartbreaker Star Quality. Libby’s making her debut here and she’s a hero for the amateur riders: she’s medical sales executive, having graduated with a degree in Medical Sciences from Exeter while balancing her riding the whole way through.

5:37 a.m. EST: I’m going to make a prediction that we’ll have the three Tokyo team members for Great Britain at the top of the board after today — remember, we still have Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class to come. This is a horse well capable of earning a 21 to give Laura a run — he earned a 21.1 at Badminton in 2019 but was more in the mid-20s at his last two 5* runs.

5:36 a.m. EST: Well Rosie Fry now has the unenviable task of following Laura, making her debut with True Blue Too.

5:33 a.m. EST: Wow, what a test! A few marks lost in the stretching circle but plenty of 9s and 10s to give her a good run at the top of the board. Two 9s on the final halt and salute. 8.5, 8.5, 9 for collective harmony mark. A 21.0 to take the lead!!

GIF via Badminton TV.

5:31 a.m. EST: Another 10, this one for the canter after the reinback, from Anne-Marie Taylor at B.

5:31 a.m. EST: And another 10 on the halt, this time from Seppo Leine at H. She also receives 9 on the halt from the two other judges.

5:29 a.m. EST: Laura earns a 10 on her extended trot from Anne-Marie Taylor at B.

5:28 a.m. EST: If anyone is to challenge Tom McEwen’s 23.4, it might be this pair. They haven’t quite got the dressage record, but they did, until last weekend, hold the lowest finishing score record with a 21.3 at Pau.

5:26 a.m. EST: Big hug for El Mundo as he and Mike wrap up their test. They earn 7s on the final halt and salute. Next in will be another hotly anticipated test to see: Tokyo Olympians Laura Collett with London 52.

GIF via Badminton TV.

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

5:23 a.m. EST: Trending mid-30s or so for this test. El Mundo would be one to average in the 30s, though he did squeak under into the 20s at Bicton.

GIF via Badminton TV.

5:17 a.m. EST: Lots of good work in Sarah’s test with Dassett Cooley Dun, scoring a 37.0. Our next to see with be our second Canadian pair, Mike Winter with El Mundo. Mike is based in Britain as a part of Wayfarer Eventing with wife Emma. This is another late addition from the wait list. They tackled the Bicton 5* last year, ran into a spot of trouble there and rerouted to Pau in the fall. This is a horse we’ve really seen some nice results from as he’s been produced and Mike is also surely vying for the eyes of the Canadian selectors ahead of WEG in September.

5:15 a.m. EST: Dom and Karl have both debriefed on our Instagram story; they’re both pleased and no surprises in the test. Of course you always want to get your best score possible, but both riders are feeling positive moving forward — they came here to jump!

5:11 a.m. EST: Next in will be the diminutive Dassett Cooley Dun, piloted by Sarah Way looking for her first Badminton completion. Big fan of this little guy! Although I probably shouldn’t call him “little guy” to his face.

5:09 a.m. EST: Maxime scores a shade over 40 with Vitorio du Montet, not the strongest test surely but this is a horse you might peg to finish on his score, though the track here will be a different feel from his last 5* at Pau. But if there’s one thing we know, it’s not to count out a strong French rider on a French-bred horse.

GIF via Badminton TV.

5:02 a.m. EST: Next will be our first French rider of the day: Maxime Livio rides Vitorio du Montet, his partner for a top five finish at Pau in 2021.

5:01 a.m. EST: What a lovely test for Susie and John the Bull! Some really nice scores for this pair, and John the Bull looks like a real nice trier. A 28.8 for this pair to start on! Meanwhile Karl Slezak will take a score of 37.8 forward to tomorrow’s cross country.

4:58 a.m. EST: John the Bull gets some of the best marks we’ve seen in his walk work. Even a 9 on the medium walk!

4:55 a.m. EST: Next in will be Susie Berry for Ireland, riding John the Bull in her 5* debut. This horse was formerly campaigned by the always-popular Jonty Evans.

4:54 a.m. EST: Pats for Fernhill Wishes:

GIF via Badminton TV.

4:51 a.m. EST: Fernhill Wishes doesn’t find the flying changes to be the easiest, but he’s not lacking on effort. Honestly, this horse just looks like such a pleasure to ride — and Karl’s got a really lovely way of riding across the country. They had a freak fall at their 5* debut in Kentucky last year and went on to finish Maryland that fall. This weekend is a part of Karl’s quest to represent Canada this fall at World Championships. Good boy Chocy!

“The judge said more jump in the canter — like this?” — Fernhill Wishes. GIF via Badminton TV.

4:49 a.m. EST: Fernhill Wishes showing lots of relaxation in the walk work though he’s just a bit unsteady in the contact at the same time. Personally I feel like I’d rather have the relaxation — the contact can improve over time!

4:48 a.m. EST: Speaking of our Canadian friends here this weekend, the Canadian Eventing Team is taking over our Instagram page today! Follow us at @goeventing and watch our story for more.

4:46 a.m. EST: Next in will be another U.S.-based pair, this time for Canada in Karl Slezak and Fernhill Wishes. “Chocy” has a very workmanlike attitude in him and we should see some decent relaxation in this test. Put it this way: for Karl’s fundraising ahead of this trip, one item up for grabs was a lesson on Fernhill Wishes!

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 62)

4:43 a.m. EST: I think Dom will be pleased to have gotten through that but I think there was a lot to like in that test! A 38.9 is a touch higher than what they’ve generally gotten at this level, but I’m betting Boly is about the fittest he’s ever been!

GIF via Badminton TV.

4:41 a.m. EST: A bit more excitement coming through in the canter work. He’ll lose a few marks here and in the walk.

4:39 a.m. EST: Some good scores coming in early on for Dom. He looks to have Boly really on the aids and listening through his excitement.

GIF via Badminton TV.

4:37 a.m. EST: And here’s our first American-based rider of the day: Australia’s Dom Schramm is looking for a good experience here at his first Badminton. Bolytair B has been looking stronger and fitter each day and I think Dom will be happy to get out on cross country, but their flatwork’s also come along so this should be a solid test.

4:35 a.m. EST: A steady test for DSP Cosma, who should hit the board around the mid-30s for a solid starting point. This is a horse Katrin’s had since he was a yearling — he’s 13 now.

4:30 a.m. EST: Our first to kick things off this morning are our sole Austrian entrants: Katrin Khoddan-Hazrati and DSP Cosma. This pair’s been to the European Championships together and makes their debut at Badminton this year (they’ve also gone around some of Burghley as well as completed Pau).

Friday News & Notes Presented by Zoetis

By on May 6, 2022 12:03 am -

How to keep your breeches sparkling white, according to Team Price. Photo courtesy of Badminton Horse Trials FB.

Day one dressage brought the heat, but day two might just blow your socks off. The second half of the field comes forward today to attempt to smash the incredibly high standard we’ve seen throughout today’s competition – and there’s plenty of heavy hitters in the line-up, including Olympic medallists Laura Collett and London 52, Bubby Upton and Cola, Tim Price and Ringwood Sky Boy, Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class, and plenty more besides. We’ll also see another, smaller batch of our North American (and US-based) contingent, the first group of whom we caught up with yesterday. To check out the times in full so you don’t miss a minute, click here.

Badminton: [Website] [Dressage Ride Times] [Live Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Ultimate Guide] [EN’s Instagram] [EN’s Twitter]

U.S. Weekend Preview

Catalpa Corner May Madness H.T. (Iowa City, Ia.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]

The Event at Skyline (Mt. Pleasant, Ut.): [Website] [Ride Times / Scores] [Volunteer]

Miami Valley H.T. at Twin Towers (Yellow Springs, Oh.): [Website] [Ride Times / Scores] [Volunteer]

Poplar Place May H.T. (Thomson, Ga.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Photography Sign-up] [Volunteer] [Scores]

Waredaca H.T. (Gaithersburg, Md.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Photographer] [Scores] [Volunteer]

News From Around the Globe: 

Want to stay in the loop with Badminton Horse Trials? We’re sending our Daily Digest each evening this week with the latest news, information and stories from Badminton. It’s free to sign up + there are opportunities to win items from our new #goeventing merchandise line each day! Sign up here.

We are so relieved to hear that Ashlynn Meuchel’s Emporium is back home in his field, happy and healthy. Theo caught his left front shoe on the ground line of the corner in the water, which caused him to fall on the landing side. Upon attempting to get up, he somehow caught his right front shoe in his noseband, which made him panic. However, he is injury free and ready for his next challenge. [Emporium Happy at Home]

Ready to go behind the stall door with the “dork” who just placed 3rd at Kentucky? After Doug Payne lost the ride on a former advanced horse a decade ago, he and his wife Jess decided they’d start bringing up their own horses so there would always be some youngsters in the pipeline under their ownership. Quantum Leap was the first of several horses to come to the Paynes as a yearling, and over the past 10 years, he and Doug have developed a solid partnership, completing two five-stars in 2021. On May 1, they became the Land Rover/USEF CCI5*-L National Champions at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event when they finished third. [Behind the Stall Door with Quantum Leap]

When Boyd Martin finished the cross-country course on Tsetserleg TSF, there was a new person at the Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L vet box with him—Ruben “Gu Rubee” Mahboobi. Mahboobi, dressed in all black and an assortment of earrings, rings and bracelets, stood near Martin during his post-ride press interview. Mahboobi is a dressage rider, and has been practicing wellness of mind, body and spirit for about 30 years. He’s a bodyguard to celebrities, which he calls an “executive protection specialist,” because he protects not just the body, but the mind and spirit, too. [Meet Boyd’s New Wellness Coach]

When Vicki Oliver takes Hidden Stash to the saddling paddock on Saturday, she’ll join a select group of trainers in Kentucky Derby history. Oliver will be the first female trainer to start a Derby runner in six years, and only the 17th in the race’s 147-year history. In interviews on the subject, Oliver has made it clear she’s not ultra-keen on the female trainer angle – after all, horses don’t spend much time fretting about the anatomy of their owners, trainers, or riders, and true horsemanship isn’t ordained by chromosomes. In fact, the very first female trainer who blazed a trail for Oliver and others may have felt very much the same way. [Mary Hirsch: The First Female Derby Trainer]

Friday Video Break: That one time Chinch and Zoe the Unicorn from Zoetis rekindled their love…

Thursday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: Watch + Listen with Doug Payne and Quantum Leap at Kentucky

By on May 5, 2022 5:30 pm -

Helmet cam videos are some of the most useful, in my opinion. It’s really interesting to watch a ride, no matter what level, from the rider’s point of view. We’ve lucked out that the newly-crowned USEF 5* National Champion, Doug Payne, put on his mic for this recap of his ride around Kentucky with Quantum Leap.

Doug narrates his helmet cam with transparency, describing how he tries to look out for Quantum, who was doing his third 5*, as he traveled around Derek di Grazia’s cross country track. In 2021, Quantum Leap debuted at this level and Doug noticed him going “a bit numb” and tired about midway through. This informed Doug’s fitness plans for this spring and also gave him a benchmark to monitor as he went out this year. You can also hear Doug talking about his selection of lines (spoiler: he picks the fastest one, nine times out of ten) and how important it is to truly know your horse as you set out on a course that asks riders to use their instincts rather than their math skills.

It’s a fascinating watch, so spare a few minutes and turn your sound up! You can follow Doug on YouTube for more videos and updates throughout the year.

Contribute™

Omega-3 fatty acids have been proven to reduce skin inflammation and mitigate allergic response. Contribute delivers both plant and marine sources of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Feed one to two ounces per day, depending on severity of the allergy.

Click here to download: Quick and Dirty Facts on Skin Problems in Horses

The horse that matters to you matters to us®. KPPusa.com

Thursday Afternoon at Badminton: Tom’s Untouchable But Kitty King’s Closing In

By on May 5, 2022 4:35 pm -

Kitty King and Vendredi Biats offer up this afternoon’s closest challenge for the lead, ultimately finishing up in second at the end of the first day. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

It doesn’t often happen that Badminton’s Thursday morning leader remains in the top spot through the rest of the day, but that’s exactly what happened in today’s competition: coming forward as just the fourth competitor of the day, Olympic medallists Tom McEwen and his eminently reliable Toledo de Kerser delivered a career-best five-star score of 23.4 that proved unsurpassable as the day wore on. There were plenty of admirable challengers for the throne, though, and as the day drew to a close, two of them had come very close indeed.

“He’s getting more and more reliable — he used to be a little bit more tricky, but he’s getting more and more on side as he’s getting older and he’s getting the strength there,” says Kitty King, who posted a 24.8 with Vendredi Biats (Winningmood x Liane Normande, by Camelia de Ruelles). While it’s hardly the Selle Français gelding’s first sub-25 – he’s managed the feat four times at four-star – it easily eclipsed his previous five-star score of 27.2, earned here in 2019. Like many French horses, we’ve seen him hit a peak, both in strength and in hard-earned maturity, as he’s entered his teens and today, his professionalism won out – despite some tricky schooling sessions in the previous days.

“He was quite tricky yesterday, and kept breaking in all his medium trots,” explains Kitty. “I was getting a bit stressed about it all, but he was much more with me when I rode him this morning. I got on him probably a bit too early up here and so, because he felt really focused and with me, I just ended up doing a lot of walk and practicing his halts [in the warm-up].”

That clearly paid off – the pair earned a 10 from judge Christian Landolt at C for their second halt, while the judges at H and B awarded them 9s for the same movement. But the audible reaction from today’s high-octane audience nearly cost them thereafter: “I’d done my halt and reinback and then went into canter, and I heard a gasp as I went into medium canter [when the halt score was revealed] – I thought, ‘am I not meant to be doing medium canter?! Where am I meant to be going?’ So then I didn’t ride my medium very well, because I thought ‘oh shit, I’ve gone wrong’ because of the gasp. I’m not used to getting 10s!”

Kitty and ‘Froggy’s’ trip to last year’s European Championships in Avenches proved an asset in their corner as they came face to face with packed grandstands in this afternoon’s session.

“It wasn’t like here, obviously, but there were some quite enthusiastic crowds [at Avenches], so it was good he got to see them,” she says. Her ride time, though, was directly after that of third-placed Mollie Summerland and Charly van ter Heiden, who had delivered an excellent test to a tumult of applause. “I waited for Mollie’s second clap and then went in thinking they’d be finished, and then they clapped as I went in. I thought ‘oh God!’, because that’s when he can go a bit short and have his eyes popping out of his head, but I gave him a little flexion left and right and did a little leg-yield, and he came straight back to me and really settled.”

From then on out, Kitty found she was able to be bold throughout her ride, giving the ground jury every excuse to reward her crisp transitions between and within the gaits.

“He just felt superb today when I was doing the test. It was the first time where it actually felt like I had so much time between each movement to prepare for the next, whereas normally we don’t have that kind of balance and that time. It all flowed nicely, and I could really ride him for every mark that he could give me at this point. I couldn’t be more thrilled with him.”

Mollie Summerland makes her Badminton debut an impressive one, delivering her best-ever five-star score with her Luhmühlen-winning partner, Charly van ter Heiden. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

While Kitty might have felt a touch of trepidation at vocal enthusiasm following Mollie Summerland‘s test with Charly van ter Heiden, Mollie herself felt an enormous wave of relief as she completed her test with the 13-year-old Hanoverian.

“I’ve found it quite tough since Luhmühlen,” she admits, referring to her fairytale win with the gelding in the German five-star last summer, where she led from pillar to post. “I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure, probably from myself, and a lot of expectation, and I’ve found it hard this year to get the balance right and enjoy the sport. I actually spoke to my sports psychologist this morning, because yesterday I was a very different person – I was probably a little bit introverted and quite emotional and worried. But today, my trainer Olivia Oakley has been here with me, holding my hand every step of the way.”

The 24-year-old’s Badminton debut is a very different kettle of fish to that Luhmühlen trip, which came during the height of continental travel restrictions and meant that she competed without Great Britain’s extensive team of support staff to hand, and none of her trainers or home team with her. This time, she has access to all of the above – but also carries the weight of knowing that this time around, the world knows her name.

That pressure reached its zenith ahead of her test, largely because of her notable prowess in this phase. Mollie also trains extensively with British dressage superstar Carl Hester, and freely admits that the first phase is her favourite – but meeting her own high standards can be a lofty challenge. Today, she rose to it, earning herself a 24.9 – her best-ever score at five-star, and good enough for third place at the end of the first day of competition here.

“I feel a bit shell-shocked – I really didn’t expect that, and I’ve never ridden in front of crowds like that,” she says, beaming through tears. “I’m just so proud of [Charly] — that horse deserves that score, and I’m just glad I didn’t let him down. I just couldn’t believe it; when I came out I kept asking my trainer if she was sure I hadn’t missed a change, because we actually couldn’t do any [in the warm-up], and he was excited in the atmosphere.”

Mollie’s excellent test today wasn’t just a triumph over the pressure she’s felt – it was also a welcome return to the top for Charly, who sat out the rest of 2021 after post-event scans revealed he’d picked up a soft tissue injury at Luhmühlen.

“To have him back — that horse means the world to me; I’ve had him since he was a five-year-old,” she says. “I feel quite emotional about it! He’s my best friend, and so to ride in that arena together was a privilege.”

World Champions Ros Canter and Allstar B bring a new outlook to their return to five-star. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Tamie Smith and Mai Baum hold fourth place overnight, and best of today’s strong line-up of North American riders, with the very good 25.3 they earned in this morning’s session, while fellow pre-lunch competitors Oliver Townend and Swallow Springs and reigning champions Piggy March and Vanir Kamira sit in equal fifth on 25.7. New Zealand’s Amanda Pottinger and her ex-racehorse Just Kidding finish the day in seventh place on 25.9. (Missed it? You can catch up on the details of their rides in the lunch break report.)

That sizzling morning session does feel rather a long way away now, but let’s take a quick whiz back in time to revisit the superb efforts that filled much of the rest of the top ten in today’s competition.

Eighth overnight are our reigning World Champions Ros Canter and Allstar B, who delivered a clear round between the boards to post a 26.4. They return to competition for 2022 — and for their first test at this level since the World Equestrian Games in 2018 — with a reinvigorated approach after a tricky 2021 season.

“I’ve done things a bit differently with him this year, and have been schooling and practicing the dressage a lot less than I’ve done before,” she explains. “I was a little bit nervous this morning that I hadn’t practiced my tests enough, but as soon as you get in there he’s like, head down, ‘off we go, Ros!’, so he’s great.”

‘Alby’s’ 2021 season saw the pair head to Tokyo as travelling reserves for the British team, which required Ros to carefully build the seventeen-year-old gelding to peak fitness. When they weren’t subsequently required to run at the Olympics, she briefly let him back down, before building him up again in preparation for September’s European Championships in Avenches. But that long build-up led to a hugely uncharacteristic couple of run-outs – a frustrating turn of events that was ultimately a strange sort of blessing in disguise for the pair.

“As we do over the winter, I thought a lot about him, and about our relationship together,” she explains. “I think it goes back further than the Olympic year with us: I missed a year due to being pregnant, and then Covid hit and the ‘Big Bs’, which he adores and lives for, and that build-up to two big events a year, all disappeared. Suddenly, we had to build up every month for a short-format, and I think as a result of the pressure of having had a year off, I probably over-trained in that period — so I very much wanted to get back to him loving the job again. He’s older and wiser and more laid-back at home, and so we’ve gone hacking [instead of schooling]. I’ve learned so much about him out hacking, about his balance, about bringing him off his forehand on the flat. He doesn’t forget how to do a flying change or a half-pass, and so I’m fairly confident that what I’ve done this year has been the right thing for the horse.”

“It was terrible at the time that I had the run-outs and I lost an individual medal [at the Europeans], but thankfully we still won the team medal and in hindsight, if I’d won an individual gold medal I wouldn’t have changed my system, and I’d have had a different horse coming into Badminton. We’re always learning as riders, and I definitely learned a lot from last year’s experience.”

European Champions Nicola Wilson and JL Dublin take an early spot in the top ten. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

The rider who did go on to win the individual gold in that European Championships was Nicola Wilson and her now eleven-year-old Holsteiner JL Dublin, who began his five-star debut just a tenth of a penalty behind Ros and Alby on 26.5. That’s enough to see him finish the first day in ninth place.

“It’s his first time at this level, and he coped really well with the atmosphere in the main arena — and I was thrilled with his test,” says Nicola. “He had a little wobble in the second shoulder-in, which was costly, but on the whole I was delighted with his rideability, how he went, and how he expressed himself.”

That the ‘little wobble’ in their shoulder-in only saw their marks drop down to a 6.5 at the lowest is a testament to how consistent this horse has been: he won Bicton’s CCI4*-L and Hartpury’s CCI4*-S last season before heading to Avenches, where he put an exceptional 20.9 on the board and subsequently finished on it.

This is the first of Nicola’s two debutant horses this week, and also the first time we’ve seen Badminton use the draw to decide the order of multiple-horse riders: previously, those with two entered could choose the order in which they went, but this year, it’s assigned at random. (The exception to the rule, of course, is those riders who enter more than two horses with the intention of withdrawing all but two, who are then given multiple spots at the start and finish of the list and can tactically withdraw in order to get the intended runners in their preferred order.) In Nicola’s case, given the choice, she’d have preferred to bring JL Dublin out for Friday’s session: “I probably would have ridden him second, but it really doesn’t matter — if you do a good test you’ll be marked well, hopefully!”

Pippa Funnell’s impressive Billy Walk On jointly rounds out the top ten. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Two further Brits round out the top ten in equal tenth place on 28.5, and between them, they represent a formidable cross-section of the country’s elite competitors: Pippa Funnell and Billy Walk On line up for the living legends and experienced five-star horses of the sport, while Emily King and Valmy Biats represent the young guns and debutant horses.

It’s been a busy enough week for Pippa by anyone’s standards — after riding two horses to very good results at Kentucky, she hopped on the packed Sunday evening flight from Lexington back to England, where she dived headlong into the final preparations for Badminton with another two entrants. That meant fine-tuning the flatwork with her horses, who had been schooled in her absence by her stable staff.

“[Billy Walk On] is a very big horse, and I have a fantastic team at home of very little people — they’re all five foot, or five foot one maximum,” says Pippa. “Lily Wilson’s done the most incredible job with them, keeping them ticking over and hacking, but he’s big and gets quite strung out and that’s meant I’ve had to work quite hard in closing him up again, so I don’t think that being away necessarily helped in the preparation. But that’s more to do with the FEI and trying to persuade them to change calendars so we can have a week between the five-stars!”

Though we’ve seen Billy Walk On deliver low 20s scores at this level, his test today looked plenty polished in the circumstances, with just one frustrating moment in the second change when he dropped behind the leg and spooked through the movement, earning costly 4s and a 3.

Emily King and Valmy Biats join Pippa and Billy Walk On in equal tenth place after day one of dressage. Photo by Nico Morgan Media.

Emily King, too, had a wobble in the second flying change, which earned her two 5s and a 4 with Valmy Biats, and was the only real fault in an otherwise mature test for the first-time five-star horse.

“He’s come on so much in the dressage over the last couple of years,” says Emily, who campaigns the horse with the support of the Event Horse Owners Syndicate, a racing-inspired micro syndicate service that allows fans of the sport increased access to the sport via ‘their’ horse and rider. “I’ve only had him for two years, and when he came to me he couldn’t physically do flying changes, and now he’s coming in and doing all of them. Give him another year and I think he’ll be mega, so for where he’s at, I was seriously pleased.”

This was Valmy’s first time in a real pressure cooker of an atmosphere but this, too, posed little issue for the French gelding: “He coped very well — he’s quite a hot, tense sort of horse with a lot of power that quite easily goes straight out the front door, so it’s just about containing it in a relaxed way. I thought he went in there and felt like he did in the warm-up, which was lovely because I didn’t have to adapt too much.”

The second half of the field comes forward tomorrow to attempt to smash the incredibly high standard we’ve seen throughout today’s competition – and there’s plenty of heavy hitters in the line-up, including Olympic medallists Laura Collett and London 52, Bubby Upton and Cola, Tim Price and Ringwood Sky Boy, Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class, and plenty more besides. We’ll also see another, smaller batch of our North American (and US-based) contingent, the first group of whom we caught up with earlier today. To check out the times in full, click here.

We’ll be back with plenty more from Badminton — until then, Go Eventing!

The top ten at the end of Thursday’s dressage at Badminton.

Badminton Links: Website, Entries, Live Stream, Live Scores, Ride Times, EN’s Ultimate Guide, The Form Guide, Course Preview, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagram

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 61)