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:
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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…
