This is what sitting in 10th place after Badminton XC feels like.
Michael Jung and Sam survived a scary moment at The Lake to come home 13 seconds inside the time on cross-country day to maintain their lead going into show jumping tomorrow at Badminton. When you watch the video from the press conference — which I’ll have uploaded later today — you’ll notice that I start laughing quite uncontrollably when someone asked Michael Jung if he expected to make it through at The Lake. Michael paused with a smirk as if trying to think of a way to tactfully say, “Of course I expected to make it; that’s what I DO.” After seeing Michael ride in person this weekend and chatting with him a bit this morning, I think it’s very clear that he and Sam are nowhere near done taking international eventing by storm. And barring an anomaly in show jumping tomorrow, Michael will add a Badminton victory to his long list of accolades.
Nico Morgan Photography.">
Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz. Photo courtesy of Nico Morgan Photography.
We saw an incredible 23 double-clear cross country trips today, as the footing was perfect and the course quite flat in comparison to other four-star tracks, making for easy going. Just eight pairs were eliminated — with five of those being falls — and five retired on course, giving this year’s Badminton cross country an 85 percent completion rate. Mary King, who was sitting in 15th place after cross country with Kings Temptress, was eliminated at the Farmyard when she missed the flag and unfortunately did not check with the fence judge and carried on with her ride. Bettina Hoy and Lanfranco TSF, who were sitting in 18th after dressage, had a very scary fall at the Huntsman’s Close and were also eliminated. There were no major injuries to horses or riders, making this a very safe day of cross country.
Nico Morgan Photography.">
Clark Montgomery and Universe. Photo courtesy of Nico Morgan Photography.
The real story of the day as far as I’m concerned is how brilliantly our North American riders performed here on a very tough track. All four of our pairs — Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz, Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister, Clark Montgomery and Universe, and Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master — jumped clear around Badminton. This is a huge achievement, and I’ll take it as a good omen that U.S. eventing is heading in the right direction. Tiana and Finn go into the show jumping tomorrow in 10th place after coming home with just two time penalties, and she looked absolutely elated when I chatted with her in the mix zone after her trip home. As she said in the interview — which you can watch below — Finn has truly matured and is coming into his own, making him a very exciting horse for the future.
Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master. Photo courtesy of Nico Morgan Photography.
I keep asking Colleen Rutledge what it means to her to be making history this weekend, and she keeps telling me that it’s not official yet. But after she jumped clean around Badminton with Luke — coming home with just four time penalties to move up 26 places — I’d say we might as well start celebrating already. When Colleen and Luke complete the show jumping tomorrow — and they will! — they will be the first pair in history to complete five of the world’s six CCI4* events as a team. Jimmy Wofford is here supporting and coaching Colleen this weekend, and I got a bit choked up when he gave her a giant hug in the mix zone after her ride. I know how much this weekend and this horse mean to Colleen, and I am so so SO happy for her. Be sure to watch the great interview she gave me after her ride below.
William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk. Photo courtesy of Nico Morgan Photography.
Clark Montgomery and Universe also had a fantastic trip, coming home with 6.4 time penalties to complete the horse’s first four-star cross-country course. Aside from a rocky moment at Savills’ Staircase — where Clark quickly and smartly rerouted to the option — this was a lovely ride. I saw Clark and Buzzy at the Keeper’s Brush coming toward home, and the horse absolutely launched himself over it. Clark said in my interview with him after his ride — which you can see below — that he was very pleased with the horse’s performance, and he jumped very well around the course. Canadian Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master also had a good day, coming home with just .8 time penalties to be the fastest of our North American pairs. As John said in his open thread, Rebecca and Rupert might have secured a spot on the Canadian WEG team after their performance today.
Michael Jung and Sam. Photo courtesy of Nico Morgan Photography.
I kept hearing different crowd estimates all day, with some saying as many as 200,000 people attended Badminton today to watch the horses and riders go on a truly beautiful day in England. We go into tomorrow’s show jumping with Grand Slam contenders William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk sitting in third place and Andrew Nicholson and Nereo sitting in fourth place. Michael Jung did admit during the press conference that he was a bit worried about how Sam would jump in the Badminton stadium tomorrow, as the horses started and came home in the same ring on cross country today. It’s likely we will see a lot of riders struggle with horses that are very up and energized by the atmosphere, and it will take very skilled riding to leave all the rails in the cups tomorrow. Stay tuned for a full press conference report and much more from Badminton.
Nico Morgan Photography.">
Jock Paget and Clifton Promise. Photo courtesy of Nico Morgan Photography.
Last but not least, I have to send a very special shout out to photographer extraordinaire Nico Morgan, who graciously came over to me as I was typing up this report for you and asked if I wanted photos of our North American riders. Considering I was running around all day trying to get rider interviews and videos, I wasn’t able to take great photos, so I’m so very grateful to Nico for his very kind offer. Be sure to like Nico’s Facebook page as thanks for providing EN with these beautiful photos with the stunning backdrop of the Badminton house. Go Nico.
[Ride Times] [Fence Analysis] [Live Scores]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WJ6V4SdJ98
Tiana Coudray post-XC interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BboMukEOZdY
Colleen Rutledge post-XC interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOJIxMa5yW0
Clark Montgomery post-XC interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HFbbGZbWKs
Rebecca Howard post-XC interview
More: [Olivia Wilmot and Cool Dancer at Saville’s Staircase]
[Clark Montgomery and Universe out of the start box]
[Clare Lewis and Sidnificant at the PHEV Village]
