Paul Tapner, Clark Montgomery and Francis Whittington in the press conference at Badminton. Photo by Jenni Autry.
#WheresMontgomery? Oh, you know — just winning Badminton after putting in a phenomenal dressage test with Loughan Glen for a score of 33.3. I have to confess that it’s really difficult for me not to be typing in all capital letters right now. Badminton’s website only contains full results through 2007, so I couldn’t dig as far back into the archives as I wanted to, but just to give you an idea of how dominant this performance was, here’s a look at the leading scores after dressage from the past seven years:
2013: Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam FBW, 36.0
2012: Event canceled due to flooded grounds
2011: Ruth Edge and Two Thyme, 33.3
2010: Kai Ruder and Le Prince Des Bois, 33.8
2009: Karin Donckers and Gazelle De La Brasserie, 38.8
2008: Andrew Hoy and Moon Fleet, 35.4
2007: Lucinda Fredericks and Headley Britannia, 34.8
So Clark and Glen tied Ruth Edge and Two Thyme’s score of 33.3 and have landed themselves next to legendary eventing names like Michael Jung, Andrew Hoy and Lucinda Fredericks. And do you notice any other trends here? None of these riders hail from the States. An American hasn’t won Badminton since 1997 when David O’Connor accomplished that feat with Custom Made. How appropriate that David is here this weekend coaching Clark as he looks to bring home the win for Team USA.
Clark and Glen will go very late in the day tomorrow — not until 5:20 p.m. local time — which means the footing will likely be very churned up as a result of the heavy rains we’re expecting tonight, and Chinch will be developing an ulcer as we wait to see if Team USA can hold the lead. And, of course, we still have two other promising American pairs in the thick of it, with Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister in equal 14th place on 43.7 and Clark’s other ride Universe in 45th on 50.8. The sole Canadian pair Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master are in 34th on 48.7. Go Badminton.
Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
