Because this photo is awesome
Well friends, it has been a great Badminton weekend. From all of us tall skinny eventing guys who endure the horrible hardships of ill-fitting hunt coats, britches, and boots, who deal with floppy ankles on a daily basis, and who get laughed at by our well-proportioned friends on their 16 hand bays, I say thank you Mark Todd for your continuing inspiration. In all seriousness, I’m not sure how many 12 year old young eventers, boys and girls alike, were watching Badminton today, but if they were anything like me as a kid I bet all of them left truly inspired by watching such a classy and talented rider win Badminton.
What better way to transition to Rolex than with a Badminton victory by someone who is coming to compete at Rolex. And don’t look now, but Toddy is coming to Rolex on a much more experienced horse to compete against a smaller and less deep Rolex field. In other words, he won Badminton on a first time 4* horse and now he’s coming to Rolex on a horse that was 10th at the WEGs. Here are a few quick links to Badminton coverage and commentary as it develops this Monday afternoon:
Update: William Micklem’s show jumping recap
Badminton Monday morning jog photos from Samantha
TheHorse.com writes briefly about Mandiba’s fall
Horse and Hound’s show jumping recap
Video from the press conference
Mark Todd is the oldest winner of Badminton by an astonishing 8 years
From Horse and Country:
Rider (and Uncle Mark’s) thoughts after show jumping:
