Riding at Mars Badminton Horse Trials has been a long-awaited goal for British rider Sam Ecroyd, who makes his debut at the event this week.
“I remember I was in Oliver Townend’s house at about 12 years old, because my mum and dad are friends with his mum and dad, and I held the Badminton trophy and my goal was to just ride at Badminton one day,” he said after his dressage yesterday.
“So we’re a third of the way to getting around and getting completed. It’s been my whole career. Each morning you wake up, get up at 2am to do a BE100 with some young horses, and it’s just for this moment. So I’m just pleased to be here.”
Badminton Horse Trials first-timer Sam Ecroyd feels lucky still to be riding – as he told H&H when we picked him out as one to watch this year before Christmas last year, in early 2021, when he was aiming for Badminton with two horses, he had a rotational across country at Kelsall Hill. He suffered a bleed on his brain and 57 breaks to his skull and face. He didn’t compete again that year.
“The game’s the game. I don’t think there’s a rider in the top 10 in the world that hasn’t had some pretty big smashes. Unfortunately, it’s part of the sport, part of a lot of top sports,” he said.
“The accident is something I try not to dwell on. I’ve been really lucky. I have been some people very close to me that were less lucky and so I’m just grateful every day that I get to keep going and keep doing it.”
After his fall, Sam did a lot of self-analysis and changed the way he rode.
He said: “When you have a near-death experience, you think, ‘Well, I’d quite like to not do that again.’ Everybody is self-analysing something and I do it every time I ride a horse. I think, ‘What could I do better? What could I do worse?’”
Explaining the “boring technical stuff around” how he changed his riding, Sam elaborated: “I always have a real mantra of travelling cross-country, which is freedom of the horse, length of neck, let the horse be as much in front of you as you can. Make sure they’re drawing you to the fence.
“That’s been something I’ve done, right from when I went to Michael Jung when I was young. His main mantra was, ‘Let go of their neck, get their neck away from you.’ I used to be really good at that, but without quite enough balance on the way into the fence.
“I used to just try to use my natural eye and flow a bit to fences, racing style. After I had my injury, the thing that changed was before every fence, even island fences, is that now I make sure there’s a balance and prep for every single jump. I change the horse’s balance, make sure they know a fence is coming.
“It took me quite a long time to get quick again – I had a lot of time-faults for two or three years, because I used to rely on that flowing rhythm. But it’s amazing how then you adapt your system and horses learn that. And it actually is quicker, I find, because you can really travel up to the fence and the horses will naturally start to prep themselves.”
Badminton Horse Trials debutant Sam Ecroyd: “The sport is an addiction”
Sam said the accident also changed his perspective on life.
He said: “It’s an unbelievably humbling experience when you are sat in a hospital bed and you can’t move or do anything. All this stuff that you feel is pretty easy in life, you don’t take it for granted anymore.”
Asked what he still loves about the sport, despite his injury, Sam said: “I think it’s probably obsession, addiction, all those things that people have at top level sport – I wasn’t good enough at football so I had to find something else.
“But I love horses. I think they’re a special, special animal. We’ve had horses domesticated nearly as long as we’ve had dogs. Man and horses, we’ve been together, looking after each other, for 3,500 years.
“To be a part of that and be able to show off what they can achieve, it sort of symbolises all that long history that we have with the horse. It’s probably something that intrinsically draws me to it.
“I love training, I love working, I love trying to get better. The competing and trying to win every week doesn’t drive me really. It’s more of a desire to do better every day and work with the horse.”
Who is Sam Ecroyd’s Badminton horse?
Sam’s ride this week is Boleybawn Lecrae, with whom he was 17th at Pau Horse Trials last year.
“When he was young, he was just wild. He’s still pretty wild now – he’s just a real life enthusiast and wants to go everywhere at a million miles an hour. He definitely didn’t want to do any dressage or anything under control, so it took quite a few years,” he said.
“The owners Stewart and Vicki Irlam have been incredibly patient with him. He’s taken a long time and some do – he’s a big horse – and we’ve not won a huge amount along the way. It feels like we’re only at the start of what he can achieve.”
Sam’s girlfriend is fellow competitor Emily King and he says riding is much better than watching her riding.
“Watching is just the absolute worst. I hate it. I’ve had my girlfriend here many times and that’s a horrible experience, so I’m much preferring the riding,” he said.
How to watch and listen to Badminton Horse Trials
To watch Badminton Horse Trials live or via catch up, including the trot-ups, from the comfort of your home anywhere in the world, you need a 2026 Badminton TV Pass. Badminton TV is once again powered by ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £22.99. Go to badminton-horse.tv to sign up. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. Also check out the Badminton app, which provides free live results and much more this year. Sign up for Badminton Plus membership for £4.99 to access the live Radio Badminton broadcast and receive exclusive offers from on-site exhibitors. Search for Badminton Horse Trials in your app store.
Enjoy the best of Badminton with Horse & Hound
To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 28-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 14 May.
You may also be interested in:
‘I had 57 breaks on my skull and face’ – meet the comeback rider aiming for Badminton
Badminton Horse Trials dressage times released – when does your favourite go?
How to watch Badminton Horse Trials live from anywhere in the world
Horse & Hound’s exclusive Badminton 2026 form guide, featuring every horse and rider
Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round
