Belgium’s Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Hooney d’Arville scored a five-star personal best of 28.6 to go third in the first ride after lunch on the second day of dressage at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials (Friday 8 May).
“If you do a personal best at Badminton, that’s the right place to do it,” Lara said. “She felt fantastic in there – she knows she’s at Badminton. She has been quite a lot to handle since we arrived, but my groom did a fantastic job. I think I made everyone proud.”
The 13-year-old mare arrived at Badminton fresh and unsettled, and Lara’s team have been keeping her calm with hours of in-hand grazing.
“Grazing, grazing – not letting her think too much about it,” said Lara. “She hasn’t eaten too much yet, and I think she’s lost some weight, so the challenge is being the good athlete, the good rider, and taking a lot of time out without the work. She’s 13, and she has nothing to learn now. It’s just about keeping her happy.”
Lara’s preparation had been disrupted by a fall, after which Hooney d’Arville was kept in her stable for 10 days while the team feared a fracture.
“It ended up not being anything, but I wasn’t sure I was going to come here,” she said. “Now I’m here, and it’s such an accomplishment for her to be here – just riding in there, with nothing to lose really.
“I’m just finally enjoying my time at Badminton and not being so stressed – don’t speak to me about that before cross-country tomorrow. But it all happened the way I would have dreamt of.”
Looking ahead to Saturday, Lara felt the Badminton cross-country course challenge is about cumulative pressure rather than any one fence.
“I like the flow,” she said. “I’d think more about the accumulation factor than one fence in particular. The Vicarage Vee is quite intense, so you want to be on time there, but you shouldn’t try to catch up. There’s a lot to jump.”
“Somehow we always get it done”: Felix Vogg fourth at Badminton
Felix Vogg followed Lara into the main arena and posted 28.7 with the experienced five-star campaigner Cartania to go fourth, making it two continental European riders muscling their way into the top four in a single afternoon session.
The Swiss pair won Maryland CCI5* last year and were 11th and 15th in their previous Badminton starts.
“It was a disaster the last few days,” Felix revealed. “She got nervous and everything, but somehow we always get it done in the test. The atmosphere here, the dogs barking – she’s not so used to all that stuff.”
The Swiss rider has walked the cross-country course twice and likes it, but is hoping for the ground to ride a touch slower than last year.
“I have to still walk it two or three more times,” he said. “I hope the ground’s not too fast – I said the same thing last year, and she got quite strong. Hopefully, this way around it’s better for me.”
Heading into the final group of riders, Lara and Felix sit third and fourth behind leader Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, who took over at the top with a dominant 23.7 earlier in the day, with Tiana Coudray and Cancaras Girl second on 28.1. Brazil’s Marcio Carvalho Jorge rounds out the top five on 29.2 with Royal Encounter.
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:
‘Focus is a very different thing at the moment’: new mother Ros Canter blasts into Badminton dressage lead
Brazilian rider goes third at Badminton, Laura Collett ‘survives’ a tricky situation, and a Swiss debutant’s childhood dream comes true
‘It hasn’t been a smooth build-up but I’m feeling strong’: Emily King back from injury to tackle Badminton
‘I changed my riding style after the accident’: Badminton first-timer Sam Ecroyd on coming back from serious injury
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
