Tom Crisp’s ride Coolys Luxury was sent to the holding box, but was accepted by the ground jury on re-presentation.
French rider Cedric Lyard was asked to trot his ride Qatar Du Puech Rouget a second time and the chestnut gelding was also accepted.
All 78 horses presented to the ground jury of Sue Baxter, Katrin Eichinger-Kniely and Christoph Hess passed and go forward to the dressage phase.
The first inspection, which took place in front of Badminton House, drew large crowds and many of the horses picked-up on the atmosphere.
Badminton final scores
Georgie Strang’s ride Cooley Earl and Sarah Bullimore’s Reve Du Rouet were among those keeping a watchful eye on their audience.
Meanwhile, Oregon De La Vigne, the ride of France’s Denis Mesples, threw in a couple of rears, while Kaiser HDB 4175 took his rider Regis Prud’hon for a dash along the gravel, snorting at the crowds.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Ros Canter’s ride Allstar B was trotted up by a friend.
“[Allstar B] knows he is important and my short legs can’t always keep up, so British team farrier Greg kindly agreed to do the honours,” she Ros told H&H.
Nine riders have two horses entered, including Rolex Grand Slam contender and former winner Oliver Townend, who will start on European team gold medallist Cooley SRS and his 2017 Burghley winner Ballaghmor Class.
Meet one of the youngest riders in this year's Badminton field, who has combined two grants to fund her trip
Three former Badminton-winning horses are among the starters, these are last year’s winners Andrew Nicholson and Nereo, 2016 winners Michael Jung and La Biosthetique-Sam FBW and 2014 title-holders Sam Griffiths and Paulank Brockagh.
Italian rider Giovanni Ugolotti, who rides the 14-year-old gelding Cult Rewind, won the Hi Ho Silver prize for the best-dressed male rider, with Louise Harwood taking the award for the best-dressed female.
Read our full Badminton preview in the current issue ofHorse & Hound(issue dated 26 April 2018), with course walk insight from Mary King plus full form guide for every horse and rider
Our bumper 24-page Badminton report will be in our 10 May issue, including opinion from Oliver Townend, Mark Phillips and Peter Storr.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
