Laura Collett ‘full steam ahead’ to eventing return following surgery

European eventing champion Laura Collett is back riding following surgery and is expected to return to competition this week.

The 2022 Badminton winner has two horses entered at Barefoot Retreats Burnham Market this weekend (17 to 19 April). Laura’s five-star mares Hester, owned by Lucy Nelson, and Bling, owned by Yvonne Ferguson, are among the CCI4*-S field.

“Two weeks post op and back in my happy place,” said Laura on Sunday, adding that the Collett team is now “full steam ahead” in returning to eventing next weekend.

Earlier this week she also posted footage of her seven jumping lessons with British Equestrian eventing performance manager Dickie Waygood and said it is “good to be back” and that “all horses are feeling fab”.

Laura, a three-time five-star winner, re-injured her collarbone in a cross-country schooling fall this spring. She had initially broken her collarbone in November 2025, which required surgery last year.

On 27 March, she said that she had a “freak fall” in training, owing to the low sun, which displaced the plate and re-injured her collarbone. The horse was fine.

Laura started her season successfully at Tweseldown and Lincolnshire, but said that although she had managed a couple of events, she needed an operation to “get it fixed”.

The double Olympic team gold medallist is entered at Mars Badminton Horse Trials (7 to 10 May) on Bling, with whom she finished 10th at Defender Burghley in 2025.

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