French rider Arthur Marx will be looking for redemption at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials this year, following a fall halfway round the cross-country in 2023 aboard Church’Ile. The 30-year-old is riding the same horse this year, a 12-year-old homebred Selle Francais he has produced through the levels.
“My father, Philippe and I bred this horse,” says Arthur, who finished 23rd in the combination’s first five-star at Pau in 2022. “He is a good boy – he likes kisses. When you want him to be, he can be crazy and he will never stop – he has two or three hearts and is fantastic.”
Arthur explains that he is careful in managing Church’Ile’s enthusiasm on a day-to-day basis.
“Every day I ride him for 20 minutes and then he goes out in the field. We don’t work him a lot and you can’t tell him what to do.”
Badminton final scores
Church’Ile is by Grafentolz, who is also the sire of Ros Canter’s five-star winner and European champion Lordships Graffalo and William Fox-Pitt’s Grafennacht. He is out of Ile D’Ohe by Apache D’Adriers – a grand prix showjumper son of Double Espoir, while Philippe evented the dam and the grandam.
Arthur Marx: “I would like to change my morning job”
Arthur Marx is based in Hermeray, 60km south-west of Paris, where he runs his own yard and works in a stationery shop.
“I work in the shop every morning and then I go to my stable and ride 11 horses,” explains Arthur. “In the future I would like to change my morning job to work as a jumps racehorse trainer and then ride my event horses in the afternoon.”
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Arthur and Church’Ile scored 43.1 in Badminton’s dressage this morning (10 May).
“I’m not really happy because we can do a lovely test,” he reflected. “He’s the master for me for the cross-country on Saturday though – as long as I ride well, he is the best and very fast.
“I walked the course with Mark Todd, who is the best trainer. It’s big with a lot of corners, but the ground is good and it will be a good spectacle.”
How to watch Badminton Horse Trials
If you are interested in watching the live action from Badminton Horse Trials from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. To sign up, visitwatch.badminton-horse.tv– click the “Sign Up” link in the top right corner of your screen, then follow the instructions. An annual subscription to Badminton TV costs £19.99 via the website and gives you 365 days of access to all of the content in the Badminton TV library, the ability to watch the action live, and the option to replay all of this year’s action later.Find out more…
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 22-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 16 May.
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
Former web features editor, point-to-point editor and digital racing editor
Gemma is an experienced journalist, who was a member of H&H staff from 2014 to September 2025. She is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at Epsom in August 2018. Gemma’s has reported from numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.
