Dressage is in the rear view mirror and focus now turns to the Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country. We can’t wait to see how Eric Winter’s track rides and how much change there’s been to the leaderboard by this time tomorrow.
Read on to find out what to look out for as cross-country day unfolds…
1. Can Oliver Townend retain his lead? The grey Cooley Rosalent is already a five-star winner, at 11 years old, and she’ll be one step closer to adding another title to her CV if she can keep her top spot at the end of tomorrow. Oliver won here in 2009 on Flint Curtis and would love to add another Badminton victory to his record. And don’t forget Oliver also has four-time five-star winner Ballaghmor Class handy in ninth.
2. Equidry Huntsman’s Close. This combination, at fence 26ab, has been mentioned by a number of riders as likely to be influential, with tiring horses having to tackle two big corners on a tight line on the direct route. We’ll be fascinated to see if it proves as tricky as expected. In general, riders have said the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country track is less technical than sometimes, so it will be interesting to see how many problems it causes.
Badminton final scores
3. The cross-country optimum time. Although the ground is likely to be quick, the 11min 40sec target is still likely to be challenging to achieve – Harry Meade mentioned tonight that he thinks the course has been wheeled tightly (which is good news as it will make for an exciting competition). This year’s track is at the upper end of the distance allowed at five-star and even on good ground, endurance will be a factor. A couple of riders mentioned that when the track runs clockwise, it is more tiring – although Badminton Park is quite flat, it feels like a pull home uphill from Huntsman’s Close.
4. Who can rise? There are always leaderboard leapers at five-stars and we reckon Austin O’Connor (20th on Colorado Blue), Harry Meade’s two rides (Superstition, equal 23rd, and Cavalier Crystal, 33rd) and Jonelle Price (46th on Grappa Nera) are ones to keep a sharp eye on.
5. Tom Woodward and Fiona Kashel. Among the raft of top names in the all-British top 10 are these two less well-known riders – Tom (currently sixth on Low Moor Lucky) is the youngest rider at just 23, while Fiona is 42 and has been here a couple of times and completed once (50th in 2022 with her ride this time, Creevagh Silver De Haar, who sits seventh after dressage). We love to see different people shine and can’t wait to see if they can mix it with the big guns tomorrow.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
