‘Nerves are good for me – otherwise I’m in La-La Land’: cool Badminton first-timer rises to the occasion

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Badminton Horse Trials: Kristina Hall-Jackson and CMS Google in the dressage
Kristina Hall-Jackson and CMS Google perform their dressage test in the rain at Badminton Horse Trials 2023.
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

First-timer Kristina Hall-Jackson channelled the energy in her spooky mare CMS Google to post a personal best five-star dressage score of 30.9 at Badminton Horse Trials, presented by Mars Equestrian. The 13-year-old Baltimore mare knuckled down well to the task in the arena, keeping a lid on her exuberance until the crowd started clapping. But Kristina has had her work cut out to produce Google at her peak.

“Yesterday I rode her four times; she’s been wild but she rose to the occasion,” says Kristina, 26. “It’s magical to ride here. She’s been going pretty well, but I’ve had to work her a lot. She’s had three lots of work today. And she goes out for grazing as much as possible.”

Martha Terry
Martha Terry
Features editor

Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.