‘Badminton was a childhood dream – and next time I want to be more competitive’ – riders to watch in 2023

James Rushbrooke, 25, made his Badminton Horse Trials debut in May 2022, completing the event with a clear jumping round across country.

“It was a childhood dream to get there,” he says. “You know things always go wrong with horses before a big event, but you don’t fully appreciate how hard it is to get a horse there until you do it. I don’t know how riders prepare four or five for a five-star – I was exhausted doing one!”

James has had Milchem Eclipse since he was a four-year-old.

“We bought three horses in Ireland at the same time,” explains James. “He was the one we were definitely meant to sell within a few months, the other two were ones to keep and then hopefully sell in the future or sell shares and keep the ride. The other two ended up both being sold – one turned out to be a nightmare, the other was scared of men.

“Milchem Eclipse stayed and kept getting better and better. Every time he went up a level, I thought this would be his selling point, but he kept going and being easy. Before I knew it, we were going to Badminton. He’s a completely self-produced horse and it’s just been so exciting.”

Many riders will know the double-edged sword of owning their top horse – the security of knowing no one can sell him against having to pay the bills. But James says: “He pays his own bills in how much he’s done for me, so we forgive him.”

After Badminton, Milchem Eclipse had done some four-star events but after a “rubbish run” at Gatcombe, James decided not to go to Burghley.

“I didn’t want to go to Burghley if he wasn’t feeling 100% and boy was I glad I didn’t go because it was enormous– I’m not sure anything could ever prepare you for that!” he says, adding the pair rebuild confidence at an open intermediate and then finished the year with eighth at Little Downham CCI4*-S.

“I also had it in mind that he was only 10, so he didn’t really need to do two five-stars in one year. He has nothing to prove to anyone and sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and see what’s best. He can go to Burghley in 2023, hopefully after going to Badminton again, when he’ll be more established at the level and confident.

“It’s easy to get over-excited and end up doing too many events and blowing their brains and bodies. I want him still to be doing Badminton and Burghley at 18 like Classic Moet, not to be a broken donkey at 12.”

James says he is fortunate to be able to use trainer Sue Smith’s gallops. For his next Badminton attempt, he will start the horse’s fitness work two or three weeks earlier and hope to reduce his 24.8 time-faults.

He explains: “I had no experience to go on last time, but I’d like him to have a bit more gallop at the end. He wasn’t exhausted and I could have pushed him more, but I wanted to get round clear and for the first time I was quite happy with how he went. But next time I want to be more competitive.”

James Rushbrooke is based in North Yorkshire, near Bramham, and runs a livery business alongside his event horses, with about 25 horses on the yard in total. In 2022, he tried to cut back on his event horses and prioritise quality over quantity.

James Rushbrooke: combining hunting and eventing

Hunting is a big part of James’s winter and he is in his third season as a master of the Badsworth and Bramham Moor.

“I like hunting the younger horses to get them out and about and I always have one or two hunters specific to the job so I know if I’m field mastering or visiting, I’ve got a horse that’s sensible and knows the job,” he says.

He says hunting makes him braver, but he also picks up bad habits.

“When I start riding the event horses again after their holidays, I find I can’t trot without standing out of the stirrups and can’t sit in the saddle to canter,” he says.

This season, James has been hunting four-star horse ZelandnewBK.

“He did a check ligament at the start of 2022, so this was something for him to do other than going in the arena and hacking, a bit of fun – and he loves it,” he says. “I’m intrigued to see if it helps with his fitness as he’s foreign [Spanish-bred, by Ojala I] and I’ve always found it hard to get him properly fit.”

James’s other rides include the mare Always On My Mind, who was 11th in the CCI2*-L at Osberton in the autumn of 2022.

“When she came to me, I didn’t think she’d jump round a BE90 because she’s very small and had the most bizarre technique over a fence, but she jumped round five intermediates last season,” he says. “She jumps high in the air with her legs dangling and I did loads of gridwork to try to get her to jump better – but she still jumps like that. Sometimes you have to take it and not end up making a horse’s technique worse by changing it.

“She’s a home-bred for her owner Carol Smart and this is the furthest any of her horses has gone, so it’s a lovely story. I’ve been saying to Carol not to get advanced in their brains because I’m not sure I want to come to those fences on her – I wouldn’t be able to see the other side!”

James Rushbrooke has also had BE100 and novice placings last season on a home-bred of his own, Albaranti, whose dam is the rider’s junior horse, Maranti. He is by the thoroughbred Albaran.

“He’s very confident and sure of himself, a top dog type, and he’ll be aimed at intermediate and two-star next season. I’m not in a rush with him; he’s mine so I’m not being pressured by anybody to get anywhere,” says James.

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