Katie Magee – a Badminton debut ‘20-odd years in the making’ for British rider and her cross-country machine
Some riders might feel pre-show jitters ahead of their first Mars Badminton Horse Trials. For Katie Magee, the feat promises to be a less hectic competition than usual.
“It’ll be quite nice to just have one to focus on,” says the County Durham rider, who ran five horses at Osberton International at the beginning of the month.
Amateur and professional riders alike recognise that a horse’s competitive career is punctuated by disappointment as well as triumph – it’s much the same tale for Katie’s former five-star hopefuls.
“My first four-star long horse, Dollarney, was entered for Burghley in 2019,” she tells H&H. “She was placed at Bramham in June and went round inside the time with two front shoes off! But she just tweaked something about 10 days out from Burghley.
Badminton final scores
“Then, my second horse Enceladus kept getting a niggle here and there, but he was a great four-star horse, and didn’t owe us anything.”
Katie’s first five-star would finally come in 2024, when she and Angela Hislop’s 11-year-old Treworra (Wilf) finished 13th at Pau in 2024.
“It was about 20-odd years in the making,” says Katie Magee of her five-star debut.
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Katie Magee: “He’s been a real favourite since he arrived”
From a non-horsey family, Katie got hooked on riding thanks to her cousins and their ponies.
“Pony Club was a really good thing,” says the former Bedale and West of Yore branch of the Pony Club member. “It’s where I learned all the stable management, so it did its job.”
After completing a physiotherapy degree at Teeside University, Katie worked part-time in racing as she built up her own business.
“I would sort of class myself as a semi-professional eventer at that time,” she comments. “I rode out for Alan Swinbank, Katie Milligan and Sharon Watt and would school the jump horses through grids. It was really good experience for me.”
A racing education pays off when you’re piloting a three-quarter thoroughbred round a British five-star, though Wilf has a lazy side at home.
“He spends a lot of time sleeping in the field with his best friend, Claude,” she laughs.
Katie became acquainted with Angela Hislop, who also partly owns Oliver Townend’s multiple five-star winner Ballaghmor Class, after schooling a pony for her granddaughter. Katie became Wilf’s rider shortly after.
“He’s been a real favourite since he arrived on the yard, with me and everyone else,” Katie says of Wilf, who dwarfs the five-foot-three eventer. “We think he’s about 17.2hh but we haven’t measured him; it’s best not to know!”
Wilf’s a consistent performer in the jumping phases, but comes into his own across country.
“He’s always found it easy,” says Katie. “But he’s not strong. I had quite a bad fall before Pau and we just had to see how I went, and he was such a good boy for me. It was good to get that one under our belts.”
Katie’s spent the winter building her strength. It’s been a similar story for Wilf over the years – Katie has taken care to strengthen his frame.
“Over the last 18 months, he’s really grown into himself.”
“It’s down to me”
Katie speaks highly of Angela and her support as an owner, and is grateful for former event rider Nicola Wilson’s guidance.
“Nicola’s been kindly helping me a lot,” she says. “She’s been trying to push me to that next level and get me performing better across the board.”
Katie’s never been to Badminton in person, but has watched keenly on TV every year.
“I’ve been looking at the course online, but it’s hard to picture it,” she says. “I’m just looking forward to getting down there.
“Getting Wilf into those amazing stables is going to be a pretty cool moment!”
Katie will have her husband, Ciaran, and son, Peter, on hand at Badminton as her “super grooms”.
As for the competition, Katie says an improvement on the performance at Pau is the aim.
“I was pleased with his dressage at Pau, but I wasn’t 100%. It would be nice to knock a couple of per cent off.”
As for the cross-country, Katie Magee is confident in her mount. And, with her fall far behind her, it’s fair to say she’s meeting the challenge in better form than Pau.
“I believe he’s very good. It’ll be interesting once I’ve walked it, but I certainly want to give him a good ride.
“It’s all down to me, really!”
How to watch Badminton Horse Trials
If you want to watch 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. This year, Badminton TV has teamed up with ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch Badminton – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £21.99. Go to clipmyhorse.tv/en_GB/badminton to subscribe or to activate your account as an existing Badminton TV subscriber. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. As part of Badminton TV, you can enjoy the documentary programme Legends and Legacy, a fly-on-the-wall insight into the 2024 event and preview of 2025.
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A horse owner and rider with more than 20 years experience, Bethany has been writing for equestrian publications since 2017. Over the course of her career, she has reported from major British Riding Clubs and British Dressage championships, covered Badminton Horse Trials and interviewed equestrian sport’s best athletes. Her work can also be found in Country Life, The Field and Breathe magazine.