Top contenders are among the latest Badminton Horse Trials withdrawals as the clock ticks down to the 2023 event.

Leading US combination Lauren Nicholson and Vermiculus will not be starting at the Gloucestershire five-star, presented by Mars Equestrian.

Lauren and the 16-year-old gelding, owned by Jaqueline Mars, were part of the US silver medal-winning team at the 2022 World Eventing Championships in Pratoni.

Vermiculus, known as “Bug”, would have been among the favourites for a top result at Badminton. He has a remarkable cross-country record, having jumped clear on his last 18 starts, and is an established five-star contender.

Badminton final scores

The pair’s results at CCI5* include fourth at Luhmühlen in 2022, ninth at Burghley and the Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2019, and fifth at Kentucky in 2018.

David Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed, sixth at Badminton last year, have withdrawn. It has been known for a while that the pair were planning a trip to Kentucky this spring and are now officially off the Badminton startlist.

The duo, who were fourth at Pau CCI5* in October, have won two four-stars since their Badminton debut last year. Gillian Jonas’s 12-year-old gelding has passed the first horse inspection at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event and is due into the dressage arena with David at 3.23pm local time (8.23pm British time) tomorrow (Friday, 28 April).

Last year’s Luhmühlen runners-up Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI are another combination to have officially withdrawn from Badminton because they are contesting Kentucky. Kirsty and the 14-year-old mare, owned by Carole Somers, John Johnston and Kate Ward, will start their first US five-star campaign at 3.20pm local time (8.20pm British time) today (Thursday, 27 April).

Britain’s Emilie Chandler and her 2019 Blair Castle-winning ride Gortfadda Diamond, owned by Maria Doel, are also among the latest Badminton Horse Trials withdrawals. The pair have form at five-star, having finished sixth at Luhmühlen in 2021.

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

If you are interested in watching Badminton Horse Trials live from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, then you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. To sign up, visit watch.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 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.

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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Coopers Law, who eventer Emilie Chandler took from in-hand showing to multiple five-star completions, has been put down aged 18 following a recurring injury.

“Spider”, by Mill Law and out of Miss Cooper, was owned and bred by Sally Williams and Nicola Dickens. Emilie first met Spider as a two-year-old when she showed him in hand for his owners.

“The young horse classes were held at Tweseldown back then so we took him down. I didn’t have much experience showing horses in hand but we got on with it and he was quite well behaved,” Emilie told H&H.

“The following year we broke him in and from then he stayed with me. He would go home for a holiday once a year to his wonderful owners in Derbyshire.”

Emilie said Spider provided some challenges along the way.

“He gave me a really difficult year as a five-year-old and at one point I wondered whether I should carry on, but thankfully I did. He won the national five-year-old championship and that was a massive turning point in his career,” she said.

“He was never straightforward and could always be pretty sharp. He found the big occasions quite nerve-racking and he was very susceptible to noise and atmospheres. He always tried his best, but sometimes he wasn’t always so easy.”

Emilie and Spider worked their way up the levels and made their five-star debut at Burghley in 2015, where they jumped clear across country and finished in 21st place.

“At every level I used to say to his owners, ‘I’m not quite sure how he’s going to cope but we’ll give it a try’ – and he just kept answering the questions. He really was a horse of a lifetime,” said Emilie.

“He had the most beautiful gallop which made life really easy. I remember doing his first intermediate and I said I would just go for a nice steady clear, and he went inside the time. He was always honest, although it took him a while to jump into water and he gave me a few ‘moments’. But the older he got the better he got.”

“We just missed out on the senior Europeans team at Blair in 2015 so on the back of that we decided to go to Burghley. It was quite a bold move for our first five-star but he gave me the most amazing ride. I walked the course thinking ‘I don’t know how he’s going to read some of these questions’. There was a big upright gate at the top of the Dairy Mound and things which you couldn’t really plan for and had to react to in the moment. He gave me such a great ride, it was a real achievement.”

Emilie and Spider were 14th at Pau in 2017 and finished 20th on their Badminton debut in 2018. The same year Spider sustained a tendon injury. After a lengthy rehab with Emilie, he returned to eventing in 2021 with young rider Evangeline Gaskell, 21.

“We really took our time with the rehab and he made a remarkable recovery. It’s brilliant he was able to come back and give Evangeline some experience – it was wonderful for her, and for him because he loved it,” said Emilie.

“He knew he was the king. He was really kind but he was fairly opinionated if you ever led him out on a lead rope, he took you for a walk rather than you taking him. He was very sweet, but when he got fired up for competitions he was quite the man – and he knew it.

“He was very special. It was an incredible journey and I’m very grateful that I had the chance to produce such a nice horse with such loyal and supportive owners. He really gave us all a lot of fun.”

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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

Britain topped the team competition in the Aachen eventing results for the first time in 10 years last week. But it was “nip and tuck in the end”, as team member Laura Collett said – the US team were just 0.3 of a penalty behind.

Laura and Emilie Chandler led the charge in the SAP-Cup – Laura finished second on individual ride Dacapo and fourth on team mount Mr Bass, while Aachen debutante Emilie also claimed a podium place individually with third on Gortfadda Diamond.

“People say Aachen is amazing and you build it up in your head – but it really was,” said Emilie, who added it was particularly nice after recent restrictions that both her mother and the horse’s owner Maria Doel could attend. “The week exceeded expectations in every way. It was a real experience and a fantastic result for the team and individually – I couldn’t believe it. We had good team spirit and it was a pleasure to be competing together.”

Fifth after dressage on 28.7, Emilie and 12-year-old Gortfadda Diamond added just 1.2 time-faults in the showjumping and four time-penalties across country.

“He put his best foot forward all week,” said Emily. “He did a really nice dressage test, which I was delighted with, and I think the showjumping was one of the best rounds he’s ever done. You never know if they are going to sink or swim in that big arena, but he obviously enjoyed it and really tried for me. It was a bit frustrating to have the time-faults; I was second to go [so didn’t have a chance to see how it was riding].

“The cross-country was a bit fast and furious for my liking – he’s a big galloper so when you’re twisting and turning and going and coming back, it felt a bit messy, but he answered every question and really tried his best.”

Dacapo also added just a handful of seconds over in the jumping phases to rise from seventh after dressage and take the runner-up spot for his owners Diana Chappell, Gillian Morris-Adams, Alison and Michael Smedley and Carolyn Taylor.

“He’s really come into his own this week and it’s nice for him and his owners – who have been so supportive of me – that he has his moment in the spotlight. He’s always been in the shadow of London 52 because they’ve done everything together,” said Laura, referring to her Olympic team gold medallist.

Laura – who was third on her first visit here in 2012 on Rayef, at a tender 22 years old – said the cross-country course was on the softer side of what is normal at this venue.

“A couple of the combinations were a bit kinder, but it still had the intensity and the time is so tight that that’s what causes the problem – if you really take the risks to get the time, you get caught out,” she said. “It suited Dacapo because he’s not the biggest galloper, but he’s very nippy and polite.”

Mr Bass was fourth after dressage, had fence seven down in the showjumping to drop to seventh and then pulled himself back up to fourth with four time-faults across country.

“He’s only run at Cornbury since Bicton in June so he was very full of himself and very happy to be at a big party – he thought Aachen was right up his street,” said Laura. “He was a bit too feisty in the showjumping – he thought he’d died and gone to heaven in a huge arena with lots of showjumps and he ran a bit at one, but he was in really good form.

“Unlike Dacapo, the cross-country was not a track that suited Mr Bass as he is a big galloping horse. He got annoyed with me pulling him around and wanting to twist and turn, but he was really good through all the combinations.”

Both Laura’s horses will be aimed at the five-star at Pau.

Britain’s victory looked a lot more comfortable – and as if it would be paired with individual honours – until the closing seconds of the reverse order cross-country. After adding a clear showjumping to her equal seventh-placed dressage score, Kirsty Chabert went into the phase in the lead with her father John Johnston and Carole Somers’ Classic VI and was on her minute markers to make the time until the mare ran-out at the corner after an oxer in the final combination before coming back into the main arena.

Kirsty dropped out of contention individually and Zara Tindall’s 18th-placed performance with Class Affair was brought into the team score, leaving Britain just ahead of the US.

British chef d’equipe Philip Surl summed up: “It was a very pleasing result – tight at the end, but it’s small margins and it can go like that sometimes. The performances were very solid throughout.

“Personally it was disappointing for Kirsty and a shame to get all that way round and have that happen. But hopefully she can take away the positives and realise what she’s sat on and what she’s achieved. Hopefully there will be other days. The horse is relatively inexperienced, she’s a quality mare and she turned in a personal best in the dressage, was very solid in the jumping and would have been easily in the time if she’d had no jumping faults.”

Aachen eventing results 2021: Will Coleman takes individual title

In the individual results, Will Coleman became the first US rider to take the title, riding the syndicate-owned Irish Sport Horse Off The Record, who completed a trio of 12-year-old horses at the top. Eleventh after dressage, they added just time penalties for finishing two seconds over the optimum across country (the fastest round) to their first-phase score.

The pair were reserves for the US team at the Olympics and so trained in Aachen during pre-export quarantine.

“I decided to try to make that experience as formative as I could for this horse, and I think it was,” said Will. “I do think it helped him, the fact that he was here for 10 days without being under any major stress. I think it played a part in his ability to come here and perform.”

The US’s other counting scores came from Olympic travelling alternates Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, plus Ariel Grald and Leamore Master Plan, who were building on their third place at Luhmühlen CCI5* in June. Sydney Elliott and QC Diamantaire were their fourth team members.

Elizabeth Power led the Irish to third on her home-bred mare Azure (ninth), backed up by Cathal Daniels (Rioghan Rua), Joseph Murphy (Calmaro) and Sam Watson (Ballybolger Talisman).

Germany usually field their team for the forthcoming championship here and have been wildly dominant in the Aachen eventing results over the 15 years this competition has run, but with the fixture’s change of date this year and the Olympics and Europeans taking precedence for top pairs, they put out a quartet with less experience and finished fifth, between New Zealand and France.

Andrew Hoy was also a winner in Aachen – he teamed with showjumper Lillie Keenan and four-in-hand driver Boyd Exell to take the Porta Cup, a fun combined competition in which all three disciplines are represented. Andrew rode the cross-country leg on Bloom Des Hauts Crets before running across the arena to jump on Boyd’s carriage.

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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

Find out what the rising star said and why fellow British top-10 rider Emilie Chandler had a hectic time getting to the event

Mollie Summerland leads after the Luhmühlen Horse Trials dressage for the Longines CCI5* class.

The 23-year-old British rider scored 29 for her test on her own Charly Van Ter Heiden.

This is not as low a mark as the pair have scored in the past, but all the tests seemed to be marked on the harsh side today. Mollie’s ride is a great mover and particularly impressed in his extended trot, scoring a nine from Anne-Mette Binder at C and eights from the other two judges.

Her marks did drop down to fours in the third flying change and it was also a pity that Charly tripped in his 8m circle in trot, for which his marks ranged from 5.5 to 7.5.

“I’m such a perfectionist and I did make quite a costly mistake in missing that change,” said Mollie. “Also, it’s 34 degrees here, which is why he shook his head in walk as the flies were bothering him, which you can’t blame him for.

“I already feel quite a lot of pressure being here, let alone going into the lead, but I know the horse can do a good test and those mistakes did cost me a more comfortable margin – but of course I can’t complain.”

Mollie and Charly made their five-star debut at Pau Horse Trials last year, where they finished 10th.

“It’s obviously amazing to be in this position after day one, but I don’t feel like I’m going to stay there – there’s lots to jump tomorrow and I want to remember it’s only our second five-star and ride the horse I’ve got under me and if I feel he’s going green, not to let the result go to my head and to remember to do what’s right by him.”

Tim Price holds second and third for New Zealand. The top trio are tightly bunched and Ascona M, the reigning Luhmühlen title holder as she won in 2019, is just 0.1 behind Mollie, with Ringwood Sky Boy – who was first into the arena – another 0.1 in arrears.

Lucy Sangster and Peter Vela’s elegant grey Ascona M also had a couple of slightly lower marks in the walk and halt but was very consistent aside from that.

“She’s very talented and can score very low on flat so we know that’s in there,” said Tim. “She was going at about 80% of what she’s capable of. She struggles with halting and staying nicely connected, so I had to fake my way through the halts, but other than that she was very good and very rideable.”

Varenna Allen, Robert Taylor and Tim’s Ringwood Sky Boy, the 2018 Burghley Horse Trials winner, is 18 years now and put in a thoroughly professional test that befitted his age and experience.

“He’s such a delight to do – we know each other inside out and the process of getting him ready to do a test has become less and less. He has a lot of anxiety and nervous energy. It’s taken him some years to be at peace with himself, but it’s nice now not have to do a lot with him and when it’s time to do test, he understands it’s time to try hard,” said Tim.

There are three British riders at the five-star and Emilie Chandler holds eighth after the Luhmühlen Horse Trials dressage on Maria Doel’s Gortfadda Diamond with 32.4. His test was smooth aside from a slightly stilted rein-back and there was some marking discrepancy in one of his flying changes, for which scores ranged from 4.5 to seven.

“I was absolutely delighted – I don’t think he could have tried any harder. He was really rideable and relaxed,” said Emilie. “I was a bit disappointed with the mark but I thought it was the best test he’s done for me so I’m thrilled with him.”

Emilie had a “hectic 24 hours” getting everything organised to get out to Luhmühlen after news came in last Saturday (12 June) that British-based riders could obtain exemptions to the German travel ban and quarantine requirements. She had been at Bicton Horse Trials with Gortfadda Diamond, but had pulled up early across country after a run-out.

“His owner and I decided to come at 8pm on Sunday night and it was all systems go, but luckily I had got quite a lot organised before the rules came in and we decided not to come. Trying to do it from scratch would have been impossible,” said Emilie, who left home at 2am on Tuesday and arrived around 24 hours later.

Mollie and the third British rider, David Doel, had both taken the plunge to travel to Luhmühlen despite the difficulties and had left early to allow them to quarantine for some time outside Britain, as required before the exemption was granted.

David has three rides, with Gillian Jonas’s Shannondale Quest 18th after today’s dressage, Tim and Alice Page’s home-bred Dunges Don Perignon 22nd and Ian and Jane James’ Carneyhaugh Rua 24th.

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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

Find out which horses were sent to the holding box and which top-10 contender was withdrawn overnight after a clear in the time across country…

One horse was eliminated at the Pau Horse Trials 2020 final trot-up this afternoon (25 October), with six others withdrawn before the inspection.

Austin O’Connor’s ride Colorado Blue, owned by his rider and The Salty Syndicate, was sent to the holding box and then eliminated when he came before the ground jury – New Zealand’s Andrew Bennie, France’s Xavier Le Sauce and Britain’s Nikki Herbert – for a second time. The Irish pair had been in 11th place overnight after a clear inside the time during yesterday’s cross-country test.

Oliver Townend’s ride MHS King Joules, who belongs to Tom Joule, was also assigned to the holding box, but he passed on re-inspection.

There was also a tense moment for British fans when Mollie Summerland, fifth overnight with Charly Van Ter Heiden, did not appear at her allocated place in the running order. But she trotted up a few horses later and passed without drama.

Pau Horse Trials 2020 final trot-up: overnight withdrawals

The best-placed of the withdrawn horses is Jean Lou Bigot’s ride Utrillo Du Halage, owned by Florence Assar. He was eighth after cross-country having put in a penalty-free performance yesterday.

Three British horses will also take no further part in the competition having been withdrawn. They are Maria Doel’s Gortfadda Diamond, ridden by Emilie Chandler (20th after 9.6 time-faults yesterday), Rehy DJ, ridden by Yasmin Ingham and owned by the Davies and Janette Chinn (39th after 40 jumping and 27.6 time-penalties across country), and Conpierre, ridden Sarah Bullimore and owned by her husband Brett, Anna Ross and Christopher Gillespie (40th after 40 jumping and 42 time-faults yesterday).

Emilie reported on Facebook that Gortfadda Diamond has an overreach, adding: “I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved this week, and I’m very excited about what five-star adventures may lie ahead!”

A second Frenchman is also out of the running with Karim Florent Laghouag withdrawing Triton Fontaine, who had 20 jumping penalties and 16.4 time-penalties on the cross-country.

And Sweden’s only representative, Anna Freskgård on Sophia Ericsson’s Techno, has also been pulled out ahead of today’s jumping phase. Techno lay 24th after cross-country with 9.2 time-faults to add to his dressage score.

With seven of the 41 cross-country finishers no longer in the running, 34 pairs will start in the final showjumping phase, which starts at 3.15pm French time (2.15pm British time). A 13-fence course has been laid out for the riders to tackle, including a triple at fence 9abc and a double at fence 11ab.

Three other riders – Alex Bragg (Zabreb), Tim Price (Wesko) and Piggy French (Brookfield Inocent) – are within one fence of overnight leader Laura Collett on London 52, so it will be a nerve-racking finale to the season’s only five-star eventing competition.

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Laura Collett leads Pau five-star after cross-country: ‘London 52 showed everyone what he’s made of’ *H&H Plus*

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British riders hold seven of the top 10 spots after first day of dressage at Pau five-star *H&H Plus*

Find out the secret behind training the leading horse, who scored 10s and which up-and-coming British star has been training

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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

The event rider tells Pippa Roome about juggling priorities in sport and business, the special horse who keeps her going and coaching the showjumpers

What do we know about diamonds? They are rare, beautiful and sparkling. It seems, therefore, that Emilie Chandler’s top horse is appropriately named, because Gortfadda Diamond definitely fits these three criteria.

Last year, “Bertie” won the CCI4*-L at Blair Castle. He triumphed by an impressive 12.7 penalties, but his victory went slightly under the radar because it was a small field, with just nine starters.

But in August this year, when eventing restarted post-lockdown, Bertie had a chance to frank that form and he did so in style, finishing fifth in an incredibly high-class field at Burgham CCI4*-S.

“I was astounded,” says Emilie, who smiles a lot and is too modest for her considerable talent. “I wanted to do the best we could in each phase and the result was really the icing on the cake.”

Gortfadda Diamond is an 11-year-old by Water Valley Cool Diamond, who has belonged to Maria Doel since he was a four-year-old. He was produced by Tanya Kyle to intermediate level, after which her husband Mark took over for a few runs. He moved to Emilie in 2017 when Mark broke his ankle badly in a fall from another horse.

“He’s a gentle, kind horse and lovely to have about on a day-to-day basis,” says Emilie. “I’ve always liked him. He’s just my sort – tall, dark and handsome. He’s a really nice mover, galloper and jumper.

“It took me a while to get my control panel across country – in his enthusiasm, he wanted to get the job done quickly, but sadly he hadn’t walked the course and wasn’t expecting some of the turns. It’s taken a while to train him to listen to me, but we have a really nice partnership now, which is exciting.”

Emilie says quieter collecting rings under the new Covid-19 competition guidelines work to her advantage.

“Bertie loves his routines and can get a little bit uptight at events. We used to laugh that he often has one ‘crazy leg moment’ when his legs seem to go very quickly underneath him in the moment of anticipation, but generally he then relaxes and enjoys himself.”

Emilie used the lockdown period to improve her dressage – to good effect, as the pair scored a personal best of 25.2 at Burgham.

“I practised my five-star dressage tests,” she explains. “I made myself get on, warm up for 20 minutes and then ride through them. That gave us both a lot of confidence.”

Despite the challenges of quarantine, Emilie’s end-of-season plan is still to step Bertie up to five-star at Pau, in France. “I’d love to give it a shot,” she says. “There are lots of ifs and buts, but I’m determined to get him ready to go there if we can.”

Five-star comeback

Emilie, 39, knows better than most that gems such as Gortfadda Diamond don’t come along all that often – he’s rare, just like his namesake.

A junior team gold and individual silver medallist, Emilie jumped round Badminton clear at 22. It looked like her career was set up, but it took more than a decade for her to get back to five-star, when she was 21st at Burghley 2015 on Coopers Law (Spider).

Top-20 placings at both Badminton and Pau followed with Sally Williams and Nicola Dickson’s home-bred, but things came crashing down when the son of Mill Law suffered an injury on the cross

country at Burghley 2018.

“It really broke my heart because Spider was in great form, he’d done a nice dressage test – which was quite challenging for him – and was going really well across country,” remembers Emilie.

“It took me a minute to pick myself back up from there and I’m very grateful I have a nice horse in Gortfadda Diamond. It keeps you looking forward and enjoying the sport. It’s just finding them that’s hard.”

Emilie certainly has a skill for sourcing and training good horses, but over the years she has prioritised growing a business and owning her own property over her sporting career.

“I keep selling the horses I buy, but I wouldn’t have what I have if I didn’t do that,” she says. “And I love to see the horses I’ve produced go on to be successful. Yes, I love riding them myself and I’d love to have kept them, but that’s life. I find it fascinating to work with them and watch them flourish in their careers. That really interests me.”

Among those she has produced are Alex Hua Tian’s four-star horse DHI Jet Set and the CIC3* (now CCI4*-S) winner Douglas, as well as many horses now ridden by young riders, such as Georgia Bartlett’s Jalba O, Henry Hobby’s Hazzle Dazzle and Clementine De Brenne, who is now in Belgium.

The profits of these sales are ploughed back into Emilie’s base. In 2006, she bought a plot of land on which she now has a house and a 14-box yard, with ever-growing facilities. A 500m canter track is the latest development; a grass arena and a garage are on the agenda.

Emilie’s fiancé Paul Luger – whom she would have married on 27 June this year, had it not been for Covid-19 – is credited with keeping the place “tidy and very smart”. During lockdown, the pair joined forces with Ellie Harding, who was previously Emilie’s head girl and now works for her part-time and at shows, to do “a lot of painting”.

Right now, Emilie only has three youngsters in addition to Bertie, and she is seeking new rides to follow her stable star.

“I’d love to find something that fills that gap – that’s going to be my real target in the coming months,” she says, adding she is happy to take on younger or older horses. “Whatever age you take them on, you just have to allow that time to build a partnership so they understand you and you understand them.

“I love training horses and attention to detail. That’s what I take real pride in – I like to think I could produce a horse to be happy, confident and able to do its job to the best of its ability.”

Although she’d like a few more horses, Emilie does not want a big string.

“Burghley 2018, when Coopers Law was injured, was a bit of a catalyst,” she says. “It made me look at what I wanted to do with the business, what I wanted to do with my sport and where I wanted to go.

“I began to make a change then to have fewer horses. I’m really good at building partnerships with them and if you have a lot of horses, that’s really challenging – you need an army to support you. So I took the decision to go slightly smaller in numbers. I always taught a bit, and having fewer horses gives me more time to coach; as a business, that works better. But the horses I have, I really enjoy riding.”

‘A big believer’

On the coaching side, Emilie has been helping the World Class Podium Potential showjumping riders with their flatwork for 18 months, an opportunity that came about through her long-term coach Di Lampard, who is also British showjumping performance manager.

“It’s wonderful to work with such talented riders and it gives me a buzz when an idea helps improve the horse’s way of going,” says Emilie. “I’m a big believer in having a consistent way of going for a horse, so it works every day in a good way that benefits it as an athlete and helps strengthen its core and muscle tone.

“With showjumpers, you’re not training people to ride the movements to score marks, you’re training people to ride exercises to help the horses be more supple and rideable.”

Learning flows both ways with the podium potential showjumpers as Emilie says she “learns so much” when she has the chance to watch them jump. She has recently had help from European showjumping team bronze medallist Holly Smith, who lives near her.

“I’ve helped Holly on the flat, so I thought it’d be good if she helped me with the jumping and that’s worked well,” says Emilie. “She’s challenged me on turnbacks to fences and keeping a good rhythm – at Burgham where the time was tight and there were a lot of turnbacks, I was very grateful to her.”

Emilie is still ambitious and would love to make a senior championship team, but she has changed the way she approaches her targets.

“Now, I’m a lot more focused on process goals and enjoying the journey, rather than always focusing on an end result,” she says. “The end result comes as a result of your process – we can’t control the end result, but we can control what we do every day.”

Ref Horse & Hound; 15 October 2020

Emilie Chandler concluded her pillar-to-post win in the CCI4*-L at the Land Rover Blair Castle Horse Trials today (Sunday, 25 August).

No one made the time in the showjumping in this class and Emilie piloted Maria Doel’s Gortfadda Diamond round just three seconds over the time to score a wide-margin victory.

“I’m thrilled he jumped clear for me — he was keener than I imagined he would be in the collecting ring and I almost thought I should have worked him this morning, but he was great in there,” said Emilie, who said she had been distracting herself by watching the British showjumpers in Rotterdam while she waited.

Rosa Onslow added just 0.8 of a time-fault to her score to confirm her second place on Diamond Sundance, with Simon Grieve taking third after just having the front bar off fence three and two time-faults on Mr Fahrenheit III.

The top three in the CCI3*-L all showjumped clear to hold their overnight positions, with Eleanor Hope taking first place above Victoria Wilson (Dont You Know) and Ashley Harrison (Zebedee IX).

Eleanor, who is also celebrating her 20th birthday today, rode her parents Margaret and Simon’s Limestone Romeo to victory.

“It was a long wait, I’m very relieved,” said Eleanor. “The two before me put the pressure on and we rattled a few, but he helped me out a lot.”

Hayden Hankey moved up from third to claim the CCI2*-L with Cartown Galaxy — in contrast to the CCI3*-L, he was the only one of the overnight top three to jump clear today.

“She was fantastic. I did feel confident — she’s an exceptional horse, so if you weren’t going to be confident on her, you’d never be confident on anything,” he said.

Scottish rider Morven Pringle rose from fifth overnight to second on Miss Contender, while Germany’s Josephine Schnaufer took third on Viktor 107 — although her overnight runner-up, Ronaldo IV, dropped to 10th when he took the front rails off number two and the last fence.

Polly Stockton led this class overnight, but struggled to balance Sir Alfred II and change legs round the corner to fence three and had it down, which sent her down to sixth.

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Astier Nicolas took the CCI4*-S for France, moving up from fourth after showjumping to top spot on Babylon De Gamma, who belongs to Etienne Grivot, Marielle Grivot Bize and his rider. He had the fastest round across country today, with just 5.6 time-faults.

“I always said he’s a top horse from when I started riding him and he proved it again today,” said Astier.

Sam Ecroyd held second on Davinci III, while two-phase leaders Daisy Berkeley and Ballinteskin Cooper S dropped to third with 11.2 time-faults.

Full report on Blair in next week’s Horse & Hound magazine (dated 29 August).

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

Emilie Chandler keeps top spot in the CCI4*-L at the Land Rover Blair Castle Horse Trials after a fast cross-country round today (Saturday, 24 August).

Emilie and Maria Doel’s Gortfadda Diamond led after dressage by 1.5 penalties and extended their margin to 13.1 penalties after the only cross-country round with fewer than 10 time-penalties in this class. They added 3.2 to their 31.8 dressage score today.

“He was very good and kept his eyes on the line all the way round,” she said. “He never tired — he kept galloping all the way to the end and gave me a fantastic ride.”

Speaking about tomorrow’s showjumping, Emilie added: “He’s an out and out event horse — good at all three phases, but of course it depends how much today has taken out of him.”

Rosa Onslow has moved up from fourth after dressage to sit second overnight with Diamond Sundance, after finishing with 11.2 time-faults today.

Simon Grieve holds third in this class with Mr Fahrenheit III, who had 13.2 time-penalties across country.

A new face leads the CCI3*-L — Eleanor Hope rose from 13th after dressage with a clear round in the time today on Limestone Romeo. Eleanor turns 20 tomorrow.

“The course was big and long, but he was just point and shoot today — he’s a willing horse and always tries his best,” she said.

The only other fault-free rounds in the class came from Victoria Wilson (Dont You Know) and Ashley Harrison (Zebedee IX), who hold second and third. Dressage leader Astier Nicolas (Lumberton) dropped to 11th with a run-out at the corner out of the Malcolm Lochan.

Polly Stockton has moved up to first place in the CCI2*-L after a penalty-free round on Cressida Legge and Mafra Smithers’ Sir Alfred III.

The rider finished the day on the same score as second-placed Josephine Schnaufer of Germany with Ronaldo IV, but Polly has the upper hand because she crossed the line closer to the optimum time.

Hayden Hankey sits third in this class on Cartown Galaxy.

“I was four or five seconds up on the clock all the way, so could look after her down the hills,” he said.

The dressage leader, Emma Murray on Wainthropp, dropped out of the running in this class with a fall at the seal out of the first water combination, the Malcolm Lochan.

The three “long” classes all finish tomorrow with the showjumping phase.

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Berkeley keeps four-star short lead

In the CCI4*-S class, Daisy Berkeley showjumped clear to retain her lead with Ballinteskin Cooper S, who is owned by Roxana Janet White and Mary Scott-Gall, as well as Daisy and her mother Caroline.

Behind her, Sam Ecroyd also went clear for second on Davinci III, while Astier Nicolas — who had been equal second with Sam after dressage — dropped to fourth with the second part of the double down on Babylon De Gamma. Wills Oakden has moved up from ninth after dressage to sit third, courtesy of his clear on Oughterard Cooley.

The competitors in this class conclude their competition with cross-country tomorrow.

More news from Blair on horseandhound.co.uk over the weekend, plus full report in next week’s magazine (dated 29 August).

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

Team GBR closed to within two points of Germany in the FEI Nations Cup eventing series — after an impressive win in Montelibretti, Italy last weekend.

Britain finished nearly 40 penalties ahead of the Italian hosts, with a three-man German team in third.

The British riders — who were all competing in their first Nations Cup — took individual first, second, fourth and sixth places.

Nicky Roncoroni and the 10-year-old Ghareeb gelding, Trig Point, headed the leaderboard.

Nicky, Emilie Chandler (Coopers Law), Paul Sims (Calador) and Dani Evans (Raphael II) all achieved clear cross-country round within the time, the only nation to do so.

“It was a very pleasing result,” said squad manager Philip Surl. “When we walked the course we thought there were quite a few places where you could make a mistake, and also that the time would be hard to achieve.

“It was quite a logistical challenge for us to get down to Montelibretti and involved two overnight stops, but the horses all arrived well and we had a couple of personal bests in the dressage [for Nicky and Paul].”

Whereas Germany fielded their top championship combinations at Fontainebleau, Houghton Hall and Aachen, Britain has used the series to give younger riders team experience. Dani Evans has only just graduated from young rider ranks.

This weekend, Laura Collett, Lucy Wiegersma, Izzy Taylor, Sarah Bullimore and Jodie Amos will travel to Waregem in Belgium this weekend for penultimate leg of the Nations Cup.

The final event of the series takes place in Boekelo, Holland (10-13 October).

For a full report, see next week’s magazine (3 October).

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