In the week after she triumphed at Defender Burghley Horse Trials, Gemma Stevens led two more laps of honour at Hickstead – one with a horse she jumped for the first time days before.

Gemma and Coolnorran Cooley won the Stoner Jewellers 1.20m championship on the last weekend of the All England September tour, from fourth in an eight-strong jump-off. Gemma made the most of the nine-year-old’s big stride and catlike agility to win by almost two seconds.

Gemma said the I’m Special De Muze gelding is usually ridden by his owner Pru Dawes, whom she trains.

“Pru sadly hit her head so isn’t allowed to jump at the moment,” she said. “But I train her so I know him really well; he’s a wonderful horse in every way.”

Gemma paid tribute to Pru’s “amazing job” with Coolnorran Cooley, which has built up his confidence.

“I rode him a couple of times at home, jumped him here yesterday in the back ring and he won, so we said ‘Let’s do it – why not?’” she said. “And he was absolutely fabulous. He’s so easy to ride, so confident and careful, and so much fun.

“It was his first time jumping against the clock yesterday and he loved it, took to it like a duck to water.”

Gemma also won Friday's 1.40m open with nine-year-old Warrior Special, with whom she won the grade B and C final at the Royal International.

““We’re absolutely thrilled with him,” she said “He’s such a professional and, for a big horse, actually deceptively quick. He answered every question perfectly,”

Before she went in to jump her winning round with Chilli Knight at Burghley last week, Gemma’s husband Gary told her to “imagine you’re at Hickstead”. Asked this time if she had imagined herself back at Burghley, she said: “No, I did not!”

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Members of Britain’s world gold medal-winning team are among those who will take on a new arena eventing challenge at the London International Horse Show this year.

Ros Canter, Gemma Stevens and Tom McEwen have already been confirmed as competitors in the London International eventing challenge, which will be the highlight of the Friday evening performance (18 December).

“The challenge will bring together the speed, skill and excitement of eventing in an action-packed format designed especially for the unique indoor setting of London’s Excel venue,” a spokesperson for the show said. “The class has been developed in partnership with British Eventing, and will showcase one of equestrian sport’s most popular disciplines, while providing a spectacular platform for some of the sport’s leading riders and horses.”

The track, which will be at about three-star level, will comprise a mixture of coloured show jumps and cross-country obstacles, “creating a high-octane challenge that tests speed, accuracy and horsemanship in equal measure”.

The show has worked with British eventing performance manager Dickie Waygood and FEI level three course-designer Adrian Ditcham on the class, which will run in the main arena and part of the collecting ring.

Arena eventing at London International: “It’s about time!”

Announcing the new competition on her Talk Horse podcast, class ambassador Pippa Funnell said: “It’s about time!

“It’s brilliant as we’ll be bringing the eventing element to London International. I know we have great stars already signed up to it, including Ros, Gemma and Tom. I think it will be really, really exciting.”

More details on the format and entries will be confirmed in the run-up to the event.

Show director Simon Brooks-Ward said: “We are always looking for new ways to showcase the very best of equestrian sport to our audiences, and arena eventing is a fantastic addition to the programme.

“Bringing together the excitement of cross-country and showjumping in an indoor arena creates a truly engaging spectacle for spectators, whether they are long-time eventing fans or experiencing the discipline for the first time. We are delighted to be working with British Eventing and leading figures within the sport to make this happen.”

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Gemma Stevens topped the Defender Burghley Horse Trials 2026 results this afternoon, showjumping clear to win with a 13.4-penalty margin.

Gemma and Chilli Knight, bred by his owners Chris and Lisa Stone, started with three fences in hand after errors from all the pairs placed second to eighth overnight.

The time Chilli Knight had five showjumps down, at Badminton 2025, loomed large in the mind, but actually, that was a bit of an outlier on his record. Out of the four times he had showjumped at five-star before today, he’d had one down twice and jumped clear once – when he won the Bicton Horse Trials one-off five-star in 2021.

He did it again today and again, the result was a five-star victory, validating that Bicton triumph and putting himself in the rare group of horses who have won two different five-stars.

“Honestly to jump a clear round is just so damn cool. I’m so proud of that little horse and proud of myself for holding it together because I was literally shaking down the reins,” said Gemma, who was the only rider to finish on her dressage score.

“He felt amazing over the first two and I thought, ‘Come on boy, we can do this.’

“I did feel horrendous this morning and the waiting around was torture. I said to Dickie [Waygood, British performance manager], ‘I’m just jumping at Hickstead, right’, and he said, ‘Yes, you’re just jumping clear round at Hickstead’ and that’s what we did.”

Husband Gary – who proposed just after Gemma won her first five-star, at Bicton exactly five years ago – said “Alfie” has given Gemma the lift she needed after elimination at the eventing World Championships in Aachen and he couldn’t be more proud of the pair of them.

Gemma says: “Aachen was one of lowest points in my career, the second lowest point in my career.

“The guilt I felt was horrendous. I took a place up and I failed. No matter who says you were still part of the team – and yes, I definitely earned my place – but I felt horrific.

“But you’ve got to show resilience in sport, pick yourself up and get on with it.

“Chilli Knight’s heart’s as big as he is, he’s an amazing little animal. He wants to do it, wants to please, he’s a little tiger out on the cross-country.”

Gemma, 41, has been riding at this level for 19 years. She also rode at five-star on Chilli Knight’s dam Kings Gem, with whom she was under-25 national champion.

“I feel like I’ve been doing this a long time. I can’t tell you how amazing this feels – to win a big B is a dream come true, it really is,” said the 41-year-old.

Chilli Knight’s sire, Chilli Morning, was of course also a five-star winner, courtesy of his Badminton Horse Trials 2015 victory.

A first five-star podium

One fence down, the World Horse Welfare upright at fence nine, which came off a four-stride distance from the treble, was enough to secure second in the Burghley 2026 results for Katie Magee on Treworra, her first time on a five-star podium.

The USA’s Caroline Pamukcu also had redemption for elimination at the World Championships, where she had a fall from HSH Blake. Today, the pair had the first fence down but still moved up from fifth to third.

Tom Jackson showjumped clear to take fourth on Hawk Eye, up from ninth overnight. Nadja Minder was fifth for Switzerland with Toblerone, hitting the last but still gaining one place.

Yasmin Ingham showjumped clear to move up from 10th to sixth on her Burghley debut, riding Goliath Du Loir.

The pairs placed second and third overnight both had expensive rounds today – Tim Price and Global Quest had three down to finish 11th and 20 jumping faults, plus 0.8 of a time-fault, dropped Holly Richardson with Ballyneety Silver Service to 15th.

Defender Burghley 2026 results

1. Gemma Stevens (GBR) on Chilli Knight
2. Katie Magee (GBR) on Treworra
3. Caroline Pamukcu (USA) on HSH Blake
4. Tom Jackson (GBR) on Hawk Eye
5. Nadja Minder (SUI) on Toblerone
6. Yasmin Ingham (GBR) on Goliath Du Loir
7. Will Coleman (USA) on Very Dignified
8. Benjamin Massie (FRA) on Filao De Perle
9. Jonelle Price (NZL) on Chilli’s Midnight Star
10. Harry Meade (GBR) on Cavalier Crystal

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Gemma Stevens tops the Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country results and will go into tomorrow’s showjumping with a fence in hand.

The British rider and Christopher and Lisa Stone’s home-bred Chilli Knight – with whom she won the Bicton Horse Trials one-off five-star in 2021 – put in one of just two clears inside the time over Derek di Grazia’s cross-country course today to move up from second after dressage.

Gemma said: “What a little legend – what a ride he gave me and what a partnership that we've managed to build over 16 years. There was definitely a moment in the Leaf Pit where he said, ‘Hold my beer, Mum! I’ve got this’ and that’s kind of what eventing is all about – partnership and belief in each other.”

The 41-year-old British rider explained in more detail what happened at the Holland Cooper Leaf Pit (fence 24abcdef).

“He jumped off the Leaf Pit so much better than I was expecting him to because normally he’s like a little pony and he wants to put his little foot actually on the step, so I was expecting him to do that,” said Gemma. “But he actually jumped off it really well.

“I got to the bottom and saw a lovely forward shot up to the brush, and he said, ‘Nah, we’re not going on that one, Mum. There’s another one in there.’ There really wasn't space for another stride, but he put in a little one before the brush, and then I was an absolute country mile off the corner.

“I basically shouted at him and prayed to God, and he basically said, ‘It’s okay, Mum, I’ve got this.’ And he turned into some sort of Pegasus and jumped it. I screamed and then I told him how much I loved him. I’m really sorry to anyone down there, but there was also definitely a lot of swearing at that moment.”

Gemma starts the final showjumping with a fence in hand, but showjumping has not always been the strongest phase for Alfie, who had five down at Mars Badminton Horse Trials 2025, which cost him third place. However, he only had one down here in 2024 and jumped clear when he won Bicton, so tomorrow’s result is far from a foregone conclusion.

Tim Price’s topsy-turvy day

New Zealand rider Tim Price ended up second in the Burghley cross-country results on his first ride Global Quest, who had been sixth after dressage and added 4.8 time-faults.

“There was a lot of learning to be done with that horse around this track. He’s done a couple of five stars, but nothing of this magnitude,” said Tim of Diana and Lance Morrish’s horse who has already contested Pau Horse Trials and Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“But also, he’s been improving every time and this time he took it to another level of scope and bravery, which was quite nice to have around Burghley. There were quite a few moments where it was seat of the pants riding, where we went on the line but not the plan in terms of number of strides or feeling.”

However, Tim said the changes were based on “good things” from Global Quest.

“There were a couple of places where he really threw himself into the air and I had to had to manage that down to the next part of the question,” said Tim, who was also pleased by the 13-year-old’s speed.

“He galloped and he stayed all the way home, and I’m really proud of him because it’s a real step in a good direction for the journey of discovery. He ticked a lot of boxes that I think will stand him in good stead.”

Tim looked lined up to hold second and third overnight as he enjoyed a great round with Falco towards the end of the day, until the 17-year-old refused at the Trout Hatchery.

Sprinting up the leaderboard

Holly Richardson rode the first clear inside the time today, on Fi and Issy Saxby’s Ballyneety Silver Service, and was rewarded with a 25-place rise up the leaderboard to third.

“I just sat down with the plan and stuck to it – I had plan Bs if it started going wrong. But he just kept answering the question perfectly, and I kept sticking to my plan,” she said.

“You don’t really have time to think about it – you just start thinking about the next fence as soon as you land over the one before. Even when you’re nearly home, doing the second-to-last, you’re thinking about the last fence. You can’t enjoy it too much, because you’ve got to keep going all the way.”

Yorkshire rider Holly, 32, and “Butler” caught the eye here last year with their fast clear inside the time, but dropped down the order in the showjumping, finishing 14th. They also went clear in the time at Badminton this spring, but again, the final phase was expensive, so they may not finish this Burghley on the podium.

Burghley cross-country results: the top 10

Katie Magee has risen from 19th to fourth with just 2.4 time-faults on Treworra, while Caroline Pamukcu’s eight time-penalties allowed her to retain fifth for the US with HSH Blake.

Dressage leader Nadja Minder, from Switzerland, is now sixth after 13.2 time-faults on the 19-year-old Toblerone.

Harry Meade sits seventh on Cavalier Crystal, up from 31st after dressage, with six time-faults, while 14.8 time-faults have relegated fellow Brit Max Warburton from fourth to eighth.

Tom Jackson holds ninth on his first ride Hawk Eye – having fallen with his second horse, United 36 – while British first-timer Yasmin Ingham rode stylishly for overnight 10th with Goliath Du Loir.

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Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight take the overnight lead at the 2026 Defender Burghley Horse Trials after cross-country, finishing three seconds inside the time despite a heart-in-mouth moment at the Holland Cooper Leaf Pit.

Chilli Knight wasn’t fully locked onto the corner, but took it on regardless and made it over. Gemma admits it was as close as it looked.

“It was a seriously dodgy moment,” she said. “He just said, ‘It’s okay, I’ve got you’ and then leapt as far and wide as he possibly could over that corner.

“I’m really sorry to all the people down there, because there was a lot of swearing – and then a lot of me telling him how much I loved him on landing. But that’s what partnership’s about.

“He should never have jumped that fence. I don’t know how he did it – unbelievable.”

From there, the pair pushed on through Defender Valley and into the final combination in the main arena, with Gemma riding to make the time. She crossed the finish three seconds under, with a provisional flag penalty at fence 24f quickly removed on review – confirming a clear round.

The whole track, Gemma says, was a battle against the clock. “Honestly, it felt like a rollercoaster. This way round is so up and down – it just feels like you’re constantly climbing or going downhill, round a corner to another humongous fence, round a corner to another humongous combination. It’s relentless.

“I kept being down on my minutes, and I was like, ‘I’m never going to get a time.’ Then I managed to claw it back, and then I was down on the next one, and I clawed it back again – I went round the whole course like that.”

At just 16 hands, Chilli Knight is far from an imposing physical presence – something Gemma says makes his performances at the biggest fences even more remarkable. “He's only 16 hands, just a little guy, but he never stops trying. When he gets to a big one, he grows a pair of wings – this whole new little man comes out.”

With the flag penalty cleared, Gemma and Chilli Knight – who were second after dressage – go into the final day at the top of the leaderboard.

Nadja Minder loses her dressage lead

Leaders after the dressage, Nadja Minder and Toblerone finished 33 seconds over the optimum time, dropping them to 51.7 and out of the top spot.

“He's such a five-star warrior now,” Nadja said of the 19-year-old. “It was hard work – I had to use a bit of kicking and elbows and everything to make it happen, but he helped me out so many times. I wish I’d given him a better ride, but it is what it is.

“He’s incredible how he’s not impressed by anything – he just pricks his ears, looks for the flags, front feet up, back feet up, and on we go.”

On what cost her the time, she added: “He’s very adjustable, but he’s not the quickest off the fence – and he’s the kind of horse who, when he feels like he’s getting to his limit, he saves himself.

“You can be kicking, but he‘s not going to go crazy fast until he can‘t any more. He’s always saving something. That’s why he makes it home most of the time.

“He started five-star eventing three years ago, so it’s not like he’s 19 and has seen everything a couple of times already. We try to keep him heavily motivated and do the minimum amount of training we feel he enjoys and is necessary for him.”

On whether this could be one of his last outings, Nadja said: “I originally thought last year was going to be his last time, and then he did that so well and was 100% after, so we thought, let’s prep him for another go. We’ll see – but we probably won’t see him out many more times.”

Max Warburton: “It was slower than we’d all hoped”

Max Warburton, who was fourth after dressage, finished 37 seconds over the time with Deerpairc Revelry.

“It was slower than we’d all hoped,” Max said. “I felt from about halfway, he started to make a little bit of a noise – his wind was maybe not as great as we all thought. So we’ll probably have a look at that, see if we can get that a bit better for next year.

“He’s still only 12, and he's made a trip around a very, very big five-star, so overall we’re over the moon. It’s tough – a little bit towards the end, he got quite long and strung out.

“I had to make a different plan at the Defender Valley [where he took the long route out], which cost more time on top of that. But at that point it was a case of getting him home safely and getting the job done.”

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Gemma Stevens tried out a new warm-up in the Defender Burghley Horse Trials dressage today – and it paid off, with the first sub-30 score and the lunchtime lead.

The 16-year-old Chilli Knight, owned and bred by Christopher and Lisa Stone, was the Bicton Horse Trials one-off five-star winner in 2021, but he is not a natural dressage horse.

“He can’t trot. I just said, ‘We’ve done our best shuffling’. But he makes up for the fact he can’t trot because his heart is always trying his best,” said Gemma after scoring 29.6.

“We razzed him up a bit here before he went in, which is not a normal thing for a five-star event horse.”

Gemma Stevens tried out her new Burghley dressage warm-up strategy this morning with trainer Ian Woodhead.

“Ian Woodhead said ‘Come on, let’s do it because what can it hurt?’ Chilli Knight is so reliable in the arena, and at Badminton he was a bit of a monkey, dropped off and was behind my leg so we made some stupid mistakes and had our worst score ever. He’s an old boy now. He’s such a little cutie, he knows his job so well and only does what he’s going to have to do.

“So we razzed him up a bit outside, gave him a couple of little touches with the whip and he’s actually very sensitive, so it works. And then I gave him a pat – I’m not telling him off. It really worked because then he stayed lovely in front of me, kept his frame in front of me and was really nice to ride.”

Gemma said there is little risk in this warm-up strategy because “Alfie” isn’t a horse who will blow up in the arena.

“The worst thing he’s going to do is spook at a flower pot. He’s not going to get goey or whizzy. He’s not really like that in the dressage.

“He’s goey cross-country, but [he thinks] dressage is dull. Jumping is much more fun and galloping fast, which is what he loves to do.

“He obviously absolutely loves it when we come to these big ones because he knows that I’m not going to have the handbrake on. When he goes to other events, he knows I’m going to have the handbrake on, and he gets a bit cross with me, to be honest. He’s going to be well happy [on Saturday].”

Gemma Steven’s hopes for Defender Burghley

Chilli Knight had some bad luck at Mars Badminton Horse Trials in May when he lost a shoe while going well across country, so Gemma says she’s aiming to keep all four wheels on this week.

“We have to have a bit of luck – not to stand on ourselves in a ditch and pull a shoe off like we did at Badminton. We’re not very good when we haven’t got our wheels because he’s got such flat feet, so it’s just like being on an ice rink,” she said.

Gemma is looking for a good result this week after elimination in the eventing World Championships at Aachen – and said she has no idea why Flash Cooley stopped three times at the coffin there.

She said: “I think I’ve made it three days so far since Aachen without crying. I have absolutely no idea why it happened. None of us do. We’ve watched the footage back. I genuinely have no idea. The horse is 100%. He’s actually wild. He’s full of himself. He’s sound, he’s fit, he’s happy. I took him schooling the other day and he was felt unbelievable. He’s never stopped before.

“He’s jumped so many coffins. He jumped that coffin last year at Aachen when he was third. I genuinely do not know the answer to everyone’s question, other than it’s horses and it’s rubbish and we have to try to move on.

“It’s really really hard. I’m not going to lie; it has been a pretty low point in my career. But it was really great to get back on last weekend at Scone and have three fantastic rides cross-country and be in the top 10 on all three of those horses. It gave me a big boost. I remembered that I could actually ride and I have to somehow put it in a box and move on.”

The Burghley dressage continues at 2pm.

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Gemma Stevens has discussed “picking herself up” after disappointment at the World Championships – as she bounced back to win the Scone Palace CCI4*-S (27-30 August)

Gemma and the Rex Syndicate’s 10-year-old Cooley Park Muze led the 100-strong class from the start in Perthshire, having posted a 28.4 dressage. They maintained their lead in the showjumping and in the final cross-country phase, where only two had made the optimum time, they stormed home with 10 seconds to spare to win. Gemma was also third with Chilli’s Jester and seventh on Chilli Morning IV.

Gemma told H&H the Scone result was “a relief after the World Championships” – and that Aachen had been “a really low point for me”.

Gemma was part of the gold medal-winning team with Flash Cooley but they were eliminated at fence 8 on the cross-country, silver birch rails into a steep coffin. The pair had a stop at the rail on the direct route; they diverted to the long route and jumped the second element successfully, but had two stops at the third.

“It’s been really hard. I’ve tried to pick myself up and come to Scone with three wonderful horses,” she said.

“I’m much better when I’m busy, I try not to think about it too much and just refocus. As soon as I got back from Aachen we’ve really put some work into them and been playing around at home just getting them really with me, and it’s really worked. All three of them could not have performed any better.”

Gemma said “we don’t understand” the reason for Flash Cooley’s uncharacteristic stops in Aachen.

“No one understands,” she said. “At the end of the day, they’re horses. We’re working with a living creature.

“He must have seen something because he’s never stopped at a coffin before in his life. He’s done God knows how many. I even looked back over his record to see where he’s jumped; we’ve been to Millstreet twice, there’s loads of ditches there, he’s jumped the ditches and coffin at Blenheim twice, he jumped that coffin in Aachen last year.”

Gemma said Flash Cooley is “perfect, sound and happy”.

“He will go to Cornbury and do the three-star and just have a nice run around just so that we don’t leave it on that note,” she said.

“He’ll have a fun run and then he’s going to have a holiday and we’ll start again next year.”

Gemma said it has been a mentally tough situation to overcome.

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Harry Meade will be the first and last rider to compete at Defender Burghley Horse Trials (3-6 September) – and somewhere in between.

The draw has been made for the CCI5* and Harry, who has come third here for the past three years, will be eyeing a shot at his first title. He will go first with Superstition, 27th with Et Hop De Matz and last with Cavalier Crystal, last year’s podium finisher. He will be the 55th horse but wear number 56 as no Burghley rider is ever asked to carry the “unlucky” number 13.

Second to go will be US rider Caroline Pamukcu, making her Burghley debut with HSH Tolan King. Caroline is also number 53 with HSH Blake, whom she entered on Monday (17 August) as a re-route after the pair parted ways early on the cross-country at the World Championships.

Tim Price is drawn at number three with Global Quest and 55 with Falco. It will be interesting to see whether the 17-year-old starts, after he and Tim finished 21st individually at the worlds last week. Tim came sixth here last year with Vitali but this would be a first Burghley for both these horses.

2026 Burghley draw: medallists and rising stars

Two of Britain’s world team gold medallists are in the draw; individual bronze medallist Laura Collett will be number 47 with Bling, who finished 14th at Badminton this year, and Gemma Stevens brings her 2021 Bicton CCI5* winner Chilli Knight.

Tom Jackson, who came second here in 2022 with Capels Hollow Drift, is drawn sixth with Hawk Eye, who came 31st at Badminton this year. He is also number 52 with the up-and-coming 10-year-old United 36, who finished fourth at Badminton 2026, his first five-star.

Sarah Bullimore and home-bred Corimiro, who came fifth at Pau last year and 10th at Badminton 2026, are the favourites according to equestrian data analysis company EquiRatings. They start as number 34.

Caroline Powell, Burghley champion in 2010 with Lenamore, is drawn as number 24 with High Time, with whom she finished eighth here last year.

See the full draw.

Don’t miss our exclusive Burghley cross-country course-walk with Tina Cook in next week’s magazine (27 August) and full form guide in the 4 September edition.

To stay up to date with the latest equestrian news in the run-up to and throughout Burghley, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

There was major disappointment for Gemma Stevens in Aachen – as Tom McEwen keeps Britain’s hopes alive following an action-packed morning of cross-country at the eventing World Championships.

Gemma and Flash Cooley were the first of the Brits to tackle course-designer Giuseppe Della Chiesa’s track, but suffered a shock elimination early on course.

The pair had a stop at the rail into the coffin (fence 8a) on the direct route. They then diverted to the long route, but had two stops at 8c – a similar fence to the one they had already refused at on the direct route. With three refusals, they were eliminated.

Team stalwarts Tom McEwen and JL Dublin had better fortune when they came home clear with one of the quickest rounds so far. They were just five seconds over the 9min50sec optimum time, collecting 2 time-penalties.

Tom said he “couldn’t be happier”.

“It’s providing, looking at scores, to be a decent track,” he said.

“For the good horses and probably riders, it still needs a lot of riding. You’ve got flags everywhere, the corners are skinny, and there’s lots of corners.”

Tom said JL Dublin “went brilliantly”.

“I let him set sail and never thought I was rushing. I tried to leave enough petrol in the tank, hoping that I was feeling enough from on top to go the direct way at the corner combination (fence 24).

“For me, when I was just going away, he was a bit like: ‘Why am I going away from home again?’ so I made the quick decision to speed as quick as I could round the long route, which is clearly much safer. It's a good option. The straight route is jumping great, but with three in the team, the team comes first. And I thought get that done and sorted.”

Tom said he was “desperately sorry” for teammate Gemma.

“It wasn’t to be. We all know that sometimes it's just the case with horses,” he said.

“For us on top, it’s no different. We’re here to go clear first, close to the time second and get that score posted.”

A dramatic morning of World Championship cross-country

It’s been a dramatic morning for many, with only two clear inside the 9min50sec optimum time at the time of writing. Australia’s Sophia Hill and Humble Glory were the first (9min45sec) and Switzerland’s Melody Johner and Erin were the second to do it, a second quicker than Sophia.

At this stage the second rotation of team riders have now jumped. The home side, which had been lying in provisional silver, have two scores on the board; Libussa Lübbeke and Caramia FRH had a flag (9 penalties) and 16.8 time-penalties and Malin Hansen-Hotopp and Carlitos Quidditch K had just 3.2 time-penalties to add.

France started the day in provisional bronze, but like Britain is now relying on its two final riders, after Benjamin Massie and Figaro Fonroy had a fall at fence 9a of the Turkish Airlines Complex. Benjamin has confirmed his horse is uninjured. Their teammate Alexis Goury and Je’Vall came home clear with 6.4 time-penalties.

New Zealand, which was just behind France in the standings, suffered disappointment with the elimination of Clarke Johnstone and Rocket Man after the pair were stopped by the ground jury at fence 12. More information to follow, when this is available.

Jonelle Price looked to be having a fantastic round with Senor Crocodillo. The pair were stopped and held before fence 20 Farm Yard, as some fence repairs took place later on course, and they resumed their round, only to have a frustrating run-out at the second brush at fence 27c.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s sport,” said Jonelle, who believes the hold contributed to the stop with Senor Crocodillo “switching off” a little.

“Holds can happen, but for this horse he’s never been held before. He is probably a bit of a simple gelding, and I say that in the nicest possible way. I think he thought he’d run his race, he’d been foot-perfect up until there.

“It’s kind of a bitter pill to swallow because it’s not his fault, it’s not my fault, it’s just part of the game. It’s just unfortunate to try that at the World Championships, especially after we lost our first person. We had a bit of a hole to dig ourselves out of and I was feeling pretty good about making a nice dent in that challenge.”

While there has been frustrations for some, Ireland has put itself in the mix thanks to two brilliant clear rounds from Ian Cassells and Milridge Atlantis and Aoife Clark and Full Monty De Lacense. Ian had 7.2 time-faults and Aoife 1.2 time-faults, putting the team in an excellent position at this stage.

“He’s some horse and he just feels like he’s getting better and better,” said a delighted Aoife.

“He cruised around Bramham, and I could have cruised here inside the time. I was saying ‘whoa’ the whole way – but in my head I thought I’m second on the team and it’s about being clear before being fast.”

It’s still all to play for as the final two riders for the teams and the remaining individual combinations tackle Giuseppe Della Chiesa’s track this afternoon.

The remaining British times:

• Laura Collett and London 52, team, second individually: 1.55pm German time (12.55pm British time)
• Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, team, fourth individiaully: 3.35pm German time (2.35pm British time)
• Caroline Harris and D. Day, individual, 40th individually: 2.15pm German time (1.15pm British time)

• To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout the Aachen World Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

New Zealand is off to a flying start at the eventing World Championships holding the top two spots after the first morning of dressage – while Gemma Stevens leads the British charge.

Jonelle Price and Senor Crocodillo delivered a new personal best as a combination (27.2) to sail into the lead after the second coffee break, toppling team mates Clarke Johnstone and Rocket Man (28.7) from their lofty perch.

Clarke is now in provisional second, closely followed by Gemma and Flash Cooley, who charmed the judges with their elegant, correct work. A hiccup in the flying change on the final centre line – a movement several have found tricky – was the only difficult moment in an otherwise lovely test.

Gemma explained that Flash Cooley thought they were halting and went to stop, which led to the muddle.

“It was a real shame to lose that mark because that's actually been a real highlight in training. But the rest of it was so good, and he was so relaxed, so with me, and a real pleasure to ride,” said Gemma, who rides the 14-year-old gelding for Pru Dawes.

Gemma, back on a British championship squad for the first time since winning team gold at Tryon 2018, shared fascinating insight into how she mentally prepared for the pathfinder role.

“I knew that if I was going to be on the team that’s where I would be,” she said. “I’ve done it before, so they know I can do it. I’ve actually trained myself a few times this year to go out with no information at all on a course.”

Of course Gemma walked those courses in advance, in this context she means that she has gone out without the benefit of feedback from other riders.

“I did it at Royal Jump with him, I did it at Burgham with Chilli Knight – I've done it a few times just in the thought that it might happen. It's just a case of training your mind,” she said.

Senor Crocodillo heads New Zealand one-two

Senor Crocodillo heads the all-grey top three at this early stage.

The 12-year-old, owned by his rider and Alexander and Joseph Giannamore, has proved before that he can do a sub-30 test, but is more often found lingering around the 30 to 33 bracket.

Today he looked a horse who knew he should be at the top of the leaderboard, showing a relaxed confidence in his performance.

“He’s a quiet achiever, he’s not really my normal genre,” said Jonelle. “He is a fairly steady sort of guy, a little bit of a plain Jane, but he's just such a trier.

“Over the last couple of years, we’ve really been able to start solidly building a test – a pretty cool time to come out and show him at his best. I’m delighted.”

Clarke and Rocket Man, flagged by H&H eventing editor Pippa Roome as dark horses to watch at this year’s championships, held the lead for much of this morning. The 11-year-old is owned by Clarke’s parents, Jean and Rob Johnstone.

“I was pleased with it, it was probably one notch down from what we could have done if it was as good as possible,” said Clarke, who acquired the gelding from Britain’s Eliza Bell in 2023.

“I thought that arena might have lit him up a little bit, but he was totally relaxed, and sometimes he's better when he’s just a fraction not so relaxed. But he did everything I asked.”

He added: “We had a small mistake in the halt to rein back. Otherwise, everything happened where it was supposed to and I thought there were some real highlights.

“He’s a beautiful horse, he’s really lovely to ride and to train. He has been to Aachen before, but this is his first championships, and he took it all in like a pro.”

Dressage disappointment for top US pair at eventing World Championships

Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake were among the favourites to be in the mix at the very top of the leaderboard after dressage at the FEI World Championships, such is their strength in this phase.

Their test started well, but a few costly blips meant that their mark of 32.4 is adrift of where we would have expected to see them, based on previous form.

HSH Blake shows such lift and expression through his beautiful frame, which made their early trot work a joy to watch, and they were rewarded with a smattering of eights, plus a nine, from the judges.

The 11-year-old gelding unfortunately picked up the wrong lead on the transition to counter canter, for which they scored fours across the board. A little hiccup in one of the later changes was also expensive.

“I have a lovely horse. He’s a very, very special guy. So obviously I’m pretty disappointed because I know we could do better – I could do better, not him. I didn’t give him the ride I wanted to today. But it is a sport, and that’s a fun thing about sport,” she said.

“I’ll go back and reflect. There are always a lot of things, but I’ve got an incredible team at home and with our federation. They gave me all the opportunities to do the best we can today, sometimes it just falls short. It is what it is.

“I’ll go home, work harder, and then come back swinging.”

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Gemma Stevens said she is looking forward to a World Championships return with the “brilliant” Flash Cooley – and that they will do their best to make everyone proud.

Gemma, who was on the team that won gold at the World Equestrian Games in 2018 with Arctic Soul, returns to the squad with Pru Dawes’ versatile 14-year-old gelding.

She has had an action-packed season competing in eventing and showjumping; at the Royal International Horse Show last week, she joked she could do with a helicopter, as she combined showjumping there with competing Flash Cooley in an advanced section at Aston le Walls on Saturday (25 July). They came seventh, adding a double jumping clear to their 29.6 dressage, which was only beaten by Piggy March’s five-star ride MCS Maverick, Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo and Tim Price’s World Championships ride Falco.

Gemma then had to hot-foot it back to Hickstead, a drive of about two and a half hours, so she could jump Envoy Merelsnest Z in the JCL Queen Elizabeth II Cup – in which they clocked up the fastest jump-off time but clipped the second-last rail to finish seventh.

It was the finale to a great week at Hickstead for Gemma, who won the Unibed high-performance equine bedding winter grades B and C final with Warrior Special on the Wednesday, followed by a second consecutive Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge with Cooley Park Muze on Thursday.

After the eventers’ challenge, which Gemma won with Flash Cooley in 2022, she was asked about the World Championships.

“It’s an absolute honour, and I’m relieved and so chuffed to get a call-up,” she said. “It’s been eight years since my last World Championships, and that’s not for want of trying, I can tell you.

“It’s incredible to even be selected – I genuinely think it’s an honour to be selected on the British team because at the end of the day, the Brits are the best. So you have to be so brilliant to be able to even be considered for the long list, let alone get selected.

“That in itself is a huge achievement. I’m chuffed to bits, the horse is brilliant. I’m really looking forward to going, and we’ll do our best to do everyone proud.”

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The fabulous Gemma Stevens and Cooley Park Muze won a second consecutive Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge at the Agria Royal International Horse Show, three seconds plus a fence ahead of their nearest rivals.

The 2025 champions were last to go, and drew a huge roar from the crowd as they finished in 117.8sec, ahead of Tara Dixon and Master Smart on 124.30 and last year’s runners-up Alex Bragg and Ardeo Premier, on 125.13.

The win means Gemma – who first won this class in 2022 with her World Championships ride Flash Cooley – joins Pippa Funnell as a three-time winner of the class; only Gary Parsonage has won it more, with four titles on his CV.

“That’s cool, isn’t it?!” Said Gemma. “Pip’s the coolest in the sport, so I’m happy with that!”

Gemma said last year that The Rex Syndicate’s Irish-bred gelding was probably one of the nicest horses’s she’s had and his form since then – which includes winning the four-star Lycetts Grantham Cup at Thorseby – has done nothing to shake that view.

Asked if she felt any pressure after last year’s win, Gemma said: “Of course there’s always pressure. But we had a wonderful win here yesterday, and I just thought ‘I had a lovely win yesterday, I really enjoyed it. Let’s just enjoy this wonderful horse and do the best we can do.”

Gemma Stevens and Cooley Park Muze: how they did it

The round was flawless; jumping on lovely balanced turns from the off and fast and accurate from the start. They had the slightest of pauses on the top of the bank but then flew home, taking the longer route at the barrels to avoid the knock-down rails of the shorter route, accelerating over the brush and the Devil’s Dyke without a check – and were cheered most of the way home.

“I had a real plan,” Gemma said. “I knew my plan, and I just tried to stick to it, to the point I made [husband] Gary watch the round back from last year, and try to go one or two less strides here and there – I’m not joking when I say I counted everywhere! I think that’s where the [show]jumping comes into play, I’ve got so used to counting, then when you’re trying to be really quick and you can shave off a stride here and there, it makes a difference. Really being that precise is, I think, where I’ve upped my game a bit.”

Tara, daughter of eventing legend Karen, was not only making her debut in this class, it was the first time she had ever been to Hickstead, but she and Master Smart looked like old hands as they went fast and sure from the start, taking the direct routes off the bank and through the barrels, just clipping the rail of the second element there.

“I’d never even been here as a spectator – now I love the place!” she said.

“I was aware of this class and had seen clips, then at the beginning of this year, I made a 2026 bucket list and this was on it, so I decided to make it happen. Mum and Dad have been here so they debriefed me on the whole show.”

Tara has had her parents’ Satisfaction gelding since he was five, eight years ago, and she said they were not a match made in heaven at first, as “he kept putting me on the floor!”

“But we clicked,” she said. “And I honestly think there’s no horse as talented as him. He’s so quick with his feet and just loves the game, he can do it all and he’s gorgeous. I can’t wait to try to finally get my ducks in a row and keep kicking and do well at a big one somewhere.”

“It was great fun”

The 2024 winner Alex and Debbie and Neill Nuttall’s 14-year-old are well practised on this course, although it had had some tweaks since last year, and they gave a masterful performance today, fast, smooth and clear.

“I was surprised because the sun was so bright, he spooked at fence one,” Alex said. “I could hear them doing the commentary saying ‘He’s produced him since he was four years old’, and I think he must have heard and thought ‘Oh, I’ve got to behave like a four-year-old’!

“I thought ‘Fence one, this is not good’, so I had to give him a little bit of encouragement.”

Alex said “Eddie” has not quite got the speed across the ground of the other two but he was neat and balanced.

“And he’s great fun,” he said. “I was definitely having fun. These classes are magnificent; I think they’re great for our sport to showcase it to a different audience, in a different way. It is really fun, and I know it’s a competition, but I think I try to look at it as an exhibition, a showcase, and I love it. Thank you to Hickstead for continuing to put it on, and Ashby Underwriters for continually supporting it.”

To stay up to date with the latest news from the Royal International Horse Show subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Gemma Stevens may struggle to squeeze in any sleep as she prepares for the World Championships – but winning titles such as the Unibed high-performance equine bedding winter grades B and C final at the Royal International Horse Show must make up for it.

Gemma and nine-year-old Warrior Special triumphed from a field of 24 to win the prestigious title – the day after Gemma’s place was confirmed on the British team that will travel to Aachen with Flash Cooley.

“It’s challenging, shall we say!” said Gemma, of trying to fit everything into days that only have 24 hours each. “But it’s a really nice afternoon, the sun’s shining, all the owners are here and everyone’s happy. I’m thrilled to bits.”

Gemma was drawn halfway through the seven-strong jump-off, and first in Thomas Pritchard and Princess SW were the ones to beat, on 37.22 sec. Gemma put her foot down, and took advantage of the Warrior stallion’s huge scope and stride to finish in 36.99.

“I didn’t watch the first two go but the one before me was really fast and went third, so I thought ‘I’m really going to have to get a wriggle on!’” Gemma said.

“He’s a big horse and really careful but he has the most enormous stride, so I probably took 10 strides less than everyone else. For such a big horse, he’s got a real turn of foot.

“The owners absolutely loved winning here, it’s the best arena in the world.”

Warrior Special was bred down the road from Hickstead at Brendon Stud and he was sold aged six to Nadia Al Mutawa, who flew him to her home in Kuwait.

“He did a couple of 1.40ms as a seven-year-old but because it’s so hot there, they don’t have summer competitions,” Gemma said. “Nadia wanted him to come back and Shirley [Light, of Brendon Stud] very nicely suggested she send him to me.

“When he arrived, I thought he wasn’t really my type, but the very first time I jumped him at home, we had a partnership.

“He’s really coming into himself this year; he was second in the Chard grand prix and won at the Great Yorkshire Show; we’re thrilled with him and excited about the future. I think he’s got all the scope for the really big jumps.”

Gemma is competing in Saturday’s feature class, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, and this is creating another challenge.

“I’m riding my World Championships horse in the advanced at Aston-le-Walls in the morning,” she said. “I’ve got a 7.30am dressage, I should be done by 9.45am, then it’s a two and a half-hour drive back here, so we’ll be hot-footing it – I could really do with a helicopter!”

To stay up to date with the latest news from the Royal International Horse Show subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

The British squad for the eventing World Championships in Aachen (12-16 August) has been revealed, following much speculation. Unsurprisingly, the effort is spearheaded by the trio who won team gold at the Olympics two years ago.

Laura Collett (London 52) and Tom McEwen (JL Dublin), the individual gold and bronze medallists at last year’s Agria European Championships, are joined by their Paris team-mate Ros Canter (Lordships Graffalo), who missed the Europeans owing to her pregnancy but made a spectacular comeback at Mars Badminton Horse Trials with her third win there.

Their selection will shock nobody and will not be in any way controversial.

Gemma Stevens had emerged as a favourite for a place on the squad this spring with Flash Cooley and they have duly landed a spot.

The West Sussex-based rider and this smart grey have banked lots of super four-star form in the past few years, including experience at Aachen. This will be Gemma’s first senior championship since she was on the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 worlds in Tryon with Arctic Soul. Flash Cooley is the only horse or rider on the squad making a championship debut.

One has to assume the fifth and final spot was a tough decision – and whoever received that magic phone call, several others could feel aggrieved.

Caroline Harris is the one heading to Aachen, her recent win at Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials with D. Day evidently sealing the deal. Their two five-star wins bracket five top-10 four-star short results over the past two seasons – and a single, high-profile error at the European Championships at Blenheim Horse Trials.

It will be announced once the British squad are in Aachen for the eventing World Championships which four riders are on the team and who rides as an individual but at this stage, it’s probably fair to assume Caroline, the least experienced rider of the squad, will be the individual.

The reserve list gives us an idea of who narrowly missed out on a spot – alphabetically, David Doel (Galileo Nieuwmoed), Yasmin Ingham (Gypsie Du Loir), Tom Jackson (United 36) and Harry Meade (Cavalier Crystal).

The obvious omission from the combined squad and reserve lists? Bubby Upton with Its Cooley Time. Selectors obviously decided their run of falls couldn’t be overlooked, despite their win at Defender Bramham Horse Trials. It will be a harsh blow to Bubby, but she will no doubt come back fighting and has plenty of team appearances in her future.

British squad for the eventing World Championships 2026

Ros Canter with 14-year-old gelding Lordships Graffalo
Owners: Michele and Archie Saul
Breeder: Lordships Stud and Pennie Wallace
Breeding: by Birkhof’s Grafenstolz TSF, out of a mare by Rock King
Groom: Sarah Charnley

Laura Collett with 17-year-old gelding London 52
Owners: Keith Scott, Karen Bartlett and rider
Breeder: Ocke Riewerts
Breeding: by Landos, out of a mare by Quinar Z
Groom: Tilly Hughes

Caroline Harris with 12-year-old gelding D. Day
Owners: Lucy Matthews, Fiona Olivier, Marie Anne Richardson and Heather Royle
Breeder: Fiona Olivier
Breeding: by Billy Mexico, out of a mare by Dilum
Groom: Nellie Smith

Tom McEwen with 15-year-old gelding JL Dublin
Owners: Deirdre Johnston and Jo and James Lambert
Breeder: Volker Goettsche-Goetze
Breeding: by Diarado, out of a mare by Canto 16
Groom: Adam Short

Gemma Stevens with 14-year-old gelding Flash Cooley, 14
Owner: Pru Dawes
Breeder: Jim O’Neill
Breeding: by CSF Mr Croon, out of a mare by OBOS Quality
Groom: Georgie Driver

Reserves in alphabetical order

David Doel with 15-year-old gelding Galileo Nieuwmoed
Owners: Mary Fox, Gillian Jonas and rider
Breeders: J. W. and A. P. Jurrius
Breeding: by Carambole, out of a mare by Harcos

Yasmin Ingham with 10-year-old mare Gypsie Du Loir
Owners: Janette Chinn and The Sue Davies Fund
Breeder: Pierre Gouye
Breeding: by Herald 3 out of a mare by Canaletto

Tom Jackson with 10-year-old gelding United 36
Owner: Michael Stenning
Breeder: Heinrich Bohmke
Breeding: by Ucello out of a mare by Espiri

Harry Meade with 16-year-old mare Cavalier Crystal
Owners: Charlotte and Peter Opperman
Breeder: Thomas Horgan
Breeding: by Jack Of Diamonds out of a mare by Cavalier Royale

The entries are announced in collaboration with the British Eventing selectors and World Class Programme principal partner Agria.

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Gemma Stevens reports that Chilli Knight is “home and very happy” after she pulled him up on the Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country yesterday (9 May).

“He absolutely wrenched his shoe off, which made him sore – we are pretty sure it’s just that which is a huge, huge relief,” Gemma told H&H.

Gemma Stevens: “Ride of my life” on Badminton cross-country

Gemma Stevens was having a great round on the Badminton cross-country until shortly before she pulled up “Alfie” at the Holland Cooper Vicarage Vee (fence 25ab)

Gemma said: “He was giving me the ride of my life – it’s like he grows wings at five-star. We are all absolutely gutted and would like to have a bit of luck sprinkled over us for next time! He deserves a good result at Badminton. Maybe things do come in threes… We’ve had our three so maybe next time.”

Badminton final scores

Gemma and the Stones’ Chilli Knight, who won the one-off Bicton Horse Trials five-star in 2021, would have won Badminton in 2024 but for a flag penalty which left them 14th and looked poised for a podium finish last year when they had 20 penalties in the showjumping, finishing 15th.

British first-timers report on their horses

Tom Strawson retired after the KBIS Slalom (fences 14ab and 15) with his own Public Address. He told H&H the horse tied up and lost both front shoes and is receiving fluids to help his recovery.

Fellow British first-timer Sam Ecroyd pulled up the Irlams’ Boleybawn Lecrae at fence 27, the Spillers Stables table.

Sam said: “I felt him not quite right – I just could feel in his gallop he wasn’t quite galloping as normal, so I backed off him from about halfway round. I was thinking I’ll just feel him out, see how he goes along and he was jumping a bit stickier and stickier, which is unlike him, so I pulled him up. He’s OK, he’s happy and he’s healthy but he has an injury.”

More from non-finishers

US first-timer Cassie Sanger and her own Redfield Fyre took a fall in the Spillers Sustainability Bay (fence 20abcd).

“Sadly it wasn’t meant to be today for ‘Yogi’ and me. We both took a tumble, but most importantly we both walked away and made it safely back to the barn,” said Cassie last night.

“He’s currently happy, healthy, and eating dinner. Not an easy one, but we will pick ourselves up and live to fight another day. I will always be proud of him.

“Thank you to our team and [groom] Meigs Rutherford for looking after us.”

Lithuanian rider Aistis Vitkauskas said his strategy was to go straight and fast to gain some positions after a poor dressage.

“But after having a mistake at number 15, I decided not to go further and spare Commander VG for better runs,” he said.

US rider Grace Taylor pulled up her mother Ann’s Game Changer after a run-out at the rail out of Mike Weaver’s Farm Yard (fence 22ab).

“It wasn’t quite our day today. ‘Sydney’ was running exceptionally well and I felt we were so close to that clear and inside the time we have been working so hard towards. We will keep dreaming of that top-10 finish and will regroup and make a plan with our fantastic team,” she said, thanking everyone for their support.

New Zealand’s Caroline Powell reported that both her horses were “on the way home safe and sound” last night.

She fell with High Time (owned by Ruth Armstrong, Serena Greenwell, Jo West, Tom Craig, Annabel Jenks and his rider) at the Rathbones Curve and retired the Manns’ and her own Greenacres Special Cavalier after a stop at the LeMieux Village (fence 18ab) – and, in a light-hearted moment, got an ice cream on her way home.

How to watch and listen to Badminton Horse Trials

To watch Badminton Horse Trials live or via catch up, including the trot-ups, from the comfort of your home anywhere in the world, you need a 2026 Badminton TV Pass. Badminton TV is once again powered by ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £22.99. Go to badminton-horse.tv to sign up. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. Also check out the Badminton app, which provides free live results and much more this year. Sign up for Badminton Plus membership for £4.99 to access the live Radio Badminton broadcast and receive exclusive offers from on-site exhibitors. Search for Badminton Horse Trials in your app store.

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Fair distances but “mean” to make us jump that ditch five times – that was Gemma Stevens’ assessment of Eric Winter’s Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course for this year’s competition.

The course comprises 32 numbered fences, with an optimum time of 11min 30sec.

“I think it’s a really fair course. I think he’s set fantastic distances, which I really like – I like it when designers don’t try and trick you,” said Gemma.

“You’ve got to be on your A game from number one to very last fence. There’s not really a let up anywhere. He’s making us jump the Vicarage Ditch five times – I feel like that’s quite mean, it’s scary enough just once.”

Badminton final scores

Gemma added: “It’s going to be that typical five-star cumulative effect of the whole round. I don’t think you can pick out one particular fence. As riders, we’ve got to be accurate, we’ve got to look after our horses, and we’ve got to balance them and make sure they’re confident.”

Georgie Goss was another to mention the area around the Vicarage Ditch, saying: “I’d say 80% of the course looks really nice and the other 20% looks really horrible.

“I think the Vicarage line is always a rider frightener, but my bogey fence at the moment is the ditch to the rail [Mike Weaver’s Farm Yard at 22ab]. I did that a couple years ago when it was a ditch to the log and it never rode that well. But hopefully the more I walk, the smaller it’ll get.”

Harry Meade said after his first dressage test that he’d only had an initial look round in the dark last night, but he felt the route was slightly different from the horse’s point of view.

He said: “It covers the same ground, but actually for the flow of the horses, the intensity and the breathing gaps are slightly different. I didn’t think there was anything that was overly problematic, but I’ll have a better look this afternoon.”

Bubby Upton said she prefers the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course running this way round – anti-clockwise.

“Of course it’s massive and really difficult, but I think for my horse Cola, it will be a nicer way around for him,” she said, adding that the five-star stalwart doesn’t have a lot of thoroughbred blood (48%).

“I felt last year when we got through the Mayston Equestrian Hollow [fence 26abc this year] that he had done a huge effort and then I was like, ‘Oh my god, we’ve still got so much left to do.’ Whereas I hope this year we’ll jump that fence and feel like I can then ease him back a little bit more to get home.”

Kylie Roddy also said the track is more horse-friendly and has more flow than sometimes.

“It looks like the horses can see what they’re about to jump,” she said. “Sometimes it can be a bit blind and a bit bouncy off the trees, whereas I think they have found better flow for the ponies.”

Simon Grieve said he’d “be a bit disappointed” if the course wasn’t big, bold and quite scary.

He said: “I think the Mars Lake [fences 9ab and 10ab] is pretty serious and I just can’t ever get away from the Holland Cooper Vicarage Vee [fence 25ab]. And the water at the top [Spillers Sustainability Bay – fence 20abcd] as well is very technical. It’s one big fence after another, and that’s what makes it such a challenge.”

How to watch and listen to Badminton Horse Trials

To watch Badminton Horse Trials live or via catch up, including the trot-ups, from the comfort of your home anywhere in the world, you need a 2026 Badminton TV Pass. Badminton TV is once again powered by ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £22.99. Go to badminton-horse.tv to sign up. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. Also check out the Badminton app, which provides free live results and much more this year. Sign up for Badminton Plus membership for £4.99 to access the live Radio Badminton broadcast and receive exclusive offers from on-site exhibitors. Search for Badminton Horse Trials in your app store.

Enjoy the best of Badminton with Horse & Hound

To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 28-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 14 May.

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Tom Jackson leads at the close of the first session of Mars Badminton Horse Trials dressage this morning (7 May).

Tom piloted Michael Stenning’s 10-year-old United 36 to a score of 31.8. They put in a workmanlike test with the scores only marred by some greenness in the flying changes.

“He’s probably one of the most talented horses I’ve sat on in terms of his athleticism and his ability, but his brain is quite difficult,” said Tom Jackson after his Badminton dressage.

“He can be quite sharp and quite spooky and just as you think you’re getting somewhere, suddenly you’re halfway across the school, facing the other direction. I was really pleased with how he coped in there, because it’s a lot for any horse, especially one that’s not the most experience.”

Tom has ridden recent Thoresby winner United 36 since the end of his eight-year-old year and this is the horse’s first five-star.

Badminton final scores

Gemma Stevens sits second on a score of 34 after a frustrating experience with Christopher and Lisa Stone’s Chilli Knight.

The 16-year-old, who won Bicton Horse Trials five-star in 2021, is not naturally gifted in this phase, and today he also rested a hindleg in the mid-test halt and threw in a change in the medium canter.

“That was absolutely rubbish,” said Gemma. “He’s actually probably trotting the best he’s ever trotted – well, shuffled the best he’s ever shuffled.

“It was all going to plan until the halt. I must have done 150 halts in the last two weeks, every one’s been bang on, then he goes in the ring and thinks, ‘Oh, I’ll just have a little rest.’ Cheeky little monkey.

“And then the same in the canter – if I’ve gone across that diagonal 100 times, I’ve gone across there 150 times and not once has he gone to do a change and then he goes in the ring and does it. It surprised the hell out of me – I was like, ‘What are you doing?’

“I’m really frustrated but at the end of the day, they’re horses, not machines and he certainly does have his own mind. He probably thinks he can do all this without me, I’m just an irritation on top trying to tell him what to do.

“He is feeling blooming well and on Saturday it’s just going to be a case of keeping that under wraps and keeping him under control.”

Tom’s lead is likely to be short-lived, with strong tests expected from Bubby Upton on Cola and Sarah Bullimore with Corimiro in the next session.

How to watch and listen to Badminton Horse Trials

To watch Badminton Horse Trials live or via catch up, including the trot-ups, from the comfort of your home anywhere in the world, you need a 2026 Badminton TV Pass. Badminton TV is once again powered by ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £22.99. Go to badminton-horse.tv to sign up. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. Also check out the Badminton app, which provides free live results and much more this year. Sign up for Badminton Plus membership for £4.99 to access the live Radio Badminton broadcast and receive exclusive offers from on-site exhibitors. Search for Badminton Horse Trials in your app store.

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One of Gemma Stevens’ rides is among four last-minute Mars Badminton Horse Trials withdrawals, as riders prepare for the first horse inspection this afternoon (6 May).

Gemma has withdrawn her second ride, the 11-year-old five-star debutant Chilli King, owned by Chris and Clare Mathias and Christopher and Lisa Stone. She will still start on the Stones’ Chilli Knight, with whom she won Bicton Horse Trials five-star in 2021.

“I’m absolutely gutted to say that we have made the incredibly difficult decision to withdraw Chilli King from Badminton,” said Gemma.

“It’s nothing serious but this morning on a lovely ride around the park ‘Raff’ just wasn’t feeling quite as I would like for such a tough test.

Badminton final scores

“He is a very special young horse, and with it being his first five-star I’m not prepared to run him if things don’t feel absolutely 100% right!

“All being well, he will re-route and get his first shot at the level at Burghley this autumn instead…

“Now for a super fun week with our wonderful Chilli Knight (Alfie). Wish us luck!”

Other Badminton Horse Trials withdrawals

Among other late Badminton Horse Trials withdrawals, Ireland has lost another runner in first-timer Alice Copithorne (Fort Arthur Little Dolly) and New Zealand’s Hollie Field (née Swain) has pulled out Solo.

The withdrawal of another debutante, Olivia Barton with Hollyander HG – the 2024 Adelaide five-star runners-up – means Australia now has no starters as she was the only Aussie entered.

At the start of this week Oliver Townend withdrew second favourite Cooley Rosalent. Then Ireland lost two runners when Susie Berry withdrew Clever Trick and Joseph Murphy pulled out Belline Fighting Spirit. Dorset-based US rider Cosby Green withdrew Highly Suspicious, but is expected to start on Jos Ufo De Quidam.

This leaves 61 horses expected to come forward to the first horse inspection, which gets underway at 4.30pm.

How to watch and listen to Badminton Horse Trials

To watch Badminton Horse Trials live or via catch up, including the trot-ups, from the comfort of your home anywhere in the world, you need a 2026 Badminton TV Pass. Badminton TV is once again powered by ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £22.99. Go to badminton-horse.tv to sign up. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. Also check out the Badminton app, which provides free live results and much more this year. Sign up for Badminton Plus membership for £4.99 to access the live Radio Badminton broadcast and receive exclusive offers from on-site exhibitors. Search for Badminton Horse Trials in your app store.

Enjoy the best of Badminton with Horse & Hound

To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 28-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 14 May.

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Gemma Stevens won the Lycetts Grantham Cup at the Eventing Spring Carnival at Thoresby on Saturday (4 April) – but admitted to having a “giant meltdown” after cross-country problems on her first three rides.

“I was like, ‘I obviously can’t ride, I’m useless’ – there were massive tears, the whole works,” said Gemma, who paid tribute to husband Gary, best friend Emma Gage and pupil and owner Pru Dawes, as well as fellow competitor Simon Grieve, for helping her before she started on winner Cooley Park Muze.

“They gave me a hug and then a massive kick up the a**e. I got on my final horse and put winning out of my mind. I thought, ‘Let’s just ride the horse, not go too quick out of the start box and build the round.’”

Gemma was particularly worried about the Rathbones Garden (13abc) with Cooley Park Muze, where riders had to open up over a brush oxer, then ride a precise curving line to an angled hanging shoulder brush, before moving up again to the final skinny. This proved the most influential fence in the two CCI4*-S sections, causing 11 problems.

“Cooley Park Muze came to me as a green seven-year-old, having been eliminated in two 90cm classes,” she said. “He wasn’t naughty, he just didn’t understand why he should jump at such angles.

“I’ve spent ages in the arena building his confidence and making him believe he can jump between the flags.”

Having cleared the Rathbones Garden, Gemma checked her watch and realised she wasn’t far behind the time.

“For a big-striding horse, he’s so easy to manoeuvre and we’d picked up an amazing rhythm. After that question, I landed and thought, ‘Come on,’ and he went off like a rocket,” said Gemma, who finished just two seconds over the time, having been fourth after dressage on 29.9.

The 10-year-old Cooley Park Muze was second in the young horse class at Blenheim Horse Trials last year. Gemma paid tribute to owners The Rex Syndicate, for keeping this “exceptional” horse with her as he has been sought after by potential buyers.

“Years ago, I was sixth in the Grantham Cup with Chico Bella P and I thought how cool it would be to one day win – but that felt really far-fetched. I’ve treasured that rosette and now I have the winning one,” concluded Gemma Stevens after her Thoresby victory.

Read the full report from Thoresby in Horse & Hound magazine this Thursday (issue dated 9 April).

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Samantha Lissington coasted to victory in the GFS Saddles eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S results at the Agria Blenheim Horse Trials (Sunday, 21 September) with her flying nine-year-old grey, Quantas R.

Gemma Stevens was runner-up on Cooley Park Muze with another exceptional performance – clocking the second-fastest time (2.8 time-faults) over the cross-country track to back up their second-placed dressage. Sarah Bullimore franked the form book, finishing third with last year’s Boekelo fifth Corimiro, 4.5 penalties adrift.

Sam has made no secret of how highly she rates this bold-striding nine-year-old, owned by the High Flyers Syndicate. He floated over Blenheim’s undulations to finish on his dressage score of 22.4 – a copybook performance in every phase for a pillar-to-post victory.

“I really wanted to win this and I knew he was capable, but it’s one thing saying it and another delivering,” Sam said. “So I’m really happy I’ve got him to the place where he can show off in the dressage.

“There was a lot of pressure in the showjumping, where it could have been won or lost, and then being last to go cross-country. Knowing Gemma is fast, I had to assume she would be inside the time on her top horse and I only had one second to play with.”

Sam came in bang on the optimum time as the only combination to finish on a clean sheet.

“Quantas is outrageous,” added Sam. “He has so much length of stride, that it looks like he’s going in slow motion but he feels fast. There’s a lot of power to deal with, and our journey has been about managing that power, knowing he had all the talent and capability in the world.

“It’s been about getting the rideability with the power, jump, speed and everything. He’s sharp and can spin – he spent one winter getting me off every day, three times in one week. He has a quirky side, but he’s becoming the ultimate professional. He’s got to be a strong contender for the World Championships.”

At times it felt like the Sam and Gemma show, with both riders piloting three horses apiece, of which all six finished in the top 15. And it was an absolute showdown at the end of the reverse order cross-country phase. Once Corimiro had secured third position, it was a duel between the top two, with just over as second splitting them.

Gemma Stevens runner-up in Blenheim Horse Trials CCI4*-S results

Second last to go, Gemma set out in determined style on nine-year-old Cooley Park Muze. They laid down the gauntlet with the fastest time of the day so far, with Quantas cruising out on course. Quantas is already a winner at four-star long, and he showed how comfortable he is at this level with a stunning round, finishing with plenty of running.

Gemma was delighted with how “Rex” took on the challenge, having only started eventing in 2023.

“We’d had a crack at four-star at Hartpury and we had the wrong bit and it caught me out,” said Gemma. “I’ve changed from a soft nathe running gag to one with a lozenge with sides and that small thing makes such a difference as I now have more control over his stride, and he was absolutely wonderful. He got a little bit tired at the end and he used to give up a bit, but today he dug deep.

“I really hope he’s a top horse – but my other two horses I had here are also seriously exciting for the next two years.”

There was little to split the the top three, with Corimiro also outstanding in all three phases. Sarah revealed that she broke her collarbone three weeks prior to the event, and had an operation only two weeks ago.

“I am chuffed to bits, he’s a fabulous, fabulous horse,” Sarah said. “He’s one of those that you just want to get up in the morning and ride. He loves his job. He’s been wild all week, as we’ve been short of match practice, so to even make it here has been quite good.

“He was quite strong today and has such a massive stride; he thought this was all easy-peasy. I thought I was slow and was berating myself, because I haven’t got my full strength back. But he makes it feel easy, he’s a megastar – he’s probably the best horse I’ve had, and he’s got a great brain.”

Blenheim Horse Trials CCI4*-S results: how the cross-country phase unfolded

This class, which is widely considered a championship for young horses, has heralded the arrival of certain superstars on the world stage, namely the new European champion London 52, who won in 2018, and the 2022 world champion Banzai Du Loir (in 2020). There’s every chance graduates from this class will be in the line-up for Los Angeles 2028, when they will be at their peak.

David Evans’ track had 23 numbered fences in a time of 6min 53sec, and there was plenty to challenge these up-and-coming stars. The first water complex in particular at fences eight and nine, was an eyeful. Horses approached the lake downhill with three chunky fences on a left-hand curve, culminating in a log drop into the water. After galloping through, they had to negotiate a tightly angled double of brushes.

The big log into this water did cause a number of stops, including four horses almost in a row, but this batch of top-notch eight- and nine-year-olds by and large found the cross-country well within their capability, yielding a 73% clear rate. David had been clever with the course, adding in time-consuming loops, and making most of the mounds and the double lake crossings to slow horses down. Time had the biggest impact, with only the winner finishing inside.

A thrilling finale

The top 20 ran across country in reverse order – with a few exceptions where Sam, Gemma and Tom Jackson had multiple well placed rides. The top 17 after showjumping were covered by 10 penalties, equating to 25 seconds, and just 7sec separated the top three.

Gemma was the cross-country trailblazer on Chilli’s Jester, the full brother to her five-star winner Chilli Knight, who was lying 18th after the first two phases. She set the standard with a comfortable clear for 5.2 time-faults. This proved a very quick time, with no one able to better it for the next two and a half hours. Gemma then bettered her own time with 3.6 time-faults aboard her second ride Chilli Morning IV, who moved up from 14th to eventual eighth. This set up a compelling final 40 minutes with the top-placed combinations jostling on the leaderboard.

Sam had the benefit of two clear rounds under her belt before setting out with Quantas R, with her overnight sixth Lucas Stone clocking eight time-faults to drop one place to seventh, when Tom Jackson and four-star debutant Brookfield William clocked a faster time.

The first horse to drop out of the top 10 was George Hilton-Jones’ ride Feardorcha Diamond MH, from 10th. He was reluctant to canter through the lake and petered out at the angled brushes. George retired after a second run-out. Next out, Austin O’Connor was going brilliantly until an unlucky tumble when his ride Diamond Mistress, lying ninth overnight, stumbled after after the “Narrow Ditch” at 14a and tipped Austin off.

But tidy rounds from Tom Jackson (Brookfield William), Phoebe Locke (Renkum Jitterbug, 10th), Fiona Kashel (Monbeg Kazador, fifth) and Tim Price (The Highlander, fourth) put the pressure on the top three.

This premium class may have had to play second fiddle to the European Eventing Championships on this occasion but it was an absolute thriller, and exciting to dream about what these top-class young horses may achieve in the years to come.

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Samantha Lissington maximised on her dressage lead at the Agria Blenheim Palace Horse Trials with a stunning showjumping clear in the GFS Saddles eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S. This was aboard her third ride in this class, the High Flyers syndicate’s Quantas R.

“He’s pretty phenomenal,” said Sam. “He’s got scope for days, and it’s really about trying not to make a rider mistake. He’s something else.”

Sam also moved up from 10th to sixth with Lucas Stone, thanks to a fault-free round.

The showjumping was split into a morning and late-afternoon session, with an interlude of European Championships cross-country as the filler. Because of the championships, the showjumping took place not in the main Palace Arena but in a temporary ring in the park. There was a big atmosphere, with a packed stand and crowds three deep lining the ring as people stopped to watch on their way to and from the Europeans cross-country track.

The top two from the dressage were jumping on either side of the break, and it was Gemma Stevens who laid down the gauntlet with her brilliant jumper Cooley Park Muze in the morning. The Rex Syndicate’s nine-year-old has won a 1.35m Derby and the Eventers’ Challenge at Hickstead already this season and demonstrating all their pure showjumping experience, they added nothing to their second-placed dressage score of 22.9 to give Quantas R no breathing space.

“He’s gone from strength to strength having only started eventing two years ago,” said Gemma. “He’s a big, green baby but he has the most amazing brain.”

Sarah Bullimore’s Corimiro, third after dressage, was also clear inside the time to maintain her 24.8 score ahead of Sunday’s cross-country, while Fiona Kashel and her striking dark grey Monbeg Cazador added 1.2 time-faults but retained the fourth spot she held after dressage.

Tight time for Blenheim horse trials showjumping phase

It was noteworthy that the top three all jumped clear inside the time, as it gives the impression that the showjumping was straightforward. But although there were plenty of clear rounds, the time was very tight, and only 25% of the 86 contestants finished fault-free.

Sam’s clear with Quantas R was in the afternoon session after the course was doused with rain. She explained that she tweaked her style after knocking a fence down en route to Quantas winning at Royal Jump CCI4*-L in the summer, despite watching Gemma’s bold round with Cooley Park Muze.

“At Royal Jump, I took a stride out and had one down, so I didn’t want to do that today,” she said. “I made him do the conventional strides even though the time was tight, and had to find some extra places to make up the time. It added some extra pressure, but I think [a tight time is] good for the class to mix everything up.”

Gemma had full confidence in her expert jumper to take out the strides.

“He has a massive stride which is fantastic in some ways but it can make you a bit slow because you’re always waiting on a distance and it’s really tight in that arena,” she said. “But I left a couple of strides out and that really worked. He is the ultimate jump-off horse because he’s got such a good brain so it never fazes him. I can go flat out and next time just slow down – it doesn’t bother him.”

The cross-country starts tomorrow (Sunday, 21 September) at 9.30am with Gemma Stevens first out on David Evans’ track with Chilli’s Jester. The top 16 will run in reverse order, meaning Quantas R is due to run at 1.36pm.

Gemma said: “There’s a lot to do, but my horse is ready for the step up and I hope he’ll take it on, understand what he’s got to do and believe in me. Then he’ll have a holiday and be ready to do some really exciting things next year.”

CCI4*-S results after showjumping: top six

• Samantha Lissington and Quantas R (NZL): 22.4
• Gemma Stevens and Cooley Park Muze (GBR): 22.9
• Sarah Bullimore and Corimiro (GBR): 24.8
• Fiona Kashel and Monbeg Kazador (GBR): 26.2
• Tim Price and The Highlander (NZL): 26.3
• Samantha Lissington and Lucas Stone (NZL) and Phoebe Locke and Renkum Jitterbug (GBR): 29.5
• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from the Blenheim Europeans, including the eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Gemma Stevens has stamped her authority on the GFS Saddles eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S class, leading the first day’s dressage phase by 2.1 penalties at the Agria Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.

Gemma was riding her Hickstead Eventers Challenge winner Cooley Park Muze, a nine-year-old gelding owned by the Rex Syndicate, who is known for his exceptional jumping ability and scored a huge personal best in this phase for 22.9.

“This was completely not expected!” said Gemma. “He’s still very green, having only evented for two years, since he was seven. But I’ve always believed he could get a really good score, it was just about getting it together on the day.

“He has the most amazing brain, he’s not bothered at all by any sort of atmosphere. Today he was really with me, happy and settled.”

Gemma was first into the GFS Saddles arena with Chilli’s Jester, scoring 33.3, but it was her second ride Cooley Park Muze who sauntered into the top spot towards the end of the first day of dressage. Fiona Kashel and Monbeg Cazador, who were 13th in this class last year, sit in second on 25. Gemma noted that the four-star test plays to her dressage leader’s strengths.

“He has an incredibly light contact, and I rode him in a thick rubber snaffle with a very loose noseband,” Gemma explained. “I managed to get him taking the bit more forward than I have done in his three-star tests. The four-star test suits him because you can ride him more forward and he likes being ridden like that.

“He has the most amazing canter, he’s very good at his sideways work and it all came off and the judges absolutely loved him.

“Even though it’s a shock today, I’ve known that he has it in him to do that sort of score. I just hope we can now do him justice and carry on like this for the rest of this show and career going forward. He’s a very exciting horse.”

How the Blenheim Horse Trials dressage phase played out on day one

For a long while, it had been a day of tight scores at the head of the leaderboard, ever since New Zealander Samantha Lissington was second into the arena on the Finnish-bred Lucas Stone, scoring 29.5 for top spot, where she stayed until lunchtime.

Australia’s Kevin McNab snuck into the lead by 0.1 of a penalty with Wilfred Lancer, and then Britain’s George Hilton-Jones crept ahead by the same tiny margin, for 29.3, aboard Feardorcha Diamond MH on the horse’s first attempt at four-star. Samantha also steered her second ride, Malibu TS, into this bracket for 29.8.

Finally the 29 deadlock was broken midway through the afternoon when Fiona Kashel sailed out in front on her own and Frank Breach’s Monbeg Cazador, who scored 25, and the floodgates opened. Gemma conjured by far the horse’s best mark at any level, before Sian Coleman also came into the mix with Kilroe Frolic on 26.8.

At the end of the day one, here are the dressage standings:

• Gemma Stevens and Cooley Park Muze: 22.9
• Fiona Kashel and Monbeg Cazador: 25
• Sian Coleman and Kilroe Frolic: 26.8
• George Hilton-Jones and Feardorcha Diamond MH: 29.3
• Kevin McNab and Wilfred Lancer: 29.4
• Samantha Lissington and Lucas Stone: 29.5

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Gemma Stevens secured her second Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge at the Agria Royal International Horse Show, with a stallion she said is “probably one of the nicest horses I’ve ever had”.

Gemma and Cooley Park Muze went seventh of 24 and jumped one of only two clears to set a time no one – including Gemma herself with her 2022 winner Flash Cooley – could come near.

“He went round with such ease,” Gemma said. “He did jump round last year, but I didn’t go for because he was quite green and he’d never been in that arena. Then we took him to Aachen [for the ride and drive class this month] and he absolutely loved it; there were 40,000 people in that arena that evening, and he was not bothered one bit, he literally strutted his stuff into the arena. He was second in his first advanced on Saturday at Aston, and he’s come out of that absolutely bouncing, and was ready to give his best today.”

It appeared as if Gemma had set cruise control on the Rex Syndicate’s nine-year-old from the start and she barely took a check throughout; she rode the tightest lines with the utmost balance and control to finish on 122.36sec, over eight seconds clear of second-placed Alex Bragg and Ardeo Premier.

Alex, who won this class last year with Quindiva and came seventh with Pamplona today, tipped just the road crossing with “Eddie” for a final time of 130.92.

“He just turns up and he does the job,” Alex said. “He’s so reliable; whatever you put in front of him, he will take on so I trust him impeccably. He came down the bank and he sort of went off the top, then said ‘Oh, this is quite a long way down’, didn’t really know what to do and slid right to the base. He spun a shoe off – I nearly came off with the front shoe – but I sat up, put my leg on, got the steering back, and off you go.

“If you watch the next fence, you wouldn’t have thought that had just happened. And that’s him; if something like that happens, he puts it behind him, and off he goes.”

Alex said the class is a fun one, but also educational for the horses as they have to learn to pick out the fences and focus, and Gemma agreed.

“Thank you to Hickstead for still running this class and also for the changes they’ve made,” Gemma added. “I thought it was good, and encouraged more accurate riding. And this is the best surface in the world.

“It felt wonderful today. I have to say, he’s probably one of the nicest horses I’ve ever had. He’s very exciting, and what’s so good is his brain. He just loves it, he doesn’t get phased, he’s not worried by an atmosphere. He enjoys going in these big arenas and doing it.”

The other clear round went to Ellie Fredericks, daughter of 2004 Hickstead eventing grand prix winner Lucinda, riding Upper Class Brit, a granddaughter of Lucinda’s 2004 winner, the legendary Headley Britannia. They finished ninth on 140.93sec.

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‘I’ve been trying to win this half my life!’ Gemma’s Hickstead win as other favourites find mixed fortunes

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Jalapeno, who won three times at four-star and finished sixth at Badminton Horse Trials, has been retired from eventing.

The 17-year-old mare suffered an injury on the cross-country at Luhmühlen Horse Trials on Saturday (14 June), but is now home at Gemma Stevens’ West Sussex yard and “comfortable and happy in her lovely stable next to her best friend Alfie (Chilli Knight)”.

“[The cross-country at Luhmühlen] was a super tough day. Jala was galloping, jumping and feeling totally on her game and amazing and I just feel so sad that we couldn’t do her justice and get that top five result at a five-star that we know she’s so deserved,” said Gemma.

“At her age, an injury like this isn’t one that she will come back from in time to head to any more big events so she will recover and spend the rest of her days being the queen she is while she enjoys a (hopefully) long and very happy retirement.

“I want to say a huge, huge thank you to everyone that’s been so lovely in sending messages, it’s so appreciated and means so much to all of us.”

Gemma mentioned the German crowd for coming to her assistance by pouring their water over Jalapeno after she pulled up on the cross-country course, as well as the mare’s owners Chris and Lisa Stone.

“Their support and understanding sometimes blows my mind. Jala has always wanted for nothing, and that won’t change now – a lot of that is down to their generosity,” she said, also thanking her husband Garry for “his constant support and help”.

Lastly, Gemma thanked head girl Charlotte Overton, saying: “I cannot even begin to start to describe how over and above Charlotte has gone for Jala throughout her career. They say you shouldn’t have favourites but Jala has a very special place in her heart (they are actually very similar people!).

“To say that Jala has taken careful management would be the biggest understatement and I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for Charlotte’s meticulous and endless care we would never have even made it to events.”

Jalapeno retired: career highlights

Bred by Nick Gauntlett, Jalapeno is by Chilli Morning and started her international career with Belgium’s Karin Donckers.

The pair won at CIC* (now CCI2*-S), CCI* (now CCI2*-L) and three times at CIC2* (now CCI3*-S), as well as taking the CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) at Baborowko in Poland in 2017.

Gemma Stevens took over the ride in 2019 and the pair claimed the top spot in the Event Rider Masters CCI4*-S at Lignières in 2019 and at Millstreet CCI4*-L in 2022.

They also landed eight other top-10 placings, including second at Bramham Horse Trials CCI4*-L in 2019 and second at CCI4*-S at Thoresby this spring.

In 2023, Jalapeno showed her mettle at five-star when she finished sixth in the tough, wet conditions at Badminton.

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The 2025 Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials cross-country times have been released – and the five-star is not to be missed with British riders holding seven of the top 10 places after the dressage phase.

The five-star cross-country gets under way on Saturday morning (14 June) at 8.45am (7.45am UK time), and is due to complete at 12.08pm (11.08am UK time).

Britain’s Aimee Penny and the first of her two rides, PSH Encore, will be the pathfinders across cross-country course-designer Mike Etherington Smith’s five-star track, which features 28 numbered fences with an optimum time of 11 minutes and eight seconds. The final rider on course will be Ros Canter riding Izilot DHI.

Luhmühlen Horse Trials cross-country times: five-star top 10

• Laura Collett and London 52: 10.49am UK time (11.49am local time)
• Ros Canter and Izilot DHI: 10.57am UK time (11.57am local time)
• Malin Hansen-Hotopp and Carlitos Quidditch K: 9.21am UK time (10.21am local time)
• Samantha Lissington and Ricker Ridge Sooty GNZ: 10.05am UK time (11.05am local time)
• Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno: 9.25am UK time (10.25am local time)
• Lea Siegl and Van Helsing P: 10.53am UK time (11.53am local time)
• Piggy March and Halo: 9.53am UK time (10.53am local time)
• Kitty King and Vendredi Biats: 10.21am UK time (11.21am local time)
• Selina Milnes and Cooley Snapchat: 8.57am UK time (9.57am local time)
• Aaron Millar and KEC Deakon: 8.29am UK time (9.29am local time)

The CCI4*-S class is then due to get under way at 1.20pm (12.20pm UK time). This class hosts the German Championship – known as the Deutsche Meisterschaft – but, as opposed to 2024, there are no British entries this year.

View the Luhmühlen Horse Trials cross-country times in full.

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Mars Badminton Horse Trials title contender Jalapeno is out of the competition – while her jockey Gemma Stevens remains very much in the hunt with her Bicton five-star winner Chilli Knight.

Veteran mare Jalapeno, sixth here in 2024, held third place after dressage on a score of 24.7, but walked home after picking up early cross-country penalties.

Gemma and the 17-year-old set off well across country, but struggled to make the turn to the second of the Agria Corners (fences 6 and 7) and Jalapeno ran past. Gemma re-presented and the horse jumped it beautifully on the second time of asking, before Gemma put her hand up to retire.

“Jala is an old lady and if it’s not her day, it’s not her day,” said Gemma. “If she doesn’t want to do something, she’s not going to do it. She started brilliantly, was galloping along, I was spot on at the first one [of those corners], then she just said, ‘No, not my day’. So I brought her round and jumped it, gave her a pat and walked away. There is always another day.”

Badminton final scores

Gemma has kept hold of her spot on the podium – just with a different horse. Chilli Knight (29.5), who zipped round first thing this morning and held the provisional lead for much of the day, is now in third ahead of the showjumping.

“My absolute aim [with him] was to be fast, clear and inside the time,” said Gemma. “He is a fast little horse and so genuine. If he sees a jump with flags on, he will take me to it. He is the biggest trier you can ever imagine. I’m unbelievably proud of him and he’s come out of it smiling his little head off.”

Two more clears inside the time for Harry Meade

Harry Meade repeated his Kentucky feat of piloting two horses home inside the time across country. Riding the Oppermans’ Cavalier Crystal, he secured his fourth fault-free CCI5* round from four starts across the British and US five-stars.

“I think the common denominator is the team work at home,” said Harry, who is in seventh with the mare (33.8) and also partnered Superstition home clear earlier (fifth, 31.8).

“To produce a number of horses and have them all really fit, it takes a really great team. We know how to get horses fit, but they’re absolutely devoted to the horses. My aim is just to do the horses justice when we get here.

“I was delighted with Cavalier Crystal. We’ve had her since she was a five-year-old. She’s been third at Burghley twice, but she’s never actually run across country here, and I was just hoping I could try and give her the best ride I could.”

Harry said that when the mare was younger, he “never thought she would be a five-star horse”, adding that while she was a very good jumper, she “wasn’t that scopey”.

“She felt limited. She’s definitely not limited now,” he said.

“The other thing is that when you would want her to move up on a distance to a fence – when you saw a good galloping [distance] – she would get there faster, but she would still be off the fence, as she wouldn’t lengthen her stride.

“Something she’s [since] learnt, through running in a relaxed, slow way, is to not quicken the turnover of foot-fall, but to lengthen her stride and be able to move up and stand off fences.”

A class Badminton cross-country round by Vitali

Tim Price and Vitali concluded the action, sweetening their disappointing dressage with a typically solid cross-country jumping performance to join the top-10 (eighth, 33.8). Tim was delighted with the 15-year-old gelding, while slightly scratching his head about the 3.2 time-penalties.

“He’s a fast horse and he ran for me – after Huntsman’s Close, he put his head low, his ears back and galloped,” said Tim.

“The time is tight; it was a fun ride, but I guess his ground speed was just not as fast as it can be. That’s fine. It’s still a good, fast round and I’m really happy it was tidy, clean and right on the job.”

At the end of cross-country day, Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent have retained their dressage lead (22.3), with Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo now in second (25.3). Ireland’s Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue, who finished on the Badminton podium in 2023, are a significant major climber – leaping from 20th after dressage to hold fourth (30.8).

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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Gemma Stevens blitzed round the Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country phase one second inside the time, with a brilliantly judged ride on Chilli Knight.

The 2021 Bicton winners were lying 10th after dressage on 29.5, and have set the target at this early stage. Gemma Stevens channelled Chilli Knight through a wobbly passage at the Mars Lake, and the horse responded brilliantly to her positive riding and finished full of running.

“I am beyond thrilled, what a horse because it’s a long way round,” said Gemma. “I was flat to the boards, straight routes everywhere. He has so much heart and gave me the most amazing ride. You have to be as quick as you can at every fence, and not take too many pulls.

“Last year we struggled with our brakes, but we’ve changed the bit, had a fantastic ride at Burghley and come here full of confidence. He’s not big, but he eats up the ground.

“He still throws his head around when I say whoa, but he knows I’m whoaing for a jump and has a small amount of respect for me.

Badminton final scores

“He was unreal at Huntsman’s, he turned in and popped it,” she added. “I knew I didn’t have enough seconds spare to go long, but he was looking for his flags. He jumped the log-ditch-log that was keeping me up at night like it was a fence in the school.”

Oliver Townend sets early standard at Badminton Horse Trials cross-country

Oliver Townend had set the tempo from second draw, piloting his fabulous Ballaghmor Class round to finish 12sec outside the 11min 40sec optimum time.

“He’s as good as ever,” said Oliver, lying ninth with this horse after dressage. “He enjoyed it more than I did, though looking back I loved every minute. He’s a good old horse but he’s very keen these days.”

They kept up a smooth pace throughout, after the horse had slight scare early on when he made up too much ground to take off underneath the brush in the Mars Lake at 10b, and scrambled a bit to make the final skinny brush. But he seemed to build momentum, and the 17-year-old was fantastically nimble and economical at the LeMieux Eyelash Brushes when he had to adjust at the ditch.

“A couple of places weren’t quite impressive enough for him,” said Oliver. “The bigger the fence, the more beautiful he is to ride at it. If he sees a fence he doesn’t think much of, he’ll just run me through the distance, so I had to correct him or swing off [my line] a few times.

“But when the big old-fashioned Badminton fences like the double of hedges with the ditch – he’s a six-star horse.”

Pathfinder leads the way

Kirsty Chabert was first out of the start box on Classic VI, lying 32nd after dressage and would have given her rivals plenty of confidence with their smooth round.

The little mare was copybook throughout and highlighted the trust in this partnership. When Kirsty gave the mare her head at the water, and said “go on, you do it”, she skipped through on a loose rein.

They finished 45sec over the time, just taking one long route at the Holland Cooper Corners (fence 17/18).

She highlighted the Ineos Grenadier Sunken Road as the toughest combination, where they have to be “athletic and brave”.

“She was absolutely fab, she’s never strong, never pulls, she can just be spooky even after 11min galloping,” Kirsty said.

A few riders have notched up 20 penalties.

Tim Price was caught out by Viscount Viktor’s inexperience at the Le Mieux Eyelash Brushes, running out at the final element after the 11-year-old ballooned the middle ditch.

Joseph Murphy was the first to fall foul of Mayston Equestrian Sunken Road at fence 21. Joseph asked Belline Fighting Spirit for a long stride for the second element, and ran past.

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.

Enjoy the best of Badminton with Horse & Hound

To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 22-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 15 May.

You may also be interested in:

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Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent delivered one of the best-ever dressage tests seen at Mars Badminton Horse Trials to soar into the lead ahead of cross-country.

Their score of 21.1 propelled them ahead of Thursday’s leaders Tom McEwen and JL Dublin (22.4, now second) and spearheads an all-British top-10 after dressage. It is also the fifth best dressage test in Badminton history, according to data analytics company EquiRatings.

Cooley Rosalent, last year’s Kentucky winner, flowed through the test – earning consistent high scores for each individual movement – to secure her lofty position.

Paul and Diana Ridgeon’s 11-year-old (by Valent, out of Roselier mare Bellaney Jewel) balances such grace with her athleticism. Oliver has long spoken of how excited he is by this mare, but today’s performance saw her step up from eminent professional to prima ballerina on Badminton’s stage.

“She’s just a natural athlete. Her pedigree is second to none, with her mother being a racehorse that won the Scottish Borders National, her father was a 1.50m horse. Somehow, the magic happened for once in breeding – and it’s worked,” said Oliver.

Badminton final scores

“She went in and brightened up with the crowd. She’s still relatively babyish despite doing what she’s done.

“One of her last memories [in an arena like that] is galloping around with me, with the crowd clapping at Kentucky. So today was a big atmosphere and a big day for her, but she’s coped brilliantly.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s cross-country, Oliver added: “She does have the stamina. It’s just up to me to give her the ride and save where I can, and be as quick as I can.

“When you’re at places like this, sometimes it’s your day and sometimes it isn’t. But I’ll just be doing my best to give her as good and as smooth a ride as possible, obviously to try and be as quick as possible, and hope that she gets the trip at the speed.”

Podium reshuffle in Badminton Horse Trials dressage

Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno were next to go in a power-packed conclusion to the first phase, giving the podium a quick-fire reshuffle. Their score of 24.7 means they are in provisional third overnight.

“It hasn’t been an all-easy preparation with her,” said Gemma, of the 17-year-old mare who is owned by Chris and Lisa Stone.

“She’s definitely been quite on edge, which is slightly new territory for me with her, because normally she’s very relaxed and almost lazy. But she’s been seriously hot to trot the last few days, so I had to ride her very slightly tentatively. She was still amazing and pulled off a serious test.”

The Chilli Morning daughter finished sixth here in 2023 and was second in the Grantham Cup – one of the major Badminton prep-runs – in the build up to this year’s event.

“It’s just been a case of trying to keep her fit, sound and happy, because she is 17, and she is a proper woman – she knows exactly what she wants out of life,” said Gemma, explaining the mare’s varied routine involves plenty of turnout, hacking and the water treadmill.

“She’s so well trained that I can just pick her up – she honestly only goes into school once a week, because otherwise I irritate her. She’s a funny old stick, but God, can she do it when she puts her mind to it!”

Both Oliver and Gemma head into tomorrow’s cross-country with two horses in the top-10. Oliver’s four-time CCI5*-winner Ballaghmor Class holds ninth (29.3) and Gemma’s Bicton five-star hero Chilli Knight is in 10th (29.5).

A little under 15 penalties cover more than half the field after the dressage at Badminton Horse Trials.

The 2022 winners Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo sit in fourth (25.3), Emily King and Valmy Biats are in fifth (27.3), and British first-timers Tom Woodward and Low Moor Lucky are in sixth (27.9). Fiona Kashel and Creevagh Silver De Haar are in seventh ahead of Yasmin Ingham and Rehy DJ in eighth.

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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To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 22-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 15 May.

You may also be interested in:

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‘We’re delighted to bring loyal readers this benefit’: H&H magazine subscribers get free website access

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

Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight put themselves within striking distance of the great Ballaghmor Class (Oliver Townend) with a score of 29.5 in the Mars Badminton Horse Trials dressage phase.

The pair are already winners at the five-star level (Bicton 2021), and would have come close at Badminton last year were it not for a flag penalty across country.

Gemma was overjoyed with her mistake-free test, which was neat and consistent. They sit 0.2 of a penalty behind the early leader Ballaghmor Class.

“It was an absolute dream to get a sub-30 and when I heard the first few scores I thought there was no chance – I’d be on 38!” said Gemma. “But that horse honestly did his best shuffling ever! We rode every blade of grass.

Badminton final scores

“You can’t make him into London 52, he’s not that type of horse, but he tries his best and he can really gallop.”

As with the pathfinder Kirsty Chabert, Gemma expressed annoyance at the placement of a camera, which is causing horses to spook.

“We said last night, Badminton needs to move the camera,” said Gemma. “He was spooking at it; it’s really annoying. They’re not going to move it now, but next year we don’t need that camera there.”

Badminton horse trials dressage: early round-up

Harry Meade scored 32.1 on the first of his two rides, 16-year-old Superstition, who finished 12th at Burghley last year. This puts them third at this early stage on the horse’s Badminton debut, though he has completed multiple five-stars.

Another two-horse rider Tim Price lies fourth at the first break on Viscount Viktor, a 11-year-old who has already completed Pau, Luhmühlen and Burghley. They sit on a score of 33.2, and were another pair to find the camera distracting.

“That camera seems very close this year, down at their foot level, so they have to deal with that,” said Tim. “Viscount Viktor is an edgy horse, he gets a bit nervous, and I have to ride him in an instinctual, reactive way.

“He had some good bits and other bits where he got distracted. But he’s a class horse, and he’s honest and genuine with a lovely way of going. The cross-country course is very well presented and I’m looking forward to jumping some big ones.”

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.

Enjoy the best of Badminton with Horse & Hound

To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 22-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 15 May.

You may also be interested in:

‘Wild yesterday, but a bit quiet today’: Oliver Townend sets the early standard at Badminton

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Would you tackle this? Take a virtual walk around the 2025 Badminton cross-country course

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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 cloning of Badminton Horse Trials winner Chilli Morning came into the spotlight last autumn, when one of the three clones, Chilli Morning IV, won the seven-year-old World Championships at Le Lion d’Angers – while another of the clones, Chilli Morning II, also competed there, finishing sixth. Remarkably, the pair scored exactly the same dressage mark.

The clones all belong to the original Chilli’s owners, Chris and Lisa Stone, and they are ridden by Britain’s Gemma Stevens (Chilli Morning IV, known as Quattro), Germany’s Julia Krajewski (Chilli Morning II, known as Deuce) and China’s Alex Hua Tian (Chilli Morning III, known as Tres). We spoke to the three jockeys to find out a little more about the horses’ characters…

All three riders praise the clones’ brains and ability.

“My one has been very easy to train,” says Gemma. “With their brains, it’s like ticking boxes and once they have learnt something once, they never forget.

“The showjumping is his weakest phase, but he tries and is getting stronger. He is absolutely wonderful across country – like he’s done it all before. He’s so positive and loves to gallop. He doesn’t get uptight in the start box, he just genuinely seems like he loves it.”

Gemma knew Chilli as an older horse – she competed alongside him at the Rio Olympics and he retired to her base at Tattleton, which belongs to Chris Stone, for a couple of years before his death in 2020.

“It’s hard to compare because these are young horses, but there are real similarities. Their walk is just like Chilli’s walk,” says Gemma. “My one has a prettier head than the original, though I think Julia’s looks very like him.

“And there are certain things that are weirdly similar – like the way they do a flying change, the way they sort of hold themselves in a frame. Then there are differences – we think my one might trot slightly better. And mine is slightly smaller than Chilli.”

Alex echoes Gemma on his charge’s cross-country prowess, particularly.

“Tres is a very self-confident, intelligent, worldly-wise, cheeky chappy,” he says. “He’s a bit spooky. The first time he went out of the start box, it was like, ‘Whoa, this is really weird’ – I’d never sat on anything that comes out the first time ears pricked, looking for the first fence, super mature, with such a natural engine.

“Talking to Gemma and Julia, they’ve felt very much the same with their two – that strain of genetics obviously has a really strong affinity to the cross-country phase.”

With Alex’s being the biggest of the three clones, he says: “I was warned by Chris, Lisa and Gemma that the Chilli Morning offspring do take a bit of time to get going physically and Tres followed that as a four- and five-year-old. There were multiple flashes of brilliance, but he felt like a very rangy, weak horse who hadn’t grown into his body yet.

“There were weeks when he felt amazing, then weeks where it felt like he’d lost 20 stone and was growing again. His development has been marked by that – he’s clearly an exciting horse who needs a little bit more time physically.”

Julia calls Deuce by his progenitor’s name, Chilli – “we have problems saying Deuce so he’s Chilli to us”.

“He’s always been very straightforward – I don’t think there are many things he’s questioned,” she says. “He’s very good to work with, but he’s a two-sided personality – he can be a bit ignorant, not care much for everything, then can suddenly be quite sweet and cuddly.

“I find it fascinating to speak to the other riders – I chat with Gemma quite often and ask how is this or that with yours? Often we’ve had the same sort of issue in the same time frame, or she says that’s totally normal with Chilli offspring at this time.”

• Read more about the Chilli Morning clones, including how Chris chose their riders, why they have all been castrated and their competitive plans for this year, in this week’s Horse & Hound magazine (issue dated 6 March). 
• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

Gridwork is often known as gymnastic jumping, because it helps teach the horse to be more elastic and enables both horse and rider to hone certain techniques without worrying about the perfect stride. Grids are typically set up on slightly short distances – seven yards to one horse’s non-jumping stride rather than the eight you’ll see used in competition – to encourage the horse to be sharp with his front legs and not flatten. However, in this session, Gemma Stevens chooses a gridwork format set out on “true competition striding”.

“This grid is inspired by my friend [CCI5* winner] Laura Collett, who uses it sometimes when she’s schooling racehorses,” says Gemma Stevens, an international showjumper and event rider who won eventing team gold at the 2018 World Equestrian Games. “It’s amazingly useful for getting horses to be more careful when jumping out of their normal stride.”

“Heavy canter poles that don’t roll are a must for the placing poles,” she adds. “I am teaching the horse to be careful by being aware of where they are putting their feet. And it’s safer because if they roll under the horse’s foot they can turn an ankle. I’m just using big heavy poles, but you can also raise them on a small block.

“Each fence has a placing pole 3yd in front, which makes the horse do a little jump on the final step before taking off over the fence, which encourages them to pick their front legs up.

“The distances for this grid are true, because I don’t want the horse backing off. It is designed to make them sit back, jump the pole and then snap up.”

Gridwork with Gemma Stevens

Gemma warms up her first horse, an advanced eventer, for 10-15 minutes in walk, trot and canter. She incorporates transitions, flying changes and makes sure the mare is listening to her aids.

After cantering down the line with the poles on the ground, just to familiarise the horse with the task in hand, Gemma shows the mare the first fence prior to asking her to jump it.

“She can be a monkey at the first, so I always show her it before we start jumping,” Gemma explains. “It’s her quirk but I don’t let it bother me. She’s an amazing showjumper and has real fight about her; it’s what makes her so good. But she can be really spooky, even in the school.”

Gemma builds up the grid fence by fence, starting with a 2ft 9in vertical. Gemma points out that it’s important to have a helper on the ground to adjust the fences so that she can keep coming – off both reins – with a fence added each time she completes the line. The grid builds up rapidly into a vertical to two oxers with a final vertical to finish. Although Gemma has a large arena, she says it would be doable in a short arena with just three fences rather than four.

The fences have V-poles resting on the top bar, which together with the placing pole gives the horse a lot to take in visually, and assess what to do with their feet. However, Gemma doesn’t use extra poles as ground lines underneath the top bar to teach horses that they need to focus on the height of the top rail. The mare performs exactly as required, cantering in strongly and basculing beautifully.

“I’m moving up quickly with her because she’s a five-star horse and she knows the exercise; this will just sharpen her up,” says Gemma. “The first time you do this, you should start small because it takes horses a bit of getting used to.”

The true distances between fences combined with the placing poles the horse needs to negotiate are the essence of this grid.

“It’s a mix of encouraging the horse to be careful, and staying on a natural forward stride,” Gemma explains. “You have to be brave and keep coming at the fences, but let the grid do the work. It really helps them snap up out of an onward stride. If you’ve got one that’s dangly or doesn’t lift the shoulder, this is a great exercise.”

They are now jumping 4ft as the final fence, and the mare gives the V a slight tap.

“The grid drew that mistake out of her; she was blasé and she’ll learn from that,” Gemma says.

Before the next attempt, the V is widened slightly and the horse jumps perfectly.

“You have to read your horse and react each time to what they need and whether to adjust the Vs,” Gemma explains. “If you do have a horse who is worried about them, position them wider initially and gradually bring them in.

“I knew this horse would be sharp enough second time, so I widened the V to encourage her and she was super careful – so I’ll leave it at that. It’s important not to overdo it and finish the session with them feeling happy.”

Modify the grid for younger or less experienced horses

Gemma’s second ride of the day is a totally different prospect – a gangly five-year-old gelding just starting out his eventing career. Gemma laughs as she works him in, having swapped from a highly tuned advanced ride to a baby just finding his feet.

“He’s hilarious, legs everywhere,” she says. “He’s very green. He’s by Chilli Morning, and they tend to be late developers and babyish so you don’t push them early. They only become ‘wow horses’ when they are older.”

The five-year-old’s inexperience doesn’t hold him back from schooling through the same grid as his senior stablemate, however. Gemma simply builds up much more gradually, and keeps the jumps relatively low.

“With a young one, I come in trot initially so they learn not to jump the fence and the placing pole in one go – I’ve had a few do that!” she says, trotting quietly through the line a few times with the poles on the ground.

Next she adds in the first vertical and again repeats, rather than moving straight into adding extra fences.

“He jumps in slow motion,” she grins, as the horse carefully works his way through the grid. “He has to learn to have quicker reactions but already he’s seeing where he is long and he really tries.”

Gemma plays about a bit with the V-poles, first pulling them together to teach him to be more careful and then widening them to give him the confidence to jump through. After three goes of the full sequence, Gemma senses he’s done enough for one session.

“Always end on a good note, and he’s made a good effort today,” she says. “This is a hard exercise and really makes them work.”

Gemma has some advice for green horses if they are struggling.

“If they keep knocking fences, sometimes it’s right to stop and come back the next day and try again,” she says. “It’s amazing how horses seem to absorb what they’ve been taught overnight.”

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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

In the first of a two-part focus on gridwork, exclusively available to H&H subscribers, Gemma Stevens explains how she builds a horse’s confidence and concentration using a grid of six fences

“Gridwork is fun,” says Gemma Stevens, who competes internationally in both showjumping and eventing. “We do it twice a month in the winter – the horses tend to enjoy it.”

For this gridwork exercise, Gemma sets up wings down the centre of her arena with hexagonal poles on the ground. The final set-up will follow the diagram (below), so you want to have everything you need ready before you get on the horse – and you will need a helper on foot to adjust the fences as necessary.

Gemma warms up briskly in walk, trot and canter for about 10-15 minutes.

“I’m making sure I’ve got all my controls, that the horse is listening to me, and that she is limbered up and elastic,” Gemma explains asking the horse for a few flying changes.

The grid is set up to ride away from the stables, so horses aren’t encouraged to rush down the line. Gemma canters over the poles, which are all still on the ground, to familiarise her horse with the task in hand.

Gemma Stevens’ gridwork exercise with an experienced horse

The first horse Gemma rides is rising eight and competing in 1.30/1.35m classes. Gemma begins with a raised placing pole to a 2ft 6in upright, building up to bouncing over two more uprights at the same height.

“Now I’m going to build up the fences gradually according to the horse’s ability,” Gemma says. “This horse is experienced so I can build this up quite quickly.”

Each time the horse goes through the line nicely, another jump is added. Gemma has someone on the ground to raise the fences – “you always need a helper for gridwork” – and they add in one fence at a time. Gemma keeps moving, approaching the grid off both reins, with the fences being put up as she canters back round to the start, taking short breaks in line with the horse’s fitness.

After the double bounce, there’s a stride to an oxer, followed by another stride to another oxer, then two strides to an upright to finish – equalling six fences in total. Gemma has put guide poles in V-shapes on the ground in front of the three final fences, to encourage straightness.

“Grids help encourage the horse’s elasticity and footwork, but I find them really great for building confidence,” explains Gemma. “I never make it really difficult or overly demanding for them.”

Gemma incorporates oxers in the middle of this line to teach the horse to open up their jump, before closing it down again for the final vertical. The first time she tackles the oxers they are slightly ascending (the front rail slightly lower than the back one), but they are squared up (level front and back) next time round.

“This format makes the horses really elastic,” she says. “And I keep the striding in this grid on the short side because I want to encourage the horse to be bouncy – I’m working on the shape of their jump rather than pushing them for the distance.”

After they have jumped all six fences once, Gemma starts raising the height, one fence at a time. The oxers are now at about 3ft 6in and the final vertical at 3ft 9. Gemma is happy with the horse’s first attempt at this height so calls it a day there.

“The horse was super tidy and I’ve achieved what I wanted to,” she says. “I like to push them a bit the last time down the line, but I won’t jump more than two holes higher than they are jumping in competition. Then they finish the session feeling good about themselves.”

Adjustments for less experienced horses

The second horse Gemma Stevens rides for the same gridwork exercise is rising six, and has been competing in young horse showjumping classes up to 1.20m.

Gemma starts the jumping phase as with the more experienced horse, cantering through the grid with the poles on the ground and then building up over the 2ft 6in bounces. She repeats them a couple of times because the younger horse is keen, but green, before moving on to the oxer at about 3ft.

Gemma explains that this horse has a tendency to rush. While the older horse has V-poles as guides on the ground, this horse has them on the fences.

“It’s not to make her more careful, because she already is, but to help slow her down and encourage her to back off a bit,” says Gemma. “She used to go down a jumping line flat out, so I keep the distances short and I use the Vs to make her back off. I let the grid do its work to slow her down.

“If you have an onward bound horse, you can also add a canter pole or a plank on the ground between each fence, to give them something else to focus on,” she advises.

Troubleshooting

“The whole point of doing the gridwork is building confidence,” says Gemma Stevens. “If the horse does feel green, I’d pat them and come again or I’d take a fence out. Don’t hesitate to bring the height right down if they aren’t happy. If you haven’t got their trust, you’re always going to struggle.

“To take a horse back a step feels like a negative move at the time, but a few weeks later it will be worth it and you’ll be in a much better place.”

Pole choice for gridwork

Gemma uses hexagonal poles for grids, both on the ground and on the fences.

“I don’t like using a round pole on the ground because you don’t want anything that will roll,” she explains. “You can use ‘soft training pole’ on the ground or these hexagonal ones. The important thing is that it cannot roll or the horse can turn their fetlock or get the pole caught between their feet.”

Gemma doesn’t insist on ground lines.

“I don’t use ground lines on the bounce fences as I want them to learn to be careful in judging the fence without them,” she says. “I don’t necessarily use them on the oxers in grids either.”

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A house fire, debilitating back injury, dodgy cooking and a flooded sitting room — several riders reveal the strife they’ve had to contend with on Christmas day

1. “The Christmas tree was under water”

Five-star event rider Gemma Stevens (née Tattersall) (pictured) recalls one unfortunate Christmas Day during her teens when her family’s home was flooded.

“The Christmas tree was in the sitting room under several inches of water and we spent ages sweeping it out,” she says.

The family spent the rest of the festive season in the study, surrounded by five puppies who were born on Christmas day.

“It was certainly a memorable Christmas, but while I found it amusing I don’t think the grown-ups did.”

2. “The house was ruined”

Six-time Olympian Mary King was awoken by crackling fire during the night of 23 December 2001.

“My children, Emily and Freddie, were only young so my first reaction was to get to them and try to escape,” says Mary. “They found it particularly exciting watching ‘Fireman Sam’ at work but the house was ruined.”

The Kings stayed with family for Christmas.

“Luckily I’d put the presents under the tree and they weren’t damaged, but both children were very worried that Santa wouldn’t deliver their presents because he didn’t know where to find them. We left a note on the front door to say where we were staying and, amazingly, he found us!”

3. “I’ve said ever since I can’t muck out”

With his staff on holiday, dressage rider and trainer Andrew Gould was left with 25 horses to muck out before tucking into his turkey lunch. But with just one stable cleaned disaster struck.

“Andrew’s back went into spasm leaving me with 24 horses to muck out,” recalls his wife Polly. “He was in agony and several clients who came to see their horses were surprised to find him flat out on the tack room floor.”

Andrew adds: “It’s why I’ve said ever since that I can’t muck out.”

4. “The turkey was upside down”

Eventer Andrew James recalls the time his grandmother, who didn’t usually cook, was inspired by TV chefs to make Christmas lunch.

Andrew’s father then carried out his annual carving ritual, but only a small amount of meat made it on to plates.

“It transpired that my grandmother had cooked the turkey upside down so that the breast meat didn’t dry out, but she forgot to tell anyone and it was still upside down when she passed it to Dad to carve. There was plenty of prime white meat left for days afterwards.”

5. “The staff didn’t turn up”

In the days when she was married to national hunt jockey Anthony Webber, showing star Jayne Ross found herself serving a tiny Christmas lunch — “basically a sprout on a plate, as he needed to make the weight for racing on Boxing Day,” she says.

“I’ve had some interesting Christmas Days over the years, the most difficult being when the staff didn’t turn up to work and I was left with all of the horses to do. My parents helped — neither are horsey, but they survived!”

6. “I was locked in the tack room”

Chinese Olympian Alex Hua Tian remembers getting locked in the tack room during a frosty December day.

“I was making feeds when a gust of wind blew the door shut. I wasn’t impressed as it only opens from the outside,” says Alex. “It felt like I was trapped in there for ages. I think the wind made my shouts harder to hear — it was pretty chilly.”

7. “She thought I was being ungrateful”

Event organiser Alec Lochore became unpopular one Christmas morning when, having planned to propose to his now wife, Emily, he hid the engagement ring at the bottom of her stocking.

“She was getting upset because I was rushing through my own presents and ripping them open without giving them much thought,” says Alec. “Emily didn’t think I was being grateful, but in fact I wanted her to get on with it and find the ring.”

8. “I decided to clip on Christmas Eve”

Jo May, who evented up to CCI5* with Faere Vision, found herself in her family’s bad books when she chose to clip her horses late on Christmas Eve.

“I got told off because thoughts were that I should have been inside with the family or at the pub, but there was no stopping me,” recalls Jo.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout major shows, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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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

“What the **** just happened!?” said Gemma Stevens after she and Envoy Merelsnest Z triumphed in an all-star London International Horse Show six-bar, with last year’s winners John Whitaker and Sharid second.

Only these two of 13 starters made it to the fifth round, in which the final vertical stood at 1.95m. Gemma thought it was all over when “Dime Bar” agonisingly clipped that last fence – but then Sharid ran out twice at the second jump.

“I don’t understand!” Gemma said. “Honestly I can’t believe it. All I can say is ‘What the **** just happened’! I never thought that would happen in a million years.”

The world team gold medal-winning eventer said the stallion, owned by Brendon Stud and the Dime Bar Syndicate, had only jumped one six-bar before, at this show last year, and had not competed since August.

“He had a slightly sore joint; nothing serious, but had to have a couple of months’ walk work,” she said. “Then we brought him back, and then were invited here.”

Gemma said she was cross with herself in Wednesday’s (18 December) puissance, when she and “Dime Bar” had the wall down on the first attempt.

“I’ve only jumped a couple of 1.30m classes since the end of the [eventing] season and it’s a bit different coming down to a 1.80m wall!” she said. “I didn’t ride him right; I was so out of practice, so I was just thinking ‘Don’t mess it up again’!”

Gemma said she was delighted with the way Dime Bar jumped the last line, but thought the title was out of their reach.

“Me and John Whitaker – I was reading his book recently, he’s such a legend – so I thought ‘just don’t think about it, think about me and my horse, trying to do our best’,” she said.

“I actually thought my horse jumped really well; he didn’t touch the others, I thought it was all over but I was thrilled either way, then John had the trouble. This is honestly unbelievable.”

Gemma paid tribute to the ‘kindest, most sensitive horse you can imagine”.

“I knew he could jump a huge vertical, it’s just putting it all together,” she said. “He’s very hot, but always wants to do the right thing.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout major shows such as London International and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Top equestrians Jane Holderness-Roddam and Gemma Stevens – and two donkeys – were among the special guests at Brooke’s Christmas carol service in London.

Broadcaster and Brooke patron Alastair Stewart and comedian Rory Bremner were also at the Guards’ Chapel in Westminster last night (12 December), to which guests were welcomed by donkeys Pixie and Kiska. The event marked the equine welfare charity’s 90th anniversary.

Mr Stewart said: “We [Brooke supporters] support Brooke because we care passionately about working animals.

“The progress Brooke has made globally on the evil donkey skin trade is a fantastic example of how we as human beings can really work together to benefit these animals.

“From all of us here at Brooke, a very happy Christmas to you, and to horses, donkeys and mules all over the world, a happy, safe and peaceful year to you all.”

Brooke was formed in 1934 by Dorothy Brooke, who set out to help the emaciated war horses who were abandoned in Egypt after the First World War.

Rory Bremner said: “It was so wonderful to see so many people at the Guards’ Chapel; Dorothy Brooke started this 90 years ago, it’s extraordinary to think about.

“Now, 90 years on, Brooke is helping horses, donkeys, mules in India, Pakistan, South America and beyond, where they can be overworked or used for their skins in the case of donkeys, Brooke is there to help them. By being at the service, people can support their work for this year and beyond.”

Brooke’s 90th anniversary events are sponsored by The Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust, which has donated more than £1m to the charity to date.

Brooke CEO Chris Wainwright said: “This very special evening commemorated the 90th anniversary of Brooke’s commitment to ending the suffering of working horses, donkeys and mules across the world.

“The performance from the Guards’ Chapel Choir was phenomenal, and we are so grateful to all that attended to give their support.

“We would like to sincerely thank the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust for their longstanding support and most generous sponsorship of Brooke’s 90th anniversary events this year.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout major shows such as London International and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Chilli Morning IV, a clone of the 2015 Badminton-winning stallion Chilli Morning, was crowned seven-year-old eventing world champion with Britain’s Gemma Stevens in the saddle at Mondial Du Lion yesterday (20 October).

Christopher and Lisa Stone’s seven-year-old finished on his dressage score of 26.2 to head a British one-two at the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Le Lion d’Angers, with Kitty King and Kantango second on 27.9.

“I am unbelievably proud to be crowned world champion,” said Gemma. “This has been our goal and aim with him since he started his programme. We have produced him right from the start, which makes it extra special.

“Le Lion is the most incredible show, it’s always been a dream to win here and I can’t actually believe it’s come true.”

She added: “The owners are so excited. The horse was unbelievable, he was so positive and his ears were pricked. It feels like he loves cross-country. We have high hopes for him. The feeling he gives me is incredible, and his ability to focus is just unbelievable even at such a young age.”

Chilli Morning IV was equal second after dressage with another Chilli Morning clone – Chilli Morning II, partnered by Germany’s Julia Krajewski. A smattering of time-penalties and a rolled pole resulted in Chilli Morning II finishing sixth, while Gemma and her ride climbed up the leaderboard by virtue of their flawless jumping rounds.

Kitty King now has a full set of young horse World Championship medals. Kantango, a British-bred son of Tangelo, rose from sixth after dressage to take silver on his first-phase score.

“He had a steep learning curve as a six-year-old, but he’s been a super consistent horse,” said Kitty. “He’s very sharp and has a quick-thinking brain and he felt superb all week. It was the best performance he’s given me and a great place to do it.”

New Zealand’s Samantha Lissington and Mr Cookie Time took bronze.

I’m Special De Muze daughter Killer Queen landed the six-year-old world champion title, with Dutch rider Merel Blom-Hulsman (25.1).

“She surprised me at the first water when she jumped quite big and gave me an easy cross-country round. We bought her as a three-year-old and when she was four, she became Dutch champion for her age,” said Merel.

Britain’s Max Warburton and KWPN gelding Norway Van De Haar (by High Shutterfluy) took the runner-up spot.

“This horse is lovely. I rode with him for the first time as a five-year-old and from the minute I sat on him I knew he was one for Le Lion”, said Max.

I’m Special De Muze also sired the six-year-old bronze medallist, Clawfinger, who bagged a podium finish with Sweden’s Anna Freskgard.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout Pau, London International and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Three horses were held at the Blenheim Horse Trials final CCI4*-L trot-up and four others withdrawn overnight ahead of Sunday’s (22 September) horse inspection.

Sixty horses were brought forwards to the trot-up, held in front of Blenheim Palace and all but one were accepted by the ground jury of Andrew Bennie, Les Smith and Nikki Herbert, supported by vet Alison Butler.

The first to be held was the second of Ireland’s Ian Cassells’ two rides, Shanbo Super Flex, who was 18th after yesterday’s cross-country. The 10-year-old mare was then withdrawn from the holding box.

Cutting Edge, the ride of New Zealand’s Vicky Browne-Cole was also sent to the holding box, but was accepted upon reinspection. They go into the showjumping in 37th.

Gemma Stevens’ ride Jalapeno III, who had an unfortunate run out at the last combination yesterday, was also sent to the holding box but was passed when reinspected. They currently hold 24th.

There were some notable overnight withdrawals, with three of the top 15 after the cross-country opting not to present their horses at the final Blenheim Horse Trials trot-up.

These included Zara Tindall, who was seventh after the cross-country with Classicals Euro Star, plus Kenzo Power B, the second of David Doel’s rides, who was in 11th and Italy’s Florencina R, the mount of Giovanni Ugolotti, who was holding 13th. In addition, Sammy Oliver’s Kellyspa Van T Asschaut was withdrawn from overnight 38th.

The final showjumping phase gets underway at 11.30am with a break in the middle of the day before the top 25 jump for the placings from 2.45pm.

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Gemma Stevens put in a super Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country round this afternoon, coming home with just 2.4 time-faults to move into second at this stage, with some strong scores still to come in the final section of the day.

Gemma occasionally looked to be discussing control with the Stones’ Chilli Knight on the approach to fences and he caught a knee on the front rail of the second corner at the Rolex Corners (fence 16ab), but overall they were much more in sync than at Badminton in May. They stayed clear and came home with a brilliant result.

“He flew round today, he was absolutely phenomenal,” said Gemma Stevens after her Burghley Horse Trials cross-country round. “You could say I’m a little out of practice. The last few years I’ve not had the rides at this level, so coming back to it is scary. I’ve been doing a lot of showjumping and not had so many event horses, but now I’ve got some amazing ones coming through.”

Monica Spencer had a super round with the thoroughbred Artist to come home with 8.4 time-faults on her first trip round the Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course. She sits third on the “scores in the clubhouse” leaderboard.

“After watching the footage, I knew I’d have to fight the whole way and that’s exactly what it felt like,” she said, “But the horse was awesome, he kept jumping what was in front of him, and I’m rapt with him.

“This morning, the course felt like a huge, huge challenge, and you’re almost wondering how you’re going to get through all those flags, but now that I’ve done it, I guess I just have more self belief and I thank you my lucky stars that I’ve got a horse like him.”

France’s Nicolas Touzaint also went well on his Burghley debut, finishing with 8.8 time-penalties on his Tokyo team bronze medallist Absolut Gold HDC. He holds fifth at this stage.

Wills Oakden has slotted into 15th with the grey A Class Cooley, who had 19.6 time-faults in his first five-star cross-country completion.

“I’m pleased with that round – we all want to blaze round and go inside the time and look like absolute heroes, but it wasn’t about that today, for him. It was about getting a really good education and coming home, safe, sound and having learned a lot for next time,” said Wills.

“He’s been to two five-stars now, both haven’t quite gone to plan, so today, it was about trying to give him the best competition possible for the future. He’s a horse that I think could do really well down the line – I hope he will – but he wasn’t going to do it without experience. He dug deep, he kept going. He’s got another whole range of gears available, so long as I can keep the control and today I could.”

Jesse Campbell put up an incredibly brave display today, after losing his wife Georgie in a cross-country fall earlier this year. The New Zealand rider piloted Cooley Lafitte round for a jumping clear and 15.2 time-faults on his Burghley debut, looking up to the heavens as he finished.

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A Burghley debutante on an ex-racehorse, Monica Spencer and Artist, moved into a podium position in the Defender Burghley Horse Trials dressage straight after the lunch break today.

The New Zealand rider pulled off a light, elegant test with the thoroughbred Artist, with correct if unexpressive flying changes. They pulled a 10 for their final halt from Nick Burton at E and their final score of 24.4 puts them in equal third at this stage alongside Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent.

Monica Spencer, 37, was annoyed with herself, though, for an error of course in the canter section of the Burghley Horse Trials dressage test, saying: “I feel bad and I let the horse down there, but I was having so much fun, I got ahead of myself.

She added: “He’s a real trier and his best attribute is how trainable he is. I was beyond nervous and ‘Max’ stayed with me out there and he was a joy to ride. I’m privileged to be at this event and it’s a pinch me moment.

“I’ve done Maryland and I’ve done Kentucky and been seventh at both of those. So I’m looking to improve on that here. Everyone keeps telling me I’ve got a Burghley horse, so it’s time to find out.”

“I’m terrified, but I’m sure once I leave the start box I’ll find some bravery.”

Monica and Artist were team bronze medallists at the World Championships in 2022 and moved to the US last winter. They were reserves for the New Zealand squad for the Paris Olympics so travelled to France in case they were needed and then re-routed here to Burghley.

Gemma Stevens and the Bicton Horse Trials one-off five-star winner Chilli Knight, owned by Christopher and Lisa Stone, put in a solid Burghley Horse Trials dressage test two horses later. Their marks only dropped down significantly for a late second flying change on the serpentine. They scored 29.8 to fit into 13th.

“I’m thrilled to be sub-30 on him and within touching distance of the leaders,” she said. “It’s not easy to pick up marks on him – he doesn’t move, he’s not flashy, but he’s really rideable and correct.

“The horse goes how he goes, he is what he is – I’m not going to make him London 52 or Izilot DHI, but he puts his best ginger foot forward. We missed one change which I’m furious with myself over, but apart from that we couldn’t have done any more.”

Talking about tomorrow’s cross-country Gemma said: “You’ve got to be completely and utterly nuts to do this! He’s a true cross-country machine – he gallops, he jumps, he’s really genuine. He jumped round Badminton beautifully in May, but I didn’t have the most control so we’ve changed the bit and done some training. We had a fantastic run round Hartpury four-star, so hopefully we can carry that through and be just like that.”

Gemma was followed by French debutant Nicolas Touzaint, who scored 26.1 with Tokyo team bronze medallist Absolut Gold HDC to sit seventh at this stage. The bay wore a nose net in the arena and had a mask put on him afterwards because of his sensitivity to light and flies so he would not necessarily have been suited to today’s bright, sunny conditions, but he put in a solid test.

Nicolas said: “I knew this horse had the potential to be as good as he’s shown today but I can’t always get it in the arena like today – he was fabulous. He is feeling very well, he’s on form, but he was not overwhelmed by the atmosphere. I missed one change but to get three out of four is fine.”

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Defending champion Fred Scala will take on former winner Gemma Stevens as top names prepare to go head to head in today’s Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge at the Agria Royal International Horse Show (24-28 July).

Irishman Fred returns to Hickstead with 12-year-old mare Corriebeg Supernova, with whom he won the class last year when the pair finished less than a second faster than Gemma and Flash Cooley.

Corriebeg Supernova has “had a brilliant year”, with wins at Foxhunter level in showjumping.

“I was quick last year, but I know I lost time in some places, and certainly when I come back for another crack at it I reckon I could be another three to four seconds quicker,” said Fred.

“She’s just naturally incredibly fast, and you have to ride her forwards because she’s so little – to make the distances, you’ve got to be going quick anyway. Couple that with the fact she’s a real gutsy, hardy little mare, and as much as she’s fast, she’s equally careful.”

Fred added that his 2023 victory was “an absolute highlight of my year”.

“Even just getting to ride in such a prestigious and famous arena was amazing,” he said.

Gemma, who won the class in 2022 with Flash Cooley, brings forward two rides; 10-year-old gelding Johansome and eight-year-old gelding Cooley Park Muze. Alex Bragg will ride Quindiva, the mare who helped him take a podium spot at Badminton in May.

Other entries include Simon Grieve, who was eighth in the British Speed Derby last month at the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby meeting, and will ride his former five-star ride Drumbilla Metro, and Frenchman Gaspard Maksud with Zaragoza VI and Spirit’s Gemini. Supermodel Edie Campbell is entered with her four-star horse Fireball F, five-star rider Felicity Collins is on the list with Shadow Minnie Moon, and former eventer turned showjumper Jay Halim will take on the challenge with Caroline Harris’ four-star horse Falko TN.

The class gets under way at 4pm today. Tickets are available online or at the gate.

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Gemma Stevens had a mostly great Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country round with the 14-year-old gelding Chilli Knight, but has been awarded 15 penalties for a missed flag at fence 7D, the final part of the Voltaire Design Huntsman’s Close.

They finished with 7.2 time-faults – one of the quicker rounds of the day – and with their 15 jumping penalties currently sit on 53.9 in 13th place at this stage of the competition.

“I haven’t seen it back but it felt like he jumped the fence and from the back it looked like he did,” said Gemma, commenting on her jump through Huntsman’s Close. “We’ll contest the penalties and go from there. It will be the judge’s decision – sadly that’s sport.

“He wasn’t as with me today as he normally is. He was very, very strong and very feisty, throwing his head around a lot wanting to get the job done. And 100% he was going to jump the jump in front of him, but he was throwing his head around like you wouldn’t believe and felt like he wasn’t always concentrating and he definitely wasn’t concentrating at The Lake.

Badminton final scores

“Normally we’re so together but it just felt a bit erratic and that he wasn’t 100% with me today. But one thing I will say is that my God, he is just so unbelievably genuine. If he sees a jump, he will do everything in his power to jump it and get to the other side safely, but it just felt today like hard work and that’s why we couldn’t be as quick as we normally are. but the horse is as happy as Larry and has recovered really well.”

“I can’t help being disappointed because I know what we are capable of, which is jumping clear, inside the time around Badminton.”

Laura Collett experienced a heart-stopping moment with Hester, with whom she was 21st after the dressage, at The Lake when the mare got a bit close to the corner in the water, but managed to scramble over and jump out over the final skinny triple brush well.

However this mistake clearly left its mark on Hester as she then slightly scrambled over the A element of fence 15ABD, the LeMieux Eyelash Brushes, and ground to a halt at the middle element – a water-filled ditch. Laura sensibly opted to retire and the mare walked away happily.

Alex Bragg enjoyed a marvellous round with Quindiva, a 14-year-old mare owned by the Roe family. They jumped clear across country, incurring just 7.6 time-fault to rise from 51st after the dressage into seventh at this stage of Badminton Horse Trials cross-country day.

“At this time of day, the crowd is in the arena and the sun is shining and this is why we do it – it’s magic. This result is beyond our wildest dreams with her – she’s a fighter, the ground is really sticky and she deserves it,” said Alex.

“It’s such an amazing feeling finishing here. I’ve started many times and not always come through that finish line – it’s been a tricky show for me.

“This mare is very sensitive this time of year as she’s coming into season and getting them this fit is hard. We weren’t sure if we were going to even be here but she tried her heart out today – I punched the air before I was through the finish line, which is probably not very professional and could have wasted one second but when you finish like that and you have that much emotion and the crowd is going absolutely wild. You’ve just got to enjoy it and all that hardship that you go through and all the bad weather we’ve had, it’s all been worth it for that one magic moment.”

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

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How to watch Badminton Horse Trials live from anywhere in the world

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Chilli Knight is one of three five-star winners in the Mars Badminton Horse Trials field and he put himself bang into the reckoning after dressage. Gemma Stevens and this Bicton CCI5* winner – a son of Badminton winner Chilli Morning – moved into equal ninth towards the end of the 81-strong field on day two.

The bonny chestnut isn’t the biggest of movers, but Gemma was pinpoint accurate and presented the gelding beautifully. Their marks ranged from fours (extended walk) to a nine (for the mid-test halt), but the changes and canter work were solid and rewarded largely with sevens for an overall score of 31.7 to slot into the top 10.

“That little horse, he was exactly the same in the ring as he is out here, 100% with me every step of the way – he couldn’t have done any more,” said Gemma. “He is what he is – he’s not Valegro or London 52; he’s not a big mover, but he’s so well trained and so obedient.

“It’s a tough track but I’ll let the handbrake off tomorrow, he’ll be very happy with that.”

Badminton final scores

We’ve seen little of Chilli Knight since his five-star win in 2021, as he had time off through injury. Following a whole year on the sidelines, Gemma started bringing him back to fitness.

“It’s been a long road back from injury to here and a slow process,” she said. “We got him in from the field after having a whole year off this time last year with this Badminton in mind. He’s been doing all sorts of different things in a slow and thorough way, to have him as strong in his body and as fit and lean as possible.”

Gemma added: “I fell out of the lorry door on Tuesday and thought, “I’ve managed to get the horse here in one piece and it’s taken a year and now I’ve fallen out of the lorry!”

Happily Gemma looks to be riding at full strength despite her little mishap.

Laura Collett rides Badminton debutante

Another top-ranked rider caught the eye with their Badminton Horse Trials dressage performance – and their mark has potential to be stellar in time.

Laura Collett rode Hester into a top-20 position, creating an elegant picture on this charming grey mare contesting her first five-star. The first part of the test was right up there with the leading trio, trending on sub-30, but late flying changes scoring twos to fours for all four movements scuppering a potentially great result.

Laura admitted: “I saw my marks when I looked up at the scoreboard during the walk on the diagonal and thought can we stop now? Do we have to go into canter?”

Once those changes are established, Hester is going to be a horse to follow in this phase.

“She really doesn’t enjoy dressage and to go into an atmosphere like that on Friday afternoon, I was a bit nervous as to what might occur but she listened to me,” said Laura. “The changes are what they are because we haven’t been able to get stuck in as she gets anxious. But if we get the changes over the winter, we’ll be back fighting next year.

“She’s a lovely lovely horse and she’s just starting to trust me — we’re getting there. This week is all about giving her a good experience.”

Progress made in Badminton Horse Trials dressage

Last time Selina Milnes took Gelmer to a CCI5*, he scored a 41.6. At this, the horse’s second five-start attempt, he posted a fantastic 32.5. Gelmer is a bright and powerful horse and Selina was able to show off his expression without him getting tense.

“We did not expect that from him,” said Selina, who broke her tibia skiing earlier in the year. “We’ve had him out of the stable since 12 o’clock trying to relax him just mooching about because he’s been on one. He went in and didn’t spook; he was with me the whole way.”

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

If you are interested in watching 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. 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 via the website 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. Find out more…

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The latest Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and Mars Badminton Horse Trials withdrawals include significant title contenders, as the fields for the spring five-stars start to take shape.

Ros Canter has withdrawn her own and Alex Moody’s Izilot DHI from Kentucky. Last year’s Pau Horse Trials winner is also entered at Badminton and Ros confirmed to H&H she is targeting the Gloucestershire classic, so British fans will have a chance to see Izilot DHI in the flesh at a big five-star this May. Ros and “Isaac” will start among the favourites at Badminton.

Grace Taylor, a Northamptonshire-based competitor who rides under the US flag, has also withdrawn from Kentucky and holds a Badminton entry to make her debut there. She will ride her mother Ann’s Game Changer, with whom she did a good dressage test and went clear across country at Burghley Horse Trials last year but withdrew before the final horse inspection.

The other noteworthy point among the Badminton Horse Trials withdrawals is that Gemma Stevens has pulled out Chris Stone’s Jalapeno, who finished sixth there last year, so had a strong chance of being competitive this time.

Badminton final scores

“We are all just absolutely gutted,” said Gemma. “She has a tiny little tweak and needs six weeks walking but she is absolutely fine in herself.

“She is feeling in the form of her life and is so fit and ready to go which has made this even harder to take this time for us as a whole team. Over the last year we have had our fair share of injuries – all completely different – and we all work so hard every single day. It really does take a village and so much meticulous care, time, work and effort to get event horses to a five-star and we started with that care at the beginning of November with Jala. For most even riders and our teams it is our 24/7 life, yes it’s a job but it’s so much more than that too.

“I feel so very sad for her owners Chris and Lisa Stone who have been unbelievably loyal and supportive owners for around 18 years and I was so looking forward to having two of their special horses at Badminton – it really does take that long to get to this point! I also feel especially sad for Charlotte [Overton], my head girl. Jala is her absolute pride and joy and she basically doesn’t leave her side, spends hours and hours caring for her every need.”

Gemma is still in the line-up for Badminton on Bicton Horse Trials five-star winner Chilli Knight, also owned by Chris Stone.

Becky Heappey has also withdrawn Neil Record’s DHI Babette K from Badminton, having been accepted from the waiting list.

At Kentucky, Tamie Smith will not defend the title she won last year on Mai Baum, owned by Alexandra Ahearn and her parents Ellen Ahearn and Eric Markell, as she has withdrawn her only five-star contender, Elliot V. She has three horses entered in the accompanying four-star class, including Mai Baum.

Colleen Rutledge has withdrawn FSG Inc and her own Covert Rights from Kentucky, where he was 15th in 2022.

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

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All the horses on the Mars Badminton Horse Trials wait list have now been accepted to start in the competition (8-12 May).

Three horses were on the wait list when the event entries were first published.

Two of the withdrawn horses are British-ridden – Ellfield Voyager (ridden by Alexander Whewall and owned by Sheila Rowe) and Halenza (owned and ridden by Heidi Coy) – and the third is Commander VG, piloted by Lithuanian competitor Aistis Vitkauskas and owned by his rider and the Kloeve-Mogensens. Heidi would have been making her debut at Badminton.

The pairs who come off the Badminton Horse Trials wait list to replace them are Chris Stone’s Bicton Horse Trials one-off five-star winner Chilli Knight, ridden by Gemma Stevens, Neil Record’s DHI Babette K, ridden by Becky Heappey, and Jane Dear and Charlotte Opperman’s Away Cruising, ridden by Harry Meade.

Badminton Horse Trials wait list: how it works

Badminton accepts 85 entries each year and wait-lists the rest in order of FEI points won at top-level events over the past two years. Wait-listed pairs replace those who withdraw until 2pm on the Sunday before the event.

Badminton final scores

Although Away Cruising had the most FEI points of the wait-listed horses, he was actually the last of the trio to be accepted into the main start list because Harry Meade has two other entries and riders are only permitted a third horse once all the other wait-listed entries have been accepted.

If Harry starts on Away Cruising, Red Kite and Cavalier Crystal, it will be the first time in some years that a rider has piloted three horses at Badminton, as this has not been allowed at recent runnings of the event.

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

If you are interested in watching 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. 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 via the website 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. Find out more…

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To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 22-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 16 May.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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 Mars Badminton Horse Trials wait list has just three horses on it following the reveal of entries for this year’s event (8-12 May) – and one is a five-star winner.

Badminton accepts 85 entries each year and wait lists the rest in order of FEI points won at top-level events over the past two years. Wait-listed pairs replace those who withdraw until 2pm on the Sunday before the event. This year, 90 horses were entered for the event. Of those, 87 have been accepted because two riders have “double-entered” – Oliver Townend has entered three horses but will only run a maximum of two and Kirsty Chabert has entered two but will only start on one.

That leaves three horses on the wait list, who are almost certain to be offered the chance to run – since the waiting list system was brought in in 2008, between 14 and 43 have been accepted from it in the years when there has been a wait list (there was no waiting list last year; all those entered were accepted straight away).

Top of the list on FEI points – but actually last to be accepted – is Harry Meade’s Away Cruising, owned by Jane Dear and Charlotte Opperman. Away Cruising is a five-star stalwart, with three finishes at Badminton and three at Burghley Horse Trials to his name.

Badminton final scores

Harry is in the main draw on Cavalier Crystal, who was third at Burghley Horse Trials last year, and Red Kite. This means Harry may well line up on three horses, a new situation for 2024 as in recent years competitors have only been allowed to ride a maximum of two horses at Badminton. Harry will only have final permission to start on a third horse once all the other horses on the wait list have been accepted, but this should be a formality.

Second on the wait list, so first to be accepted, is Neil Record’s 18-year-old mare DHI Babette K, who completed Badminton in 2022 with Becky Heappey, but did not event last year.

The third horse on the Badminton Horse Trials wait list is Chris Stone’s Chilli Knight, ridden by Gemma Stevens, whose position on the wait list can be attributed to the fact he has had some time on the sidelines since he won the one-off five-star at Bicton Horse Trials in 2021.

Gemma also has Jalapeno entered for Badminton and data analytics company EquiRatings give her a 7% chance of winning on her, alongside Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class and behind only Piggy March (Brookfield Inocent) at 19% and Ros Canter (Izilot DHI) at 16%.

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

If you are interested in watching 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. 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 via the website 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. Find out more…

Enjoy the best of Badminton with Horse & Hound

To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 22-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 16 May.

You may also be interested in…

Seven former winners head up entries for Badminton Horse Trials

Badminton makes a tweak to entries system for 2024

Heading to Badminton Horse Trials? Find a place to stay

Badminton’s box office is now open for all – here’s everything you need to know about tickets for 2026

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

Top horses are set to start their 2024 campaigns at Poplar Park, Oasby and Tweseldown, with strong British Eventing entries across the first two weekends of March – and a couple of leading names have changed hands over the off-season.

Poplar Park (2-3 March) will host three packed open intermediate sections.

Among the top horses set to start there is MGH Grafton Street, who won Burghley Horse Trials in 2019 with Pippa Funnell, but was registered into the ownership of Japanese team rider Yoshiaki Oiwa before the deadline for transfer of potential Olympic horses and will now be piloted by him.

Several horses who have represented Britain at championships over the past few years – JL Dublin (Tom McEwen), Ballaghmor Class (Oliver Townend), Banzai Du Loir (Yasmin Ingham), London 52 (Laura Collett), Capels Hollow Drift (Tom Jackson) and Corouet (Sarah Bullimore) – are also on the Poplar entry list.

They are joined there by Harry Meade’s trio of five-star campaigners Superstition, Cavalier Crystal and Away Cruising, Kevin McNab’s Olympic team silver medallist Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam, Pippa Funnell’s Bramham Horse Trials CCI4*-L winner MCS Maverick and Bubby Upton’s top horses Magic Roundabout IV and Cola III.

Looking to the following weekend, Oasby (7-10 March) and Tweseldown (9-10 March) both have large eventing entries in their top sections.

Ros Canter brings out her Badminton Horse Trials winner and European champion Lordships Graffalo at Oasby, as well as Pau Horse Trials victor Izilot DHI. Her former ride Pencos Crown Jewel is slated to make her debut under new rider Millie Juleff.

Bramham Horse Trials CCI4*-S winner Cooley Snapchat (Selina Milnes) and five-star campaigners Alfies Clover (Richard Jones), SRS Kan Do (Kylie Roddy), Valmy Biats (Emily King) and Coolparks Sarco (Piggy March) also all head to Oasby.

David Doel is hedging his bets on where he will run Burghley runner-up Galileo Nieuwmoed, as he is entered for both Oasby and Tweseldown. David also has a new ride on the list for Tweseldown in King Of The Mill, a five-star horse previously campaigned by Alex Bragg.

Tim Price’s string will make seasonal debuts at Tweseldown, including Falco IV, the world double bronze medallist who had surgery to remove a tumour last October, and Coup De Coeur Dudevin, the Maryland CCI5* winner in 2022 who sat out much of last season.

Gemma Stevens’ ride Chilli Knight is another on the comeback trail – he has done very little since winning Bicton Horse Trials’ one-off CCI5* in 2021, but is set to run at Tweseldown, as is Gemma’s fellow chestnut five-star campaigner Jalapeno III.

The advanced intermediate at Tweseldown will host first runs for Austin O’Connor’s Maryland winner Colorado Blue, European individual silver medallist Vendredi Biats (Kitty King) and Zara Tindall’s five-star horse Class Affair.

Riders often make multiple entries for the start of the season, to give themselves options in the lead-up to their spring three-day event targets if events are cancelled or they have setbacks in the build-up, so some of these top names may not run everywhere they are entered.

You might also be interested in:

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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.

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 National Equine Show takes place for the second time on 2-3 March 2024 at the NEC, Birmingham, with the doors open from 9am to 5pm on Saturday and 9am-4pm on Sunday. The National Equine Show is a shopping extravaganza, which also has stages featuring guest speakers and special guests including Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin and equestrian influencer Esme Higgs (This Esme).

Tickets cost from £12 for one day, or £20 for the weekend, with VIP options available for £60. Horse & Hound has 250 free weekend passes to give away, so to grabs yours while you can by entering the code HORSE&HOUND at checkout – click here to register your free pass now, while stocks last. Or if you miss out of these freebies, you can buy tickets here.

As well as having more than 135 tradestands, enabling visitors to shop under cover, the show has guest speakers and panel discussions taking place throughout the event – think Horse of the Year Show minus the competition element. If you’re after bumper equestrian shopping and want to see some of your heroes off their horses, then this is the show for you.

When it comes to guest speakers, the show has 26 lined up, including some particularly great ones in addition to Charlotte – such as five-star event rider and burgeoning showjumper Gemma Stevens, Paralympic gold medallist Natasha Baker, and popular showjumper Geoff Billington.

As for shopping, brands to enjoy browsing and buying from include Bliss of London, Bloomfields Horseboxes, Charles Owen, Equidry, Flying Changes and Joshua Jones to name just a few. To find out more about the brands exhibiting, and all the guest speakers, visit the The National Equine Show’s website.

There are two halls – the main hall and market hall. In the main hall you will find those 135 tradestands showcasing the latest season’s kit, plus fitting rooms and personal shopper experiences available. The smaller market hall area includes high-end, discounted products from the previous season.

Visitors will also find interactive experiences on site, including the EqueSoul Fitness Rider Wellness Zone ft. Ice Bath Co, The PolyJumps Eventer Experience and SJB Performance Training Dressage Simulator.

You might also be interested in:

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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.

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 London International Horse Show fancy dress class was back in 2023 and certainly did not disappoint. Some of the world’s top showjumpers and eventers delighted the crowds at the ExCeL Arena on Sunday (17 December) with their fabulous costumes – which were pantomime-themed – and speedy rounds of jumping.

Following each pair’s round, a celebrity panel of Pippa Funnell, impressionist Rory Bremner and none other than Father Christmas gave marks out of 10 for the riders’ performances. The total marks were then deducted from the time, providing the final result.

Check out some of the truly iconic costumes worn by the competitors, and so gallantly carried by their respective mounts.

John Whitaker made a great Ugly Sister…

…His mount was elegantly turned out in silver tinsel too

Robert Whitaker teamed up with his dad to complete the duo of the Ugly Sisters (with some interestingly placed embroidered hands on his costume!). They finished fifth after Robert stole the “10” scoring panel from the judges.

There were cheers aplenty for a very game Joe Stockdale, who fully embraced his new persona as Cinderella

Joe teamed up with Jodie Hall McAteer, who was Prince Charming, and together they finished sixth

Representing the eventers, recent Maryland 5 Star winner, Austin O’Connor, quite literally flew around as Peter Pan (with some help from his wings, of course) 

Austin teamed up with Gemma Stevens, who fully embraced her role as Hook. Together they finished third 

Tim Gredley replaced his magic carpet with a horse when dressing up as Aladdin 

While Tim’s pairing was Lily Attwood, who was dressed as Azerbanana. Sadly they finished bottom of the London International Horse Show fancy dress leaderboard in seventh 

Laura Collett and Tom McEwen were brilliant (and quite convincing too) as Snow White and The Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 

Tom’s “frontage” was a sight to behold, and undoubtedly contributed to their second place

The winners of the London International Horse Show fancy dress were Harry Charles and Matt Sampson, who, disguised as Dick Whittington and The Cat, blazed around and gained strong marks from the judges 

According to the commentators, although the concept of Mother Goose took some explaining to Portuguese rider Duarte Seabra, he embraced it and finished fourth with Shane Breen, who was the Goose

You might also be interested in:

Fake bosoms, a ‘Portugeese’ and a hobby-horse lap of honour: the madly brilliant London fancy dress returns

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‘When you come round the corner, it looks ridiculous!’ But top eventer can’t wait to do another puissance

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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.

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

Gemma Stevens had been “dreaming of nothing but puissance walls” for the last fortnight – but now she’s cleared one, “I can’t wait to have another go”.

The world team gold medal-winning eventer jumped in the LeMieux puissance at the London International Horse Show last night (15 December), on Envoy Merelsnest Z, who she jumped in the Hickstead Derby this year.

Gemma told H&H a fortnight ago that she was “terrified” at the thought of tackling her first puissance, but she and 10-year-old stallion “Dime Bar” sailed over the wall at 1.80m in the first round, then just clipped out a brick in round two.

“It was certainly an experience!” Gemma told H&H. “I’ve been dreaming about puissance walls for the last two weeks. Then going into that arena – it was packed and the atmosphere is unbelievable. And I was so relieved; all I really wanted was to get through that first round.”

Gemma said she had no expectations; the horse is still green, especially in such an atmosphere, and it was her first attempt.

“Just to have done it,” she said. “And now I can’t wait to have another go!

“I’m really honoured to be here, and to ride this fantastic horse; I’m so lucky to have secured the ride on him, with the new Dime Bar Syndicate; the owners all came to watch and were so happy to be here.”

Gemma said it is hard to prepare for a puissance as “jumping big jumps in cold blood isn’t easy”, but Shirley Light of Brendon Stud, who owned the horse, and still has a share in him, built a wall at Brendon Stud, then Gemma and Dime Bar jumped Paul Gaff’s wall.

“It’s hard to practise,” she said. “I do a lot of visualisation but it’s really hard to visualise it; when you come round the corner, it just looks ridiculous! It’s another thing to have done, and why not?”

You might also be interested in:

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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.

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

Olympic eventer Gemma Stevens joked that she has been “slightly railroaded” into taking on her first puissance at the London International Horse Show – on her Hickstead Derby ride.

Gemma and Envoy Merelsnest Z are among those who are to tackle the red wall, and the six-bar, at the ExCel this month, the showjumping entries for which have just been confirmed.

Gemma told H&H the idea “sort of” came from Shirley Light of Brendon Stud, who bought the 10-year-old half-brother to Don VHP Z as an embryo and owned him until this month.

“She rang and said they were looking for people to do the puissance and that I should do it; I said ‘I’m terrified’!” she said. “When I told [husband] Gary, he said ‘You need to grow a pair and get on with it’, so I feel I’ve been slightly railroaded into it! But I’m going to give it a go.”

Gemma said “Dime Bar” arrived at her yard yesterday (30 November).

“Amazingly, he’s here; we managed to get the Dime Bar Syndicate together,” she said. “Shirley has been amazing; there’s still 25% of him available but he’s ours, and it’s really exciting.”

Dime Bar has jumped one puissance, with Phillip Miller at Horse of the Year Show this year, but it will be a first for Gemma.

“I went down [to Brendon Stud] yesterday and we jumped some big fences in the indoor, and I’ll go back probably on Monday and we’ll jump a wall,” she said. “God knows what it’ll be made of but Shirley’s resourceful! Then we’re going to go to Paul Gaff’s as he’s got a proper wall and it’s indoors; I think I need to practise more than the horse does!

“The puissance will be on the Friday, which is probably a good thing as I can get it out of the way and then enjoy my weekend. I’m much less worried about the six-bar; if we have a bit of luck, I think he could do well in that as he can jump a really big vertical but the puissance scares the crap out of me! I’m going with no expectations.”

Gemma said Dime Bar is a delight to have on the yard.

“I still can’t believe I did the Derby, but he’s such a funny character,” she said. “He’s a stallion but you’d never know as he’s so polite; you could put him in a pen with six mares and he’d look away as if he wouldn’t think about that naughty stuff.

“He’s the safest, sweetest horse ever, very sensitive to ride, in a nice way, and scared of everything – apart from big jumps. He’s a real poppet, who wants to be loved.”

Gemma said her plans for next year may include a few weeks at the Sunshine Tour, and “absolutely” another crack at the Derby – once she’s got London out of the way.

“It’s exciting for everyone else but terrifying for me!” she said.

London horse show showjumping entries

The stellar London showjumping entries list also includes Ben Maher, on Faltic HB, Ginger-Blue and Point Break, and last year’s grand prix winners Matt Sampson and Ebolensky. Matt also brings Fabrice DN and Daniel. Scott Brash, who won the World Cup leg last year with Hello Jefferson, brings Hello Folie, Hello Mr President and Hello Valentino. John Whitaker is entered on Equine America Unick Du Francport, Sharid and Lui, and his son Robert with Vermento, Chatondo and Evert.

Jodie Hall McAteer brings Hardessa, Kimosa Van Het Kritrahof and Itoulavsca Fortuna, Harry Charles is entered on Casquo Blue, Romeo 88 and Billabong Du Roumois and Joe Stockdale brings Ebanking and Millfield Counterfeit. Lily Attwood is entered with Cor-leon VD Vlierbeek Z and Karibou Horta, and Tim Gredley with Medoc De Toxandria, Imperial and Tres Bien Z. The one-horse British riders, who will contest the puissance and six-bar, are Mark Edwards, Paul Gaff, Nathan Bull, Sebastian Hughes and Joe Trunkfield.

They will be challenged by a star-studded line-up of foreign riders including Max Kuhner, Julien Epaillard, Kevin Staut, Marcus Ehning, Daniel Deusser, Shane Breen, Conor Swail and Lorenzo de Luca, as well as Martin Fuchs and Steve Guerdat.

You might also be interested in:

‘I’ve been trying to win this half my life!’ Gemma’s Hickstead win as other favourites find mixed fortunes

‘Terrifying but very cool’: Olympic eventer to tackle Hickstead Derby

Major show calls time on puissance – but others say the class is ‘as strong as ever’

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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.

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