The unveiling of the Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course each year is one of the highlights of the eventing calendar. Will there be plenty of big ditches for 2026? Or a focus on corners, skinnies and angles?

We sent double Badminton Horse Trials winner and 14-time five-star winner William Fox-Pitt to Badminton to preview this year’s track, for the event running 6-10 May 2026, and you can read all his thoughts in the current issue of Horse & Hound magazine (dated 30 April). Meanwhile, we’re bringing you some pictures of William at Badminton and some of the key fences here…

Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course in pictures

Fence 4ab, the HorseQuest Quarry, is the first combination on course. Riders jump an upright wall, followed by a left-handed turn and out over another wall.

Badminton final scores

The double of gates at the Ebony Horse Club complex (fence 5ab) will be taken on one stride.

William Fox-Pitt walks the line between the two bucket brushes at fence 6ab, the Equidry Huntsman’s Close.

Fence eight, the Beaufort Owl Hole, is the first time horses get their feet wet on this year’s Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course.

William exits the Mars Lake after walking the route through fence 9ab.

The British Eventing Broken Bridge (fence 13) is always a favourite with photographers.

Course-designer Eric Winter watches as William susses out the line through the KBIS Slalom at fences 14ab and 15.

The Vicarage Oxer (fence 16) is the first time horses cross the Vicarage Ditch – but certainly not the last!

Even William Fox-Pitt looks quite small behind the imposing Joules T Bar Log (fence 17)!

William points out the route over the corner in the Spillers Sustainability Bay water (fence 20abcd).

The terrain is part of the question at the Ineos Sunken Road (fence 21ab).

Competitors jump a ditch before a single stride up a bank to this slightly angled rail at Mike Weaver’s Farm Yard at fence 22ab.

William on the landing side of the Holland Cooper Vicarage Vee (fence 25ab), which is always a rider frightener.

The Rathbones Curve (fence 28ab), two brush corners, is one of the final questions on course.

William chats to course-designer Eric Winter.

Read William’s full thoughts on every fence on the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course in the Badminton preview issue of Horse & Hound (dated 30 April).

How to watch and listen to Badminton Horse Trials

To watch every phase of 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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William Fox-Pitt has shared his exclusive insight on the Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course for Horse & Hound’s preview of this year’s event (7 to 10 May).

The 2026 course is designed by Eric Winter and features 32 numbered fences.

William, who won 14 five-stars during his eventing career including Badminton 2004 on Tamarillo and 2015 on Chilli Morning, has rated and reviewed every fence in this week’s magazine, which is on sale now (Thursday, 30 April).

“There’s plenty to think about on this year’s Badminton course. It’s a nice course, certainly an inviting course, but it’s not totally forgiving. It has an edge to it and I think competitors will have to dig deep,” said William.

Badminton final scores

William Fox-Pitt walks key Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course fences for 2026

MARS Lake (fence 9ab & 10ab)

The direct route is over the brush-topped fish (9a) followed by a skinny brush fence in the water (9b). Competitors then head out of the lake before turning back on themselves to jump another skinny brush on dry land (10a) and finally another skinny brush in the water (10b). There are alternatives at 9b and 10a, but all competitors will need to jump into the Lake over the fish.

“It’s a big jump in and competitors will need a bit of bravery there, and then be organised and turn to the skinny in the water – it could be hard to get straight,” said William.

“As I’m coming through the turn to 10a, I’m looking at my line and down to 10b in the water, controlling the horse through the turn and being positive and straight. I’d be staying straight on landing after 10a, and then turning to get straight to the skinny in the water – I wouldn’t want to be tempted on the inside line to 10b as you could end up with a jolly stupid run-out. This is a very time consuming part of the course.”

Holland Cooper Vicarage Vee (25ab)

The Holland Cooper Vicarage Vee is in the middle of an intense section of the 2026 Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course. Those horses and riders taking the direct routes will jump the big ditch-corner in one at the Luckington Lane Corners (23 & 24), before a short gallop to the iconic Vicarage Vee (25ab). The straight route at this fence is to jump the ditch and rail in one effort. The longer routes at both these fences involve jumping the ditch and an alternative fence as two separate efforts.

“Land over the Luckington Lane Corners, get organised, and don’t panic!” said William, adding that when walking the course, riders will choose which of the two oak trees in the distance to aim for.

“Come through the turn thinking ‘power and organise’, not ‘gallop and go with my eyes shut’. I’d get on my line, aiming for my nice big tree and looking up.

“It’s always a fence we’re relieved to get over; it’s been here for 50 years and it’s going nowhere.”

Mayston Equestrian Hollow (26abc)

The direct route is down a big drop, followed by two arrowhead brushes on a straight line. There are alternative fences 26b and 26c.

“It’s a jolly big drop and horses might be a bit surprised by that at the last minute,” said William. “Horses all jump off that differently, some big, some small, some tired, some exuberant – get what you’ve got and put it all together. It’s a pretty straight line through the bottom and up the bank to the first arrowhead brush. You’ll then land and it’s straight for a nice three strides to another skinny.”

How to watch and listen to Badminton Horse Trials

To watch every phase of 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.

• What’s your favourite Badminton memory? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your views published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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Six-time Burghley winner William Fox-Pitt reflects on this year’s event

This was a real Burghley, where cross-country was at the core. We must preserve that, with Burghley as the pinnacle.

Worryingly, entry numbers are decreasing – 52 starters this year, with an average of 57 in the past four years, compared to an average of 69 for 2015 to 2019.

We’re not lacking five-star horses, but maybe riders are scared and don’t need to do Burghley any more – an annual five-star campaign can be Badminton and then Pau or Maryland. Modern flashy horses, with great movement and a careful jump over 1.30m, are less suited to Burghley.

We should embrace different horses suiting different venues and there are incredible eventers who shouldn’t run at Burghley. But Burghley mustn’t become just for horses who can’t do dressage. Growing up, it was a dream to ride at Badminton and Burghley and that’s not the case for youngsters now.

To make Burghley more attractive, £250,000 to the winner instead of £115,000 might do the trick. The ex-racehorse class at Cornbury shows the draw of cash – 46 entries vie for the £45,000 first prize this year. Without that prize fund, they might have been lucky to get 15.

Too many at the FEI would like to tame eventing, with shorter, smaller courses, and four-star (the championship level) the top of the sport, but that’s not what riders want. Would it work to pull Badminton and Burghley out of the star system and just call them classics, giving them an elite status?

Perfect ground

For Burghley to produce such perfect ground after this dry summer was incredible. Horses really did gallop on it.

People forget what speeds event horses reach. In doing the required average of 570m per minute, they are regularly travelling at the same pace as National Hunt racehorses.

Designer Derek di Grazia used the terrain to the maximum. Although Burghley is hillier, in some ways Badminton is more unrelenting, with less demanding terrain but fewer chances to recover. Demanding as Burghley’s terrain is, it usually offers recovery opportunities but there were fewer of these this year.

A clever course

On the jumping side, Derek had been brave; retired riders tend to underestimate courses, but I was impressed it was so tough. I expected more trouble and campaigns ending at the Defender Dairy Mound (9abc); the corner proved forgiving and horses found a fifth leg. Five more completions might have been perfect, but 30 from 50 starters was good.

Riders weren’t particularly worried about the Pedigree Brushes (15 and 16), but it was very clever – they had to choose five, six or seven strides and ride an accurate turn. Done well, it looked an easy fence; on the wrong line, it created glance-offs and dodgy jumps and many problems at the following Maltings complex actually started here.

The corners at Joules at the Maltings (17ab and 18ab) were strategically positioned and offered four or five strides to the first, and six or seven to the second. The second (18b) was on one of the most serious lines ever to a corner. The flower pots meant you couldn’t get the line wrong, but you also couldn’t alter it or go wider or narrower to adjust your stride.

Harry Meade and Ros Canter made it look like a two-star fence.

After that, horses had half a minute to gather their breath downhill before the Trout Hatchery (21abcd and 22) – but subsequently, horses were more tired here than riders realised. The double turnbacks were demanding. A good few didn’t drop in well off the rising ground and landed out of balance, leading to awkward jumps and a few problems at the first chunky skinny.

Defender Valley (24abcd) was on a straight line and perhaps caused more issues than expected.

Other designers might have used brush at the final combinations, but frangibles and solid tables demanded respect and meant no opportunity to catch up time.

I predicted two or three inside the time, but wondered if I was losing my judgement when EquiRatings’ Diarmuid Byrne predicted five. I won that round with Diarm and we have a good banter; EquiRatings’ statistics add much to the sport.

● How can we keep Burghley entries up? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major events 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

Harry Meade went on a “fact-finding” mission with Amanda Gould’s top mare, Grafennacht, last week and yielded a runaway win in the CCI4*-L at Montelibretti, Italy, with the pair finishing more than 23 penalties ahead of the rest of the field.

“It was a long way to go to get a qualification – three days’ driving there and back – but it was a really useful week in terms of building our partnership and for me to learn a bit more about her,” explained Harry, who took over the ride on the 13-year-old from William Fox-Pitt last year following the latter’s retirement from top-level competition.

Harry Meade and Grafennacht had contested a couple of open intermediates and an advanced in the second half of last season, and they arrived at Montelibretti on the back of just one prep run this year – a slow canter around the open intermediate at Poplar Park.

“I had a hypothesis beforehand about how I wanted to approach each phase and it all went to plan. I was delighted with her,” said Harry. “She did a lovely dressage test, then I set out across country just thinking about getting a qualifying result, but I ended up letting her stride on as she was making it feel so easy. Then in the showjumping, which has been her weak link, she managed to extend her lead even further [with one fence down].”

Harry has not yet made any firm plans for the coming months.

“I hadn’t thought further than Montelibretti, but now that we have our five-star qualification it has given us options,” he said.

Grafennacht has competed at five-star with William, finishing 14th and 13th at Badminton Horse Trials and second at Maryland 5 Star.

• 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

An independent database of verified saddle, bridle and bit fitters has launched with the hope of being a “game-changer” for owners and benefiting horse welfare.

The Equine Fitters Directory is a searchable list of professionals who meet certain criteria and have applied to be on – and been accepted into – the directory.

It was launched on 3 February at Saddlers’ Hall in London by the Equine Fitters Council, an independent, not-for-profit company established by the Worshipful Company of Saddlers and the Worshipful Company of Loriners.

To be eligible, fitters must meet the qualification and experience requirements set out, hold insurance, pursue continuing professional development and agree to abide by the code of conduct and complaints procedure. Fitters can also be delisted from the directory.

“We have an absolute duty, more than ever, to do our best for our horses,” said Hugh Thomas, Equine Fitters Council chairman.

“A well-fitting saddle, bit, bridle or harness is essential to their comfort and overall wellbeing. When fit is correct, horse and rider are comfortable, confident and able to work without issue. Working with a competent and professional fitter helps owners make informed decisions, but above all, be confident that they are looking after their horses’ wellbeing and welfare.

“I want to emphasise that we very much see that fitters are part of a team, not just one more service provider brought in maybe once a year. They should be a key part of the regular care team of the horse alongside the obvious other people, long accepted vets, therapists, coaches and footcare professionals.

“Finding a professional, experienced fitter can feel overwhelming to the horse owner, but it shouldn’t. That is why we need this. The directory is designed to make it easy to search: compare fitters based on their location, their expertise, their specialisation, whether you need saddle, bridle, bit or harness fitter, so you can find the right practitioner for you and your horse.”

Mr Thomas added: “The key message of tonight is overwhelmingly aimed at horse owners: please look on the directory when you want a fitter. If you’ve got a fitter and they are not on the directory, ask them, ‘Why not?’”

In a panel discussion at the launch, World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers said that when considering the involvement of horses in sport, the equestrian world has “a deep responsibility to ensure we are placing horse welfare above all else”.

“Equine fitters play such a fundamental role in that,” he said. “There’s a lot of noise out there, so to have an equine business directory to [help you] find someone you can really trust is going to be right for you and for your horse is a really huge step forward.”

William Fox-Pitt, who won 14 five-stars during his top-level eventing career, lent his support to the directory.

“We know that regularly checked and well-fitted tack both improve the welfare of our horses and their overall performance,” he said.

“I can reflect on numerous times in my career when even small alterations to match the ever-changing size and shape of my horse has made a fundamental difference. Having a ‘one-stop’ online directory that lists professional fitters that all riders and horse owners can trust must be the right thing.”

Dr Kathryn Nankervis, associate professor at Hartpury University, said that everyone who rides “would like to think their horse is comfortable” in the equipment we use, but research shows fit “isn’t always as good as it could be”.

“We have to try and raise the bar,” she said. “I’m really supportive of this initiative because anything that helps horse owners find a fitter and discover the benefits that optimal saddlery fit can bring has to be a good thing for owners and horses.”

• 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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William Fox-Pitt celebrates his 56th birthday today (2 January). The event rider needs no introduction with 14 five-star, more than 50 three-day event and more than 20 international one-day event titles to his name. He has competed at five Olympic Games and countless senior European and World events, where he has amassed a number of medals.

Although he has now taken a step back from competing at the top level, William has been a British team regular for many years, representing Team GBR at several Olympic, World and European games. He has been British number one multiple times and was the first British rider to become the World Number One in eventing. He has won Badminton twice; in 2004 with Tamarillo and in 2014 with Chilli Morning, who is the only stallion to have ever won the event and he also has notched up a remarkable six Burghley titles to boot.

Here we take a look at his stellar career to celebrate his birthday…

1. Stunning, an ex-racehorse by Ring The Bell, was ridden up to CCI4*-L level by Mark Todd before joining William’s yard in 1999. He was fourth at Kentucky CCI5* in 2002 but he was a real three-star specialist, with wins at Blenheim, Thirlestane, Chatsworth and Lulworth to his name as well as taking the Britsh Open Championship in 2003. Before his death, aged 26 in 2012, Stunning enjoyed hunting with the Portman in his retirement with William’s head groom Jackie Potts.

2. Successful four-star horse Macchiato was an Argentinian-bred horse by Octante who raced in Australia before William bought him from a video. He won at Luhmühlen on his CCI5* debut as well as claiming CCI4*-L wins at Blair and Bramham.

3. William with his wife Alice Plunkett and two of their children, Oliver and Thomas

4. William with Tamarillo during a photocall for members of the British Olympic Eventing Squad for Athens Olympics in 2004 at Waresley Park, Bedfordshire.

5. Winners of the gold medal-winning team at the senior Europeans at Pratoni in Italy in 1995. Left to right: Charlotte Bathe, Tina Gifford (Cook), William Fox-Pitt and Mary King.

6. Moon Man on his way to winning one of his two British Open Championship titles at Gatcombe.

7. William with his Athens Olympics teammates at a photo call at Windsor in 2004. Pictured front row from Left, Pippa Funnell, William Fox-Pitt, and Sarah Cutteridge (Cohen). Back Row, Yogi Breisner and Leslie Law.

8. William and Ballincoola on their way to winning Burghley in 2005

9. William and Seacookie, who had several top four-star (five-star) placings including a win at Pau in 2013. They’re pictured here competing at Chatsworth in 2008

10. Highland Lad on his way to winning Burghley in 2002

11. William and Tamarillo competing at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez in 2002 where they won a team bronze medal

12. Chilli Morning en-route to winning Badminton in 2015, becoming the only stallion to do so

13. Fernhill Pimms at Blenheim in the eight- and nine-year-old CIC4*-S in 2013, where he won

14. Team GBR at the London Olympics in 2012. Left to right: Zara Tindall on High Kingdom, Tina Cook on Miners Frolic, Mary King on Imperial Cavalier, Nicola Wilson on Opposition Buzz and William on Lionheart

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout major shows, 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

William Fox-Pitt was given the Lifetime Achievement award at the Horse & Hound Awards, in partnership with NAF and Agria, at Dallas Burston Polo Club, Warwickshire.

The 55-year-old event rider bowed out of top-level sport at Badminton Horse Trials in May, after a career spanning nearly four decades – “a career that we all dream of,” as Zara Tindall said in a video played at the ceremony. He holds the record for five-star wins at 14 and has collected 20 senior championship medals, including five individual medals.

Zara added: “You have been a true inspiration to me and many others, as well as a great friend. Watching you ride is something special. I’ve had the great honour to ride on teams with you, and being able to learn from you, absorb your knowledge and strength of mind and pure class, is something I’ll treasure for ever. You always took the ups and downs with dignity and professionalism and the sport will miss you more than it knows.”

Renowned broadcaster Clare Balding picked up on William’s “sensitivity with young horses”, but also his competitiveness, saying: “It’s knowing when to take a risk, when to go for it, how to be competitive and get the big titles won.

“As somebody who’s often held a microphone under your nose as you’ve finished a cross-country round expecting pearls of wisdom, you’ve always been incredibly generous with your time – we can’t sell this sport unless people like you are willing to share it and you always have done and I know you’ll continue to do so.”

Tina Cook, who first rode alongside Lifetime Achievement Award winner William Fox-Pitt at the 1987 junior European Championships, described him as “like a big brother to me”.

“We have been through highs and lows and when things don’t go right, you are brutally honest when asked for advice. You’ve been there as a true mate,” she said. “What the whole equestrian world sees is your empathy with horses – they come first and your whole training system is around that individual horse and that shows in your results, which is why you’re getting this award.”

William’s superlative five-star tally includes six victories at Burghley on six different horses, and Yogi Breisner – British team performance manager for much of William’s senior career – paid tribute to “a unique horse person”.

“You achieved results on a lot of varied horses – your ability to read horses, understand them, get the best out of them and produce them to their best at a championship and major competitions was unique and that’s why you were such a valued team member for so many championships for Britain,” he said.

Pippa Funnell described William as “a true horseman who adores his horses and a very dear friend” and Laura Collett said he was “a legend of the sport, who made winning three-day events look easy”.

The video finished with a touching tribute from William’s son Oliver, on behalf of his four children – he described his father as “an absolute weapon”, adding: “It‘s been awesome to be able to follow you round and be a little part of what you’ve managed to accomplish. We all love you very much and can’t wait to see you when you get back.”

• 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

You may also be interested in:

‘I just love horses, all horses’: William Fox-Pitt’s favourite equine partners from throughout his career

‘I always wondered how I’d replace that crazy buzz’: William Fox-Pitt on what’s next for the greatest five-star event rider of all time

One of the greats: a look back at William Fox-Pitt’s extraordinary career in pictures

‘A true horseman and a master of his craft’: riders’ tributes as William Fox-Pitt bows out of top level

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

This month’s Pau Horse Trials is the 17th running of the French event at five-star (formerly four-star) level. Many of the former Pau Horse Trials winners have been – or have gone on to become – legends in the sport of eventing.

Let’s take a look back at them…

Pau Horse Trials winners, 2007-2023

2007: Nicolas Touzaint (France) and Hildago De L’Ile

The first winners of Pau as a top-level event, a popular victory for the home side. Nicolas went on to become the first French winner of Badminton, piloting Hildago De L’Ile to take the British spring classic in 2008. Hildago De L’Ile was a team silver medallist at the 2005 Blenheim Europeans – although with a fall across country they were the discard score – and he closed out his career by being Nicolas’ ride at the 2012 London Olympics.

2008: Bettina Hoy (Germany) and Ringwood Cockatoo

This was Bettina and Ringwood Cockatoo’s second top-level win, after victory at Luhmühlen in 2005. They were also prolific winners at three-star (now four-star level) and successful championship performers, taking team gold at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, team bronze at the 2005 European Championships and individual bronze at the 2007 Europeans – as well, of course, as being stripped of their double gold medals at the 2004 Olympics after it was discovered Bettina had crossed the start line twice. After Pau, the pair were second at the US flagship event at Kentucky in 2009 before the horse retired from eventing, going on to compete in dressage with Claire Llewellyn until he was 25.

2009: Dirk Schrade (Germany) and King Artus

Not the highest profile Pau Horse Trials winner, but King Artus was consistently placed at three-star (now four-star) level before and after his Pau win. He was fourth as an individual at the 2011 European Championships and a team gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympics. King Artus’s story had a sad end when he collapsed and died after finishing second at Wiesbaden in 2013.

2010: Andreas Dibowski (Germany) and FRH Fantasia

Again, one of Pau’s less well known winners. FRH Fantasia was a team gold medallist at the 2011 Europeans a year after Pau, although she was eliminated so not a counting score. She finished her career doing a season with Korean rider Sangwuk Song and the pair were team and individual gold medallists at the Asian Games.

2011: William Fox-Pitt (Great Britain) and Oslo

A six-year-old winner and seven-year-old runner-up at Le Lion, Oslo was also the winner of Tattersalls CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) and the eight- and nine-year-old class at Blenheim in the same year he won Pau. His career peaked here, though, as injury meant he did not compete consistently afterwards, although he did complete Badminton 2013. Oslo started his competition career as a stallion and semen was taken from him and frozen before he was cut; he was the sire of William’s five-star ride Oratorio.

2012: Andrew Nicholson (New Zealand) and Nereo

Pau’s first Antipodean winner and a hugely successful combination. By the time of his Pau win, Nereo had already given Andrew his first individual championship medal – a bronze to match a team gong of the same colour at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. He was a team bronze medallist and fourth individually at London 2012 in the summer before Pau and later provided Andrew with a long-awaited Badminton win in 2017. He was also second at Burghley three times and finished in the top 12 at Badminton on four other occasions.

2013: William Fox-Pitt (Great Britain) and Seacookie TSF

A successful top-level campaigner who was also second and eighth at Burghley and second, sixth and ninth at Kentucky, as well as winning Blenheim. He retired from eventing soon after his Pau win, following the 2014 season. William is the only rider who has won Pau more than once.

2014: Ingrid Klimke (Germany) and SAP Hale Bob OLD

It is extraordinary that Pau was Ingrid’s first five-star victory, despite her many top placings through a long and illustrious career; she made it two when she won Luhmühlen the following season on SAP Escada FRH. SAP Hale Bob OLD has a superb record alongside his Pau win – he was European champion in 2017 and 2019 and is the winner of five other championship medals, including world individual bronze and Olympic team silver. He has won 18 times at international level in all.

2015: Astier Nicolas (France) and Piaf De B’Neville

The first home side Pau Horse Trials winner since Nicolas Touzaint won the inaugural running, but he started a run of French wins at the event. Piaf De B’Neville had already won the under-25s at Bramham and been ninth at Badminton by the time of his Pau win and he capped it with individual silver and team gold at the Rio Olympics less than a year later.

2016: Maxime Livio (France) and Qalao Des Mers

A victory at Pau firmly put to rest the fact Maxime and Qalao Des Mers were until this point most famous for being disqualified from the 2014 World Equestrian Games. They also achieved two seconds on their two four-star (now five-star) runs either side of Pau, Luhmühlen 2016 and Kentucky 2017.

2017: Gwendolen Fer (France) and Romantic Love

Gwendolen’s victory made her the first French female rider to win at the top level. The pair were also 16th at Badminton in 2016 and have won four times at CIC3*/CCI4*-L level.

2018: Thibault Fournier (France) and Siniani De Lathus

Somewhat surprising winners, who had been second in the under-25s at Bramham earlier that season, but were making their debut at the top level. After two years away from the international eventing fray, Siniani De Lathus returned in 2021 and had two top-10 placings at two- and three-star.

2019: Tom McEwen (Great Britain) and Toledo De Kerser

This was the win everyone knew Tom and Toledo had in them and followed three top-11 placings at Badminton, plus world team gold and individual 12th at the World Equestrian Games in 2018. They went on to be members of the British gold medal-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where they also took individual silver.

2020: Laura Collett (Great Britain) and London 52

This was a first five-star win for Laura, while London 52 was making his debut at the level. He had been a successful horse through the grades, but also made some high-profile mistakes, so the rider was thrilled that her faith in him paid off. The pair were selected as members of the British Olympic team the following year and took home team gold from the Tokyo Games. They also competed at the 2022 World Championships and collected team gold at the 2023 Europeans. The following year, 2024, they led the Brits to team gold at the Paris Olympics and collected individual bronze, too.

2021: Tim Price and Falco

Falco delivered victory for Tim on his first time at five-star, while it was the rider’s fourth win at the level. Falco – who is owned by British former championship rider Sue Benson – went on to take individual bronze at the 2022 World Championships and lead the Kiwis to team bronze. Falco was also Tim’s ride at the Paris Olympics, where he was sixth, and finished second at Maryland 5 Star in 2024.

2022: Jonelle Price (New Zealand) and Grappa Nera

Tim Price passed the crown to his wife when Jonelle moved up in the final phase to land the win in 2022, her third at five-star. Grappa Nera did not have a great deal of form coming into the event, but the rider said she had always known the 11-year-old mare was a good horse and it was a case of when she would show that, not if. The mare went on to take sixth at Badminton in 2024.

2023: Ros Canter (Great Britain) and Izilot DHI

Ros scored her first five-star win at Badminton Horse Trials in the spring of 2023 and her second at Pau in the autumn of the same year. Izilot DHI is a very talented but also spooky horse and his Pau win was followed by leading the dressage at both British five-stars in 2024, but Ros retired him during the cross-country phase at both events. He returns to Pau in 2024, so perhaps he will keep up his unblemished Pau record and prove France is his favourite five-star destination.

Pictures by Phil Mingo, trevor-meeks-photography.co.uk, Peter Nixon, Nico Morgan and Libby Law Photography

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On day three of the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), the four 2024 HOYS working hunter pony classes, supported by the National Pony Society and Molevalley Farmers, were assessed by two esteemed judges, including legendary eventer William Fox-Pitt.

William, who assessed ride and show after the round, co-judged alongside leading Australian showing figure Chris Lawrie, who was responsible for the conformation phase.

Competitors in intermediates, 153cms, 143cms and 133cms were treated to a David Cole-designed course that made use of every inch of the TopSpec Arena, but was typically tight and twisty as well as up to height.

“I’ve had a very interesting morning here,” William said. “The standard has been high and the course was quite serious. The first course [for the intermediates] was particularly demanding.

“The riders had their work cut out. Naturally, it’s not a friendly environment for a working hunter; it couldn’t be further from the hunting field, being under the lights and being required to gallop around the pillar. There were some smart horses, though, and they coped remarkably well. However, a few do need to buy a water tray!”

Chris added: “This is one of the best horse shows in the world so it’s no surprise that we had good numbers as well as well-produced ponies with nice riders. The standard was very high, but the winners were just that little bit better on the day.”

Here are the four winners of the 2024 HOYS working hunter pony classes:

Intermediate working hunter pony of the year

Phillipa King and her own nine-year-old gelding Plato VD Donkhoeve, who is by Quidam De Revel.

153cm working hunter pony of the year

Abigail Isaac and her own 11-year-old mare Lady Jamie, who is of unknown breeding.

143cm working hunter pony of the year

Evie Kennedy and her own 15-year-old gelding Little Dromin Phoenix, who is by Lettermuckoo Lad.

133cm working hunter pony of the year

Felicity Watts and The Bailye-Hawkins family’s 17-year-old mare Precious Gem II, who is of unknown breeding.

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Eventing legend William Fox-Pitt has been announced as a judge at the Horse of the Year Show (9-13 October).

William, who retired from top-level eventing this year, is one of the latest additions to the HOYS judging panel, along with Ann Overton-Ablitt and Tissie Reason. They join 15 other judges on the panel, which includes Colin Tibbey, Simon Reynolds, and Caroline Dale-Leech.

It has not been confirmed which class will be judged by whom, and a HOYS spokesperson said “participants will be notified the evening before each final who their nominated judge will be”.

William told H&H “some new horizons had been popping up” since he stepped the eventing down.

“It’s nice to look at different worlds and horses,” he said.

“I’ve got my own beliefs and preferences, and it’s nice to know what people are interested to hear what I might have to say.”

William had his first taste of judging last weekend at the British Show Horse Association national championships (12-14 September). He and his wife Alice judged the supreme hunter championship, won by Sam Walker with Jill Day’s Flash Point.

“I enjoyed it. It’s amazing to have a chance to judge that calibre of horses and riders at a top show. I was looking for a good, athletic, exciting horse that had been well produced and looked to be an exciting ride,” he said.

“I’m off to Seville at the end of the month to judge some young Anglo Arab competition horses for the Anglo Arab Association, with my Tamarillo hat on, as he was an Anglo Arab.”

William Fox-Pitt was honoured in a retirement ceremony at Burghley Horse Trials, an event he has won six times. William borrowed Ros Canter’s ride Izilot DHI for a lap of honour in front of the stands, before speaking of his “many special memories” of the event.

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The crowd at the 2024 Defender Burghley Horse Trials who stayed on after dressage on day one were treated to a a slice of history, as William Fox-Pitt rode two event horse clones in the main arena, in a masterclass hosted by his wife Alice. These horses are genetic replicas of two of his five-star winners, Tamarillo and Chilli Morning.

Tamarillo, by Tarnik out of Mellita, won both Burghley and Badminton, plus European individual silver and Olympic team silver. In his latter years, his owner-breeders Finn and Mary Guinness decided to make a clone of this Polish Anglo-Arab, so that they could have a stallion to preserve his brilliant genes for breeding. His clone – named Tomatillo, another type of tomato – is an 11-year-old bay stallion, born 21 years after the original. He was backed by William, and is now being competed at four-star by Aaron Millar.

“I was producing him but decided he was a little bit small for me,” said William. “He would have carried me anywhere but the look isn’t quite it. So we gave him to Aaron Millar who is doing an amazing job with him and we are really dreaming of big things to come.

“Both horses are real eventing athletes; with strong bodies and find galloping very easy. Of all the horses I rode at Burghley, Tamarillo probably made it feel the smallest and this chap’s a bit the same.

“Tomatillo is different because he’s a stallion whereas ‘Tam’ was a gelding, so he has a little bit of stallion arrogance about him, which Tam never had. This one thinks he’s the business. He gives me a real feeling of finding things easy as well. He feels like he’d gallop round here all day; he has a lovely big loose stride.”

For William, Tomatillo is “slightly better made”.

“He has better balance and even though he’s smaller, he’s more uphill,” he said. “He has better carriage and finds the flying changes a little bit easier than old Tam. But he hasn’t always got Tam’s obedience – he has his own agenda sometimes, and Aaron works very closely with that to keep him on side without getting too bossy.”

Alice pointed out that Tomatillo, like Tam, has that “Arab trait of holding his tail high”.

“Tam also liked to throw in a little buck when the flying changes first came in – and at the trot-up; he had a big personality.”

Their personality traits are fascinating, opening the discussion of nature versus nurture.

“Of course, they had different mothers,” said William. “For the first few months of life, Tamarillo was brought up by a little Anglo Araby feisty mare who was scared of her own shadow. This chap was brought up in Texas by a relaxed old Percheron, so they’ve had a very different take on life. This chap thinks, ‘what on earth is there to worry about?’, while Tamarillo was brought up to think that everything was terrifying, so I think that is a factor. Their personality might be the same, but their development is very different.

“Tam didn’t really like men and I always thought, ‘poor Tam, someone somewhere has given him a hard time, got frustrated with him and that’s why he doesn’t like men’. Some days he would not let me catch him in the stable, so my groom Jackie Potts would get him ready and as soon as I got on he was fine. But in the stable it could be like he’d never seen me before.

“Then, when I was starting this guy, some days I’d go into the stable and he’d rush to the back as if saying, ‘who are you? I’m terrified!’ I knew no one has ever given him a hard time – so there are certain things that are in the chromosomes and aren’t anything to do with what we do and how we might have ‘ruined’ them. It’s just in him not to like men. Funny things like that must be something to do with biology.”

Chilli Morning’s event horse clones: number IV

William then swapped on to Chris and Lisa Stone’s Chilli Morning IV, a chestnut stallion with a white blaze very like the original. He’s a seven-year-old competing at three-star level with Gemma Stevens, and aiming for Le Lion d’Angers young horse world championships at the end of the season. The original Chilli Morning, who died in 2020, is the only stallion to have been victorious at Badminton, and he won Bramham three times, world individual bronze and team silver, as well as 12th at the Rio Olympics.

“It’s very strange getting on him because I don’t know him at all,” William said. “But straight away I get a feeling of how well he has been trained compared to mine! He’s got a far better mouth – Chilli was always quite gobby and opinionated. He is in a lovely balance and is easy to ride – you can imagine him scoring very well in a dressage test because he won’t throw away any marks.

“He opens up so naturally, giving the feeling that he’ll gallop well. Chilli was a bit German so he didn’t have that thoroughbred blood that Tam had, but he always had real ability to cover the ground and he ate up Badminton. This one gives the same feeling, a real good gallop and go.”

William only started riding Chilli Morning when the horse was 12, so comparisons are tricky with a horse that’s five years his junior.

“He’s still a bit weak in his body and carriage but I think when you get on a horse, if you get a good feeling in the first five minutes then your instinct is nearly always right,” he said. “I never rode Chilli this young, but he has the same feeling of confidence. When I was coming back from my injury in 2015/16, I had some double vision and couldn’t always see where the jump was. Chilli knew and couldn’t care less, whereas other horses would have been unsettled. Chilli just took me with him and this horse feels like that even though he’s not yet that experienced.

“I’m telling Gemma she has to wait until he’s 12! That’s when you’ll see the best of him. You can feel he’s going to get better with age – when you look at how much Chilli improved in his teens.”

For Alice, the experience of watching William riding these two horses who had played such a huge part in her husband’s five-star career was both special – and “a little spooky!”

How exciting to watch these two stallions to see whether either of them follow in the footsteps of their originals – but they are already well on that path.

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William Fox-Pitt took one final canter around the Defender Burghley Horse Trials main arena in an emotional ceremony marking his retirement from top-level eventing.

William, a record six-time Burghley winner, announced that he was stepping down from five-star eventing at Mars Badminton Horse Trials this spring.

An official retirement ceremony was held ahead of the final showjumping session at Burghley on Sunday (8 September), the event where he has achieved unprecedented success. William borrowed Ros Canter’s ride Izilot DHI to enjoy a last spin in front of Burghley’s packed stands.

“I have many special memories here and I’m incredibly lucky to have ridden so many good horses here. To be doing this here is such an honour and we are all trying not to sob too much,” William told the crowds, going on to pay tribute to his wife, Alice, and long-serving groom Jackie Potts, as well as the others who have supported him through his career.

“I’ve been very fortunate having those horses and the support from the owners, sponsors and the team at home, managed by Jackie.

“Alice has really supported me. I’ve been fairly useless at times, because I’ve been away so much. We’ve got a lot going on at home, four children and quite a busy life.

“She dealt with me with my bang on the head, and I was quite tricky for quite a long time. It’s quite amazing I came back from that at all, so I’m seriously lucky. I feel very special and honoured that Burghley has been so generous in allowing me a last little goodbye.”

William added that he is really enjoying working with the young horses at home and watching his children enjoy their horses. He has also taken an interest in breeding a few – “always a bad disease to have – I inherited that from my mother!”

Jackie also spoke during the ceremony, reflecting on the fact she “came for a week and stayed for 31 years”.

“It’s been a privilege,” she said. “We’ve had some beautiful horses that he’s been able to ride and I’ve been able to look after.”

Burghley has also released a video in honour of William’s career and history with the event, with footage of some of his victories and fellow riders including Pippa Funnell sharing their memories of him.

“I feel quite emotional watching that,” said William. “I’ve been so lucky to make a career out of my passion.”

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Six-time Burghley winner William Fox-Pitt has given his exclusive insight into the 2024 five-star cross-country course ahead of this year’s event (4 to 8 September).

William says that Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course designer Derek di Grazia “is asking some terrific questions” on this year’s track. He was also full of praise for the ground conditions, which he described as a “real credit to the Burghley team”.

The 2024 cross-country course features iconic Burghley fences, including the Holland Cooper Leaf Pit and Irish Horse Board Cottesmore Leap, plus fresh twists on some of the familiar jumps, such the Trout Hatchery, and a simple yet clever question early on in the main arena.

William has assessed and rated each of the 30 numbered fences in an exclusive H&H course walk in the current issue of the magazine (on sale from 29 August).

Watch below as William walks three of the key combinations on the 2024 Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course…

Holland Cooper Leaf Pit (fence 7abcde)

The direct route here takes competitors off the imposing drop, followed by two arrowhead brushes on undulating ground. There is a long option at this fence.

“Horses have really got to be brave, and hopefully pop off that drop nicely,” says William. “Riders will have to shorten their reins really quickly in the bottom.

“Don’t turn too early – you’ve got to get on the right line for ‘c’ on the direct route. The temptation is to turn a bit early, but think ‘turn late, and straight’.

“Really get yourself up under this little beech tree on the approach to the final element – don’t turn too early, and then they can see the way.”

Trout Hatchery (fences 10ab & 11abc)

Competitors will jump a roll-top, followed by a splash into water. They will then turn left-handed to jump another roll-top dropping directly into water, before heading out up a slope to a brush corner to half-moon brush on a related distance. William has given this question a difficulty rating of 9/10.

“Here we are at the Trout Hatchery, one of Burghley’s most famous fences. It’s pretty serious, I reckon,” says William, adding the question this year has “certainly opened my eyes a bit”.

“Fence 10a is a good set up, good to get their feet wet, and ready for what’s coming.”

He adds that 10b is “quite a big drop into the second Trout Hatchery” before a “very decent” question at fence 11abc.

“It’s a real question of line and bravery – horses will have to stay on their line and as they get to 11a, be looking for the [half-moon brush] at 11bc. Ideally, you’ll stay on your line and do two nice strides.”

There is an alternative at fence 11.

Joules at the Maltings (fences 14 & 15abc)

All competitors must jump the white oxer at fence 14 to the hedge at 15a. The direct route for 15b and 15c is a blue angled rail to an arrowhead brush. There is an alternate rail and arrowhead brush and the lettering means that competitors can mix and match on the alternatives, should they wish.

“Riders will want to take a bit of control here – you don’t want to be jumping 15a accelerating,” says William.

“Depending on where Derek puts the ground line [for 15b] will dictate how early you can turn. I’d be angling at I suppose 45 degrees, nothing that a Burghley horse shouldn’t manage, then landing and getting onto my line for the final element – which would be on three strides.

“There’s quite a big area here where you are being slowed down – from the turn to the oxer, right the way through to the turn after the final arrowhead – so riders will want to be aware of making the most of the galloping that is to come.”

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With the event fast approaching next week (5-8 September), it’s time to take a first look at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course for 2024, designed by again by Derek di Grazia.

H&H dispatched six-time Burghley winner William Fox-Pitt to Lincolnshire to check out the track and you can read all his thoughts on every fence in this Thursday’s magazine (dated 29 August), plus we’ll release videos of William walking some key combinations on Monday, 2 September. Meanwhile, to whet your appetite, here’s a sneak peek at a few fences…

Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course: sneak peek

The Holland Cooper Leaf Pit (fence 7abcde) is always a landmark fence on the course. On the direct route, riders come down the big drop and then take on two brush arrowheads.

William paces out the distance on the return trip through Defender Valley (fence 8ab), where a log drop is followed by a choice of striding to the big corner.

This rolltop is the first element of the serious water combination at the Trout Hatchery (10ab and 11abc).

Having splashed through the water, riders then jump a second rolltop to enter the water for a second time (pictured behind William), before coming out to face the final challenge.

An angled hedge corner is followed by a half-moon brush fence as riders exit the Trout Hatchery area. This complex will be one of the most difficult parts of the Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course.

The direct route through Joules at the Maltings (fences 14 and 15abc) starts with this oxer to hedge.

William demonstrates the angle needed over the angled rail that follows the hedge.

The final arrowhead element at Joules at the Maltings will then come up quickly.

This combination, Fairfax & Favor at Keepers (fence 21ab), comes at the highest part of the course, after the turn away from the Irish Horse Board Cottesmore Leap.

Boodles Raindance (fence 26abc) is the final combination on course, with two cabins followed by this curving fence into the water.

Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course photos by Peter Nixon

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On his retirement from top-level eventing, Horse & Hound caught up with William Fox-Pitt to find out what his plans are now – and reminisced about the top horses he’d loved most.

If William had the fantasy chance to go to a final Olympics on any of his horses, it’d be a toss-up between Chilli Morning and Badminton and Burghley winner Tamarillo.

“I should probably ride Chilli because he was so consistent, so nailed-on to be good in all three phases,” he mused. “But in the time since I’ve had Tamarillo I’ve improved in the dressage so I’d get more out of him now. He was the best and most consistent jumper. Somehow I’d like to ride both…”

William adored Tamarillo – “an extraordinary horse, there was nothing like him”, while Chilli “was a really cool dude, who always had a go, never said no, every single day”. But his favourite was Moon Man, whose greatest claims to fame were European team gold, two British open titles and third at Kentucky.

“He was just so normal, and such a worker,” says William. “He couldn’t move or gallop or jump like the others, but he always tried. The sad thing is we found out when he died from colic that he had terrible ulcers, which explained why sometimes he pulled himself up. We didn’t know anything about ulcers then.”

William’s eclectic taste in horses is a hallmark. He credits a band of loyal owners for “giving me lovely horses to ride”. From Catherine Witt’s speedy thoroughbred Parklane Hawk to Brook and Sally Johnson’s cobby Moon Man; from Frank and Ann Andrew’s hunter-type Cosmopolitan to Finn and MW Guinness’ dainty, racy Tamarillo, plus a top-class handful including Ballincoola and Lionheart for Judy and Jeremy Skinner – he found the key to all.

William Fox-Pitt: “I rode everything and anything”

“I don’t have a type, I never have,” he says. “I was lucky that my mother had all sorts of horses at home – hunters, eventers, racehorses. I recall riding my father’s Badminton horse round a hunter trial when I was 10. I was mad on hunting, and we used to stay with my grandmother in Leicestershire where I rode everything and anything.

“When I was the only boy still riding after leaving school, people would send me horses as they were giving up, so I started collecting them. I just love horses, all horses. My attitude was, ‘That looks like a good horse, I’ll learn how to ride it’.

“I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of making the horse the best it can be. Jackie Potts, my head groom, has been my right-hand man in managing them as they don’t fit into a package. Some like this field, or this stable; some like a small breakfast so they eat their lunch. Jackie is very good at working out their differences, and that helped me get a reputation for having a set-up that can get the best out of a horse.”

We have certainly enjoyed watching William Fox-Pitt, the master of five-star get the best out of so many tremendous horses in his 40-year stellar career.

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Having announced his retirement from top-level eventing at the end of Mars Badminton Horse Trials 2024, William Fox-Pitt explains how he’s going to fill his time – it won’t be hard.

Even in this new “retirement” phase, William is going to be pretty busy. Visiting him in June 2024, he had just added two eventers from the injured event rider Vicky Brake to his latest “collection”. He’s eventing his mother’s home-bred Violetta for his niece, who’s doing exams, and producing another home-bred, Cusco, for his daughter to compete “one day”.

There are foals by Tomatillo (the clone of William’s five-star winner Tamarillo) and fellow five-star winner Oslo in the fields, and a couple of promising seven-year-olds in BLS Absolutely and Hussard Brun.

We haven’t seen the last of those navy colours giving a cross-country masterclass, but William insists he’s content to “float around novices and have a nice time”.

“They aren’t horses for me, but taking them further along their journey will give me a lot of pleasure. I’ve done the same thing for 40 years; it’s the end of an era, but I’m happy, relaxed and ready for this. And I’m looking forward to Badminton cross-country morning in May 2025.”

Whenever I’d previously interviewed William in the decade before he bowed out at Badminton, he had hinted at an endpoint to his riding career. But the conundrum of how to fill the void in a satisfying manner remained unsolved.

“I always wondered how I’d replace that crazy buzz, and I thought maybe training racehorses, but I don’t need that, because I’ve got my head around the idea that you’re not going to replace it,” he says. “I don’t always need to be sick and terrified and excited and on my next mission – I don’t crave that anymore. I will still have adrenaline doing certain things and find them exciting, but this is a new progression and I’m very happy with it. Now I can say yes to all sorts of other things.”

It’s not like he’s short of commitments. Besides his wife, ITV racing presenter Alice Plunkett, four children, and a large arable farm with property development potential on the non-equestrian side, William still has a yard full of horses, home-breds, and the Olympics beckoning – under two hats. He is trainer and selector for the Brazilian eventing team, as well as coach to Japanese rider Kazuma Tomoto, who has been based at William’s Wood Lane Stables for six years.

“For a moment on Saturday night at Badminton, when I could dream of a hypothetical situation of riding in Paris, we were wondering which job I’d give up,” William chuckles. “I’ve really enjoyed training that calibre of rider while being a current rider at that level. I’m going to miss that direct connection, as it gives you a special bond with your jockeys. I’d like to think it will last a little bit, but I’m prepared that I will soon be a has-been, and that’s OK. Very quickly your validity dwindles.”

We look forward to seeing those navy colours “floating around novices, having a nice time” for a while yet.

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‘I never want pity’: William Fox-Pitt on why he has chosen to retire from top level eventing

‘I believe there’s a big win in her’: new rider for William Fox-Pitt’s top mare

One of the greats: a look back at William Fox-Pitt’s extraordinary career in pictures

‘A true horseman and a master of his craft’: riders’ tributes as William Fox-Pitt bows out of top level

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At the end of Mars Badminton Horse Trials 2024, the most successful five-star event rider of all time, William Fox-Pitt, announced he would retire from top level. For 40 years William had graced the sport with his skill and charm, but as he told H&H: “Nothing lasts forever”.

There had been mutterings all week during Badminton that this could be William’s last. But with such a glorious round putting him second before showjumping with Amanda Gould’s Grafennacht, and a runner-up prize at Maryland on their previous CCI5* run, the 55-year-old seemed to be back to the peaks he had arguably not reached since his head injury from a fall at Le Lion in 2015. Could a last Olympic hurrah in Paris even be on the agenda?

In fact, that 180,000-strong Badminton crowd were lucky to see him back on home soil at all, as William reveals he had nearly called it a day after Maryland the previous October, when he was denied victory by just 0.4 of a penalty.

“I thought, ‘That should be it. It’s not going to get better than that’,” he says. “But then Dickie Waygood rang me and put me back on the Olympic pathway. I never thought I’d actually make it to Paris – I’m not that dreamy – but I wanted to enjoy one last push, it’s exciting to be part of it.”

A handful of fences down on Badminton’s final day drew a line abruptly under the last chapter of what has been a fairy-tale career. William said retirement had been “on my mind ever since my head injury”, but in a magical way, continuing in the sport that nearly claimed his life had been integral to his recovery.

“I love the challenge, the get-up-and-go, the goals have always been my driving force,” said William when we met at his Dorset yard in June 2024, still humming with activity; horses, riders, kids, dogs – and rare-breed chickens – bustling to and fro.

“I’ve always had Badminton or Burghley or championships creating a rhythm to my season. It seems bonkers, but after the head injury, it was thanks to the Rio Olympics that I got better. It squared me up so much, because I’d lost all my drive, I was just glad to be alive. I was so floppy and uncaring but I cared about Rio, so it got me physically fit again and gave me a focus.

“And then after Rio, I had good horses in Little Fire and Oratorio, and Grafennacht coming up. Was I ready to watch someone else ride them? No! So I carried on.”

Between that injury and Badminton 2024, William completed six Badmintons and won his fifth Armada dish for 25 completions. Back on the podium at five-star, there was a sense that his journey back to his full self is complete. Following that Badminton swansong, Grafennacht (Lillie) is heading to Harry Meade’s – and William is content.

William Fox-Pitt: “I will not miss that”

Why then did he deem this the right moment to retire from top level?

“The time has come when I can watch someone else ride Grafennacht,” he said. “I can’t wait to wake up on the first Saturday in May before the Badminton cross-country and not think, ‘What on earth am I doing?’ Being in the warm-up field when everyone’s feeling absolutely sick, you’ve forgotten to have a drink, your mouth is bone dry. I will not miss that.

“I will enjoy being involved, and watching Lillie. She needs to have some younger bones on her back.”

William Fox-Pitt is acutely frank about the limitations of age in a sport where athletes can persist.

“I walk courses with a different mindset now, worrying about seeing a good stride or slipping on a turn rather than assuming it’ll go well. If I make a mistake, I worry about people saying, ‘Stupid old man, gone a bit crazy, he should stop!’ instead of accepting that cock-ups happen.

“Badminton was good,” he concedes, “but it’s only 32 jumps and I don’t think I’m riding as well as I was. I’m conscious of not looking like an idiot, and it has been niggling at me for a few years now not to go on for too long.

“I never want pity. I was always fit as you like, could compete six advanced horses in a day easily; now I’m feeling five is too much.”

Nothing lasts forever.

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‘A true horseman and a master of his craft’: riders’ tributes as William Fox-Pitt bows out of top level

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Harry Meade said he is “thrilled” to take on Amanda Gould’s Grafennacht – and former rider William Fox-Pitt said he will enjoy watching them together.

Harry has confirmed that he has been asked to ride the 12-year-old mare, with whom William came second in the Maryland 5 Star last year and has completed Badminton twice, after William announced he was to retire from the top level of eventing.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know ‘Lillie’, gleaning as much as I can about her from William and his team and taking time to develop a partnership,” said Harry.

“I’ve ridden many of William’s horses over the years – having been his second rider at the start of my career and then stepping in at various times when he was injured or away at different Olympic games. Whilst it sometimes feels alien adjusting to a new ride, our horses go in similar styles and in the past have transitioned back and forth very easily.”

Lillie is at stud at the moment, from where she will go to Harry’s yard and “we’ll start getting to know each other”, Harry said.

William told H&H he is a “big fan” of Harry’s, who is ranked number five in the world.

“Harry likes his mares and he’ll do her justice,” he said. “I’m chuffed he wants her and thinks she’s a good fit for his team. He’s at the height of his career and I’m excited he’s taken her on.”

William said Harry rode for him after he finished university, and has ridden other horses for him, including Little Fire when William was injured in 2022.

“I love the way he rides, I like his approach,” he said. “I wanted the mare to go to a man – I felt quite strong on that. She’s been ridden by me for quite a long time and I didn’t think change would be necessary. She will definitely enjoy going to someone that’s not quite so huge; she’s 16.2hh or 16.3hh and I make her look like a pony. She will respond well to Harry’s featherweight!

“I’m happy to watch her go with someone else. The time has come when I can watch someone else ride her. I will enjoy being involved, and enjoy watching her. I can’t imagine there would be too much I’d criticise.

“She’s a lovely horse to give someone. She’s totally safe and easy, and she’s fun. I do believe, without wanting to put pressure on him, that there is a big win in her.

“I think Harry is a great choice and Amanda Gould will enjoy being part of the Meade team and family set-up.”

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‘A true horseman and a master of his craft’: riders’ tributes as William Fox-Pitt bows out of top level

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Harry Meade celebrates best Burghley placing yet with five-star first-timer

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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

Known for his quirky attitude, this spooky part-bred Arab proved brilliantly athletic after a sticky start. Catherine Austen pays homage to this class act as we celebrate Horse & Hound’s 140th anniversary in 2024

“He was an absolute showman, but in no way was he arrogant; a show prince who wanted to look lovely, but needed your approval and reassurance. He felt he was important, but not superior,” says William Fox-Pitt. Anyone who took even a passing interest in eventing in the first decade of this century knows which horse he is talking about – the quixotic, charming Tamarillo, whose unmistakable dished face revealed his Arab blood.

Together they won both Badminton and Burghley and several medals for Britain but, such was Tamarillo’s brilliance when on form that one almost feels they never quite achieved the one pinnacle they deserved – that championship victory.

“We had sad losses – Olympics and the World Equestrian Games [WEG] were all within his reach when stupid things happened,” says William. “What might have been! We had a few heart-breakers; the Athens Olympics was one of them as he cracked his stifle after a lovely clear round – I didn’t even know he had hit a fence. He won Badminton, but he could have won two more. He missed those moments, but that’s how good he was. He wasn’t a normal horse.”

Tamarillo didn’t enter William’s orbit until the Hon Finn and Mary Guinness’s home-bred was seven. He had been produced by Diana Burgess, who was based at their Biddesden Stud, and she had evented him up to his first few intermediates.

“It all happened because I parked next to Mark Todd at Tidworth around 1998, and was talking to him and the Guinnesses,” says William. “I said I was looking for horses, and the Guinnesses said they had some that Toddy didn’t want because he was retiring after Sydney. They said, ‘Why don’t you come and have a look?’

“I went and saw them, and Mary said, ‘Now look at this one – he is my golden jewel. You can look but you can’t touch – he is far too precious.’

“I had only seen Tam over the stable door, but a little while afterwards I saw him in the showjumping warm-up at Bicton, where things weren’t going to plan. As I walked past Mary, she said, ‘I might give you a ring next week.’ She did call, and said, ‘You’d better try that horse – maybe he needs a man on him.’”

William Fox-Pitt’s inauspicious start with Tamarillo

When William went to try Tamarillo, he admits he couldn’t get him over a single fence.

“I did think, ‘What’s the point?’ but I was young and he was pretty so I had nothing to lose,” he says.

Tamarillo, who had never been ridden by anyone except Diana, arrived at William’s yard in Stratton Audley in the early summer of 1999.

“I remembered my mother saying to me when I was young, ‘Sometimes you have to go fast enough that the horse just can’t stop,’” William says. “I had that in my ears as I thought, ‘Right, Tam, you and I are going to have a go and we will see if you are going to go or not.’ And gradually he did start to go. I had learnt in the hunting field and was slightly gung-ho in my approach.”

They were second at Cornbury on their first outing, then won at Knaptoft and Hartpury.

“We went round those first events so quickly that we would probably have got lots of penalties for going too fast these days,” he says. “I think going quickly got his blood up and gave him some adrenaline, so he was excited and thought, ‘Right, I’d better go.’”

William remembers going to another event and “getting cocky, thinking I was going to win”.

“We did a lovely dressage, a clear showjumping round and then on the cross-country he jumped up the bank with me going like the clappers and somehow managed to stop,” says William. “I flew over the fence coming down the bank and landed in the field on my feet. At that point I realised things weren’t quite sorted yet! He was too scared to jump off the bank by himself, so I got back on him and carried on, as you could in those days, and actually I think in his mind that he realised it was easier to go.”

The following year, 2000, William and Tam won their first three-day event, the CCI3*-L at Blarney Castle, won the intermediate championships at Gatcombe and were second in the CCI4*-L at Blenheim.

“I was feeling now that I had a bit of apparatus under me, but it was a very sticky beginning,” says William. “He was the classiest, spookiest horse I have ridden in my life. That spooking defined him and it lost him many a moment in his career.”

They finished second behind Pippa Funnell and Supreme Rock at their first Badminton in 2002 and made their first team appearance that autumn at WEG in Jerez, where tripping up the step coming out of the water resulted in 20 penalties.

“He took some managing,” says William. “The year he won Badminton [2004] he had only done Tweseldown open intermediate beforehand. How many horses go round Badminton that well with only a cross-country school, essentially? He was never a horse you could enjoy as much as you wanted to – I had to save him for the big days.”

There were other big results – second at Badminton in 2005, individual silver and team gold at the Europeans that year – but probably Tam’s greatest achievement was his final one, that 2008 Burghley victory.

“That was very special because he had come back from a lot of things, and he hadn’t been selected for the Beijing Olympics that year, which I was very sad about,” says William. “But he won Burghley in the mud; he was in a class of his own across country that day. Being a really athletic blood horse, the terrain there meant nothing to him, and remember he was 16 at the time.”

His owner and breeder, Mary Guinness, points out: “He won both Badminton and Burghley in wet mud; people forget that Arabs are bred to go their best in the sands of the desert, which is very deep going. He bounced off the ground and at no time did he make one of those big tracks look intimidating or anything but straightforward.”

Mary went to every competition Tam did, and says: “When he did a leg and was taken swimming to help his recovery, I drove a 200-mile round trip every time to be with him in case he started to panic. He knew me so well – the horse whisperer Gaynor Davenport said he thought I was his mother.”

Tam’s quirks remained with him all his life.

“He was very cold-backed; you practically had to rebreak him after his winter holiday, and put a saddle on him in the stable and leave him there for a bit,” says William. “And he loved women, but not men. There were days when I would go into his stable and not be able to catch him. Even in his last years, you could never assume anything with him – you would get on slowly and not do up the girth too tightly too quickly.”

He continues: “Tam always kept me on my toes and he was electric when on form. I think he really is my horse of a lifetime. Chilli was amazing, of course, but Tam was a freak who had everything in excess; more jump, more blood, more movement, just different.”

“Darling Tam”

“If Tamarillo had been a man, I’d have married him,” says his owner Mary Guinness. “He was a dream. He was bred for the job and I knew what I had the moment I saw him. No one else did, because he was so pretty, but I knew his parents and the sport.

“He was very petted – ‘Darling Tam, one day you’ll win Badminton,’ I used to say to him, and I probably petted him too much. It was a big wake-up call when he went to William, because he was expected to behave like a grown-up, but they were a match made in heaven.

“He was a wildly intelligent horse, and so athletic and beautiful. My most special moment with him was actually when he won Blarney in 2000; everyone had laughed at me about Tam for so long, and having lived in Ireland I knew half the people there at Blarney. It was a real step into the unknown and a proper course. When we won, I couldn’t quite believe it and I smiled and smiled all the way home. I felt vindicated.”

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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

William Fox-Pitt announced his retirement from top-level eventing at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials on Sunday 12 May. The British rider is one of the sport’s all-time greats, having achieved extraordinary success on a vast number of different horses.

Let’s take a look back at some of his career highlights…

William Fox-Pitt’s five-star wins

William won 14 five-stars during his career, more than any other event rider. Burghley Horse Trials has been the big event where enjoyed most success, with six wins on six different horses.

His first Burghley – and first five-star – win was at Burghley in 1994 on Chaka.

Badminton final scores

His second came eight years later, when he piloted Highland Lad to triumph.

Victories came thick and fast after that. In 2005, he won on Ballincoola.

Then in 2007, he piloted Parkmore Ed to victory.

The following year, a wet one, he rode Tamarillo – already a Badminton winner at that stage – to complete the horse’s five-star double by winning Burghley.

In 2011, he won achieved his final Burghley win, on Parklane Hawk.

William also won Badminton Horse Trials twice, his first victory there coming in terrible weather in 2004 on Tamarillo.

In 2015, William scored his second Badminton victory, on Chilli Morning. He is the only person to win the event riding a stallion.

William with his sons Oliver and Thomas after Chilli Morning’s Badminton victory.

William also won three times at the Kentucky Three-Day Event in the USA. His first win there was in 2010 on Cool Mountain, who was a world team gold and individual silver medallist at the same venue later in the year. He also took the title in 2012 on Parklane Hawk, the horse’s second five-star victory after Burghley in 2011, and in 2014 on Bay My Hero.

William won just once at Luhmühlen Horse Trials, in Germany. That was in 2008 on Macchiato, who is pictured at Chatsworth the same year.

Finally, the French five-star at Pau Horse Trials played host to two of William’s wins at the top level, in 2011 on Oslo and in 2013 on Seacookie.

William Fox-Pitt: his championship success

William Fox-Pitt was also a phenomenally successful team rider. In a senior team career that lasted nearly 20 years, from the 1995 Europeans to the 2016 Olympics, he won 20 senior championship medals.

William’s first Olympic medal was in Athens 2004, when the Brits won team silver, although he was unable to complete individually after Tamarillo was found to have chipped a bone in his stifle after an excellent cross-country performance.

The pair had some recompense with individual silver and team gold at the following year’s Europeans, which were held at Blenheim Horse Trials – many will remember the extremely wet cross-country day.

Here he is piloting Parkmore Ed to help the Brits to team bronze at the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong.

In 2010, William won team silver and individual gold at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky riding Cool Mountain.

At the London Olympics in 2012, William was part of the British team which won silver, riding Lionheart.

William Fox-Pitt suffered a serious head injury in the autumn of 2015, but made a remarkable comeback to be selected for the Rio Olympics. He led the dressage on Chilli Morning and it felt like he might finally win the individual title that had evaded him for so long, but 20 penalties across country put paid to that. He still finished 12th and best of the Brits.

His last five-star horse

William had his final top-level ride at Badminton last week, finishing 13th on Grafennacht, who was also the runner-up at Maryland 5 Star last autumn.

• What are your favourite memories of William Fox-Pitt’s career? Send your thoughts to hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, and nearest town and county, for possible inclusion in our letters page.

You might also be interested in:

‘There are no tears and sobbing, this is the right thing to do’: William Fox-Pitt announces retirement at Badminton

‘A true horseman and a master of his craft’: riders’ tributes as William Fox-Pitt bows out of top level

‘I’d like to jump the jumps and think thank God I haven’t got to do that again’: William Fox-Pitt hints at his final Badminton ride

‘Her dam was incredible’ – breeder tells remarkable story of William Fox-Pitt’s Badminton ride, and her dreams to create a clone

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 equestrian world has been paying tribute to William Fox-Pitt since he announced his retirement from the highest level of the sport, bowing out at the top as one of eventing’s all-time greats.

William came so close to a fairytale ending to his stellar career after he and Grafennacht gave a cross-country masterclass at Mars Badminton Horse Trials on Saturday (11 May), but poles down meant they finished 13th. H&H reported on Sunday that he then announced it would be his last Badminton, after 26 completions.

“I’ve really loved it,” he said. “I’ve been so lucky to have so many supporters, it’s been a great send-off. We enjoyed the moment yesterday. There’s no tears and sobbing – I’m very matter of fact about it; this is the right thing to do.”

William has been representing Britain since he was in juniors, winning individual silver in 1987. He won two team golds, team silver and individual bronze in young rider Europeans. He has been on six European gold medal-winning senior teams, one silver and one bronze, and won two individual silvers and one bronze, not to mention world team gold, two silvers and bronze, and individual silver and bronze.

At Olympics, he has twice won team silver and once bronze. In 2016 he was the highest placed Brit in 12th, less than a year after he suffered a serious head injury in a fall.

His 14 five-star wins are more than anyone else has achieved, he has won Burghley six times on six horses, plus more than 50 three-day events.

Yogi Breisner, British eventing performance manager through much of William’s golden era, told H&H this record speaks for itself.

“But where he’s unique is that he’s done that on such a vast variety of horses,” he said. “That shows what a true horseman he is, his wonderful understanding for the horses and his ability to get the best out of so many horses.”

Yogi added that not only is William a star, he shone through times when so many top riders were on the scene.

“He was top of his game in an era of unbelievable riders,” he said. “He represented Britain on so many teams; not only was he such a good rider, he was an unbelievably good team member.”

Emotional

Pippa Funnell, who has been William’s close friend, fellow competitor and team-mate since their Pony Club days, told H&H that Sunday was a very emotional day.

“It really is the end of an era,” she said. “He’ll still be at events, but it’s very sad we won’t see him at the very top end of the sport. It’s unbelievable what he’s achieved in his long career. What we witnessed on cross-country day at Badminton was absolutely William at his very best. He’s always been a magician across country, the way he makes the big tracks look so simple. He really is a master of his craft.”

Pippa added that she has huge respect for William’s mental strength, and that he has always jokingly told her to “shut up and get on with it” for her competition nerves.

“It was such a desperately worrying time when he was in a coma for so long after his injury and to come back and pick himself back up was a remarkable achievement,” she said. “I know it has played on [William’s wife] Alice’s mind so I’m sure there will be part of her that’s relieved he’s made this decision on his terms.

“He’s an out-and-out horseman who looks at his horses as friends. The word ‘legend’ is used too much now, but in my mind he is one. It’s been an absolute privilege to have had our careers running in parallel; we’ve been holding hands all the way through.”

Tina Cook told H&H that though William’s showjumping at Badminton did not go to plan, he will rather be remembered for Saturday’s cross-country.

“William and I had similar upbringings, with strong, knowledgeable mothers,” she told H&H. “Our parents made it clear that to succeed in the sport, you had to work jolly hard. He worked his magic on each horse and got the best out of so many. So much thought and detail went in and as he’s so tall, he’s had to work harder on his balance and position; that shows in his results.

“In his youth, he had ordinary horses, but always made the very best of them. He worked so hard to make sure they were in the right frame of mind and he had a natural art of making a hot horse calm and trusting. He has such a natural way with and feel for them.

“He is just a unique, special person and a true horseman.”

Carl Hester, who has worked with William for some time, told H&H he watched Badminton this weekend.

“I enjoy watching the sport and having watched him when he started, I thought he was as magnificent as ever, which is wonderful,” he said. “He’s such a lovely person, a gentleman.

“He always comes across as a really good role model for fair sportsmanship. He accepts what he gets and where he finishes and is delighted for other people – it’s not just about him, it’s about the sport and others in it, which is a lovely quality to have.”

• What are your favourite memories of William Fox-Pitt’s career? Send your thoughts to hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, and nearest town and county, for possible inclusion in our letters page.
  

You might also be interested in:

‘There are no tears and sobbing, this is the right thing to do’: William Fox-Pitt announces retirement at Badminton

‘She could have gone round in a headcollar’: William Fox-Pitt gives cross-country masterclass at Badminton

Happy Birthday, William Fox-Pitt! Here’s some of his career highlights to celebrate…

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The fairytale ending did not come to fruition for William Fox-Pitt at the 2024 Mars Badminton Horse Trials, after which he announced his retirement, but he still received a great send off from both spectators and his fellow riders alike.

He had already indicated that this was “probably his last Badminton” and the signs were good for a magical finale as he went into the final day’s showjumping in second, with only Tim Price’s Vitali – an unreliable showjumper at CCI5* – ahead of him. But although William’s ride Grafennacht jumped well through the first section of the course, it started to unravel at halfway, and they wound up with six down to drop down the order to 13th.

“It wasn’t my day, but I’ve had these moments before and it will all be fine tomorrow,” said William. “At least it was properly not my day – there were no ifs and buts and maybes and on to the next one, because I won’t be coming back to Badminton. It’s a shame to finish on a bit of a downer but I’m cool with that.

“That will be it. It’s a tricky one to say, but I’m 55 and I’ve had a great time. I’m in one piece, and I’m lucky to be in once piece.”

Badminton final scores

However, William hasn’t ruled out ever leaving the startbox again: “That’s it for this level but I’m going to do the young ones and carry on a bit. This is the last Badminton for sure.”

Grafennacht, on whom he conjured such a brilliant cross-country round the previous day, is only 12, and William assured that she will be continuing in the sport.

“It won’t be her last Badminton; she’ll be back and she might jump better next year,” he said. “We’ll find a new better, younger rider – she needs younger bones on her back – and it will be good. I haven’t even had the discussion with her owner yet though she’s very aware that I’m 55. So we’ll have whatever conversation and make a plan – she’s a lovely horse and she was amazing yesterday. It was a shame we had to jump today.”

While it was no dream ending, in time William can look back at a week which saw him riding as well as ever, and he attended the prize giving to collect his fifth Armada dish, having now completed Badminton an incredible 26 times.

“I’ve really loved it,” he said. “I’ve been so lucky to have so many supporters, it’s been a great send-off. It wasn’t dream time today, but the chances of that were always fairly slim. We enjoyed the moment yesterday. There’s no tears and sobbing – I’m very matter of a fact about it: this is the right thing to do.”

How to watch back 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…

‘She could have gone round in a headcollar’: William Fox-Pitt gives cross-country masterclass at Badminton

‘I had to suck it up and be brave’: risk pays off for top rider who heads Badminton leaderboard

‘A great day for the sport’: course-designer Eric Winter’s thoughts on Badminton’s cross-country phase

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

Grafennacht – the ride of William Fox-Pitt at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials – may currently be the talk of the town, but her breeder believes her dam could have been even more brilliant. The breeding of Grafennacht is an extraordinary story.

Suzie Banyard was given Grafennacht’s mum Nachtigall when the mare was 18, and started eventing her at 19. They won the BE100 top horse and rider award that year, and went on to compete at advanced, despite Suzie never having evented before.

“Nachtigall was given to me by my friend Nicky Killon to look after and maybe hack around,” says Suzie, who has also showjumped to Grade A. “I started playing with her and taking her to do some local things, then realised she was too good to just do dressage and showjumping, so I decided to have a go at eventing. I was turning 40 and she was 19 – neither of us knew what we were doing, no clue! She had no competition record at all.”

Badminton final scores

Suzie continues: “She was a very beautiful horse and a fantastic, fantastic jumper. Went advanced in three or four seasons, and never had a stop cross-country. I’d never even sat in a dressage saddle before, and the only cross-country fences I’d jumped were as a kid. She was incredible. I’d say if she’d started at the right time, she would have been at least as good, if not better, than Grafennacht – a wonderful mare.”

Nicky had originally intended to use Nachtigall as a broodmare – she’s by the German thoroughbred sire Narew, who was used a lot to lighten German warmblood lines. However, Nicky never managed to get her in foal.

Suzie quickly decided to have a go at an embryo transfer as it was “too late” for a 19-year-old mare to carry a foal, especially alongside her new burgeoning competition career.

“It took a few tries and fortunately we were lucky enough to have Lillie [Grafennacht],” Suzie says. “But I tried again for another three or four season afterwards and never managed to get the mare to conceive again. So Lillie is a complete one-off.”

Grafennacht breeding: could the line continue?

However, Suzie was so keen to “extend Nachtigall” that when the great mare’s life ended at the age of 30, a couple of years ago, she’d had the foresight to keep her options open.

“I have Nachtigall’s frozen DNA in a lab in France,” Suzie says. “I really want to find somebody who wants to take that on and potentially create a clone.”

When Lillie was born, she spent the first four years of her life with Suzie, who remembers her as “very precocious”.

“She was pretentious, she knew who she was right from the beginning,” Suzie says. “She was very single-minded and I can’t count how many times she had us on the floor as a foal. If she was going somewhere, she was going.

“Being an embryo transfer foal, she had a surrogate mother, and they could not have been more different. The mare was a real plain Jane, and Lillie was beautiful. And she was so athletic as a baby doing these crazy gymnastics in the field, and this poor old mare looked like she was saying, ‘that’s not my child’ – of course it wasn’t. Nachtigall meanwhile was in the next door field, and had no idea who the foal was.

“Lillie looks similar to Nachtigall, although Nachtigall had more white on her. She was absolutely stunning. I chose Grafenstolz because I wanted to keep Nachtigall’s dressage ability as well as the eventing. He tends to stamp all his stock with his looks. Luckily a lot of the prettiness of her mother came through to Lillie.”

As if the Grafennacht story is not remarkable enough, she is the one and only foal Suzie has bred.

“I was just trying to breed a very good horse, because I could never have a full career with her mother because of her age,” Suzie says. “So Lillie was a way of extending Nachtigall.”

We’d say it’s worked out pretty well indeed.

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…

‘She could have gone round in a headcollar’: William Fox-Pitt gives cross-country masterclass at Badminton

Withdrawals and one horse spun at final Badminton Horse Trials trot-up

‘We either win or we don’t’: Ros Canter reflects on her decision to pull up on Badminton cross-country

Youth and experience blend as British riders claim two podium places at Maryland 5 Star

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

Twice William Fox-Pitt has won the Badminton trophy. He has 14 CCI5* victories to his name, more than any other rider. But over the Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course, he demonstrated why there may yet be another accolade to come in his extraordinary career.

William had hinted earlier in the week that this might be his last Badminton, and he put in an astonishing round on his mare Grafennacht, who was lying eighth after dressage. If this really is his last hurrah at the event, what a way to bow out.

“I was trying very hard, she is an amazing mare,” he said. “She always say yes, doesn’t that make life easy? My reins were getting a bit long but she didn’t need reins – she could have gone round in a headcollar.

“I chose to take a long route although I knew she was unlikely to make the time doing a long route. This is potentially my last Badminton and she was going so well, so I was thinking all the way round ‘do I, don’t I?’. She would have gone straight, but I didn’t want to go home with an annoying cock-up. That was a risk I took. It was the right choice, but my boys will certainly tell me off for not going for it!”

Badminton final scores

With William’s trademark calm style and tight lines, he gave the horse every confidence, and she was smooth and catlike in return. He was up on the clock over the first section of the track, a second faster even than speed merchants Sarah Ennis and Grantstown Jackson, the quickest at that stage. He stopped the clock just 2.4sec over the time, a brilliantly fast round.

William, 55, was surrounded by his – and other people’s – children at the finish line.

“My kids might actually remember my doing well here,” he says. “This is my 26th completion cross-country, you can’t be greedy forever. I probably ought to grow up and get a new habit! But we’re still in the fight for now.”

Badminton Horse Trials cross-country: “Her heart and brain have got her here”

Wiltshire-based US rider Tiana Coudray was another top-10 rider nursing their dressage score over Eric Winter’s track, in sixth place. This horse has fancy footwork – looking so scopey through the troublesome LeMieux Eyelash Brushes. She gave Tiana a dream ride, bar one nervy moment, but they weren’t fast enough to maintain their position, clocking 30 time-faults.

“I have a Badminton horse!” said Tiana. “She had to fight in a few places. She pecked really badly landing over the Broken Bridge, but luckily I stayed in the middle and she came back underneath me. Her heart and her brain are what have got her here.

“I’m kicking myself because I set out quite slow, but I think got it in my head that it’s hot and the ground is tough and horses are struggling to finish. But having said that, she finished brilliantly and she’s had a fantastic trip – hopefully it’s the first of many.”

Harry Meade and the 17-year-old Away Cruising – his sole ride at Badminton after he withdrew his other two – were another pair to give a cross-country masterclass, but they did survive a heart-in-mouth moment. The grey caught a toe going down the drop at the Lightsource bp Mound, pitching Harry forward out of the saddle. With an intricate threading of his tracks, he managed to negotiate the alternative for the following elements without incurring penalty.

“He’s an old friend – we know each other back to front and sideways,” Harry said. “It was going brilliantly, then he just left a leg on the lip and wasn’t on the line to jump the direct route, so I had to think how to do an S bend without crossing my tracks. Thinking on my feet, I managed to stay clear but it wasted about half an hour of time.”

They still only clocked 20.4 time-faults and moved well up the leaderboard from 51st.

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials cross-country

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…

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 a contrast from 2023! The sun shone down on the first day of the Mars Badminton Horse Trials dressage phase, and spectators were treated not only to blue skies but hot competition.

At the end of day one, scores are tightly bunched, with the top 10 covered by just over six penalties. There were only three scores under 30, with a Brit and two Americans in this trio.

Bubby Upton holds the lead after the first 35 riders, on Cola – a remarkable achievement given Bubby’s career-threatening injury last year.

• Find out how much competing at Badminton means to Bubby

Badminton final scores

US raider Boyd Martin is lying second on the 17-year-old Tsetserleg TSF, as he bids for his first Badminton completion.

• Discover what the highlights were from Boyd’s test

Another American, Tiana Coudray, produced a fantastic performance from her mare Cancaras Girl to take third place at this stage.

• Find out how Cancaras Girl has exceeded expectations

There was a disappointment for two-time Badminton winner Pippa Funnell, when her experienced partner Majas Hope found the whole occasion far too exciting.

• Read Pippa’s thoughts about her performance

William Fox-Pitt slotted into fourth on Grafennacht. The rider is bidding for his 25th completion at Badminton and third win.

• Find out William’s thoughts on future Badmintons

This time last year Aussie rider Sammi Birch was pregnant; today her baby daughter was watching on as she performed her dressage.

• What Sammi said about juggling motherhood and eventing at top level

If Boyd Martin completes Badminton, he will join Tim Price in holding the full set of the world’s seven five-stars

• Learn more about his Trojan of a horse – and why he didn’t impress at first sight

Irish rider Sarah Ennis was relieved to get the dressage done and dusted on her cross-country specialist.

• Discover more about the Polo-loving speed merchant who would live in his rider’s pocket

It wasn’t only about the dressage today – sartorial details also had their place.

• Find out the stories behind two marvellous manicures

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…

‘The thought of riding again was out of the question’: an emotional Bubby Upton takes Badminton dressage lead after serious injury

Promising young British event rider withdraws from Burghley after undergoing surgery

Would you jump this? Take a virtual walk of the 2024 Badminton cross-country course

Floaty dresses, shorts and leopard print – see what top riders wore at Badminton trot-up

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

William Fox-Pitt has alluded to the fact that the 2024 Mars Badminton Horse Trials could be his last at this particular event.

“It should be, for all intents and purposes, but who knows? I’m never going to say never, but I think it should be,” said William, who is 55 years old and has won an unprecedented 14 five-stars – including twice at Badminton – and more than 50 three-day events during his illustrious career.

“This weekend shouldn’t sway me one way or the other – I’m quite clear,” he continued. “It would be easy to fall off and give up, wouldn’t it? It would be tougher to give up on a good one, but that’s kind of what I would like. I’d like to jump the jumps and then think ‘thank God I haven’t got to do that again’.”

William Fox-Pitt: “Let’s hope they stay in a bad mood tomorrow”

William Fox-Pitt first competed at Badminton in 1989 and has 24 completions to date, his latest last year with Grafennacht, whom he rides here this time.

Badminton final scores

He completed his dressage test aboard the 12-year-old mare, owned by Amanda Gould, earlier today, scoring 30.6, slotting him into third at the time. At the time of publication, William was sharing fourth place with Georgie Goss and Feloupe.

“I was very happy, apart from my first halt, which was rubbish – she must have seen something in front of her and she stepped back, so we deserved that mark, but when you’ve got three grumpy judges there and you want to get an eight, it’s a bad start,” explained William, relating to the fact that some riders have said the judges are being “stingy”.

“It was a pretty good test, to be honest, but they [the judges] were certainly stingy to me – let’s hope they stay in a bad mood tomorrow.

“She had a little bit of tension in the rein-back and I think she trotted a stride into canter [where the canter transition should have been directly from walk], so there were little expensive imperfections, but even when she should have had a good mark, she got seven and that’s kind of where the judges sat through my test.

“This mare presents ‘wow’ and has a great outline – her half-passes should have got a nine, but they didn’t, did they?”

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…

‘I thought, I’m going to be struggling here’: Pippa Funnell reflects on ‘disappointing’ Badminton dressage performance

‘The thought of riding again was out of the question’: an emotional Bubby Upton takes Badminton dressage lead after serious injury

Would you jump this? Take a virtual walk of the 2024 Badminton cross-country course

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

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 spotlight will be on the Mars Badminton Horse Trials riders and horses who are in contention for the trophy this week and fans will eagerly await their performances as they take to the big stage.

Check out the info below to make sure you are fully in the know about the top pairs to watch.

Badminton Horse Trials riders and horses: the top 11 contenders

List in number order, with info presented as follows:

Number. Rider name

Rider age, nationality

Badminton final scores

Horse name, horse age, horse colour, horse gender, horse sire x horse damsire, horse owner(s)

Form assessment

4. Harry Meade

40, GBR

Cavalier Crystal, 14 b m, Jack Of Diamonds x Cavalier Royale, Charlotte Opperman

This mare finished third on her five-star debut at Burghley Horse Trials, having been fourth, 12th and fifth at her CCI4*-Ls. She won’t be in the top echelons after dressage – and that phase is typically more important here than at Burghley, so probably not the winner – but can certainly be competitive. Harry is a local rider and his best result here is third in 2014 on Wild Lone.

7. Boyd Martin

44, USA

Tsetserleg TSF, 17 bl g, Windfall 2 x Buddenbrock, Christine, Thomas IV and Tommie Turner

Boyd has completed every five-star in the world except Badminton, where he has started but fell, so let’s hope he can round off the set. Tsetserleg added ninth at Burghley last year to his other career highs – second and fourth at Kentucky Three-Day Event and world team silver and Pan Am double gold. Could win on his best form, but probably a little past his best.

21. David Doel

31, GBR

Galileo Nieuwmoed, 13 db g, Carambole x Harcos, rider, Mary Fox & Gillian Jonas

These two have become a standing dish at the top of five-star leaderboards – sixth here in 2022, fourth at Pau Horse Trials that autumn, eighth at Kentucky and second at Burghley last year. They will need to pull off a better first phase than before to win, but are odds-on for a dressage-score finish, which makes them ones to keep an eye on. David lives in Wiltshire.

34. William Fox-Pitt

55, GBR

Grafennacht, 12 b m, Birkhof’s Grafenstolz x Narew, Amanda Gould

This pair landed second at Maryland 5 Star last autumn, so could go better than their 14th here in 2023 this time. It seems unlikely Dorset-based William will win a third Badminton at this stage, but it certainly isn’t impossible. Grafennacht’s dam, Nachtigall, was a prolific national winner up to intermediate with Susan Eggleton, who then bred Grafennacht from her.

53. Ros Canter

38, GBR

Izilot DHI, 11 b g, Zavall VDL x Cavalier, rider & Alex Moody

Ros is the reigning Badminton champion with Lordships Graffalo, who keeps his powder dry for Paris this time. Izilot DHI’s three international wins on the bounce last autumn culminated in a victorious five-star debut at Pau. He’s sharp, so his record isn’t impeccable, and fairly inexperienced, but super-talented. They start among the favourites.

62. Emily King

28, GBR

Valmy Biats, 15 b g, Orlando x Hadj A, Philippe Brivois, rider’s father David & Valmy Biats Syndicate

Flintshire-based Emily is four times a starter here, but yet to be a completer – and potentially very competitive. She and Valmy were eighth at Pau 2022 and built experience last year – nothing quite came together, but they completed their first Luhmühlen Horse Trials and Burghley. Scored a second Thoresby win in April. Emily’s mother is two-time Badminton winner Mary.

64. Tim Price

45, NZL

Vitali, 14 b g, Contender x Heraldik xx, Alexander & Joseph Giannamore & rider

Over the past two years Vitali has been third and fourth at Burghley, 10th at Luhmühlen and seventh here. He broke the dressage record at Burghley 2023 with an 18.7, but has had three down showjumping on all those runs – could be a multiple five-star winner if Tim can crack that phase. Tim’s best Badminton result is third in 2017 on Xavier Faer.

70. Gemma Stevens

39, GBR

Chilli Knight, 14 ch g, Chilli Morning x Rock King, Christopher Stone

Gemma and Chilli Knight – by Badminton winner Chilli Morning and out of Kings Gem, who competed at five-star under Gemma – won the one-off Bicton five-star in 2021. He hasn’t done a lot since, so this is an exciting comeback. Likely to be off the pace after dressage, but can climb. West Sussex-based Gemma’s best result here is third on Arctic Soul in 2016.

73. Laura Collett

34, GBR

Hester, 13 gr m, Heinrich Heine x Blue Henry, Lucy Nelson

Laura is a former Badminton winner, with London 52 in 2022. Lucy Nelson’s home-bred mare has bounced around a few riders and joined Laura in 2021. They were 14th at Blenheim last year, Hester’s only CCI4*-L, and recently seventh in a very hot CCI4*-S at Thoresby, so should be well set up for a decent shot at the horse’s first five-star.

80. Tom Jackson

31, GBR

Capels Hollow Drift, 13 gr g, Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan x Lucky Gift, Patricia Davenport, Milly Simmie & Sarah Webb

After 16th here and second at Burghley in 2022, plus fifth here last year, this pair’s bubble cracked a little when they had 20 jumping penalties at the Europeans on their senior squad debut. If they can put that behind them and regain their former form – including the best-ever dressage they showed in Haras du Pin – they are serious contenders.

81. Pippa Funnell

55, GBR

MCS Maverick, 11 b g, Mill Law x unlisted, Nick & Sarah Ross

This horse joined Pippa last year, having been ridden by Helen Wilson, and won Bramham CCI4*-L, before making an under-the-radar five-star debut at Pau, where he was 11th with 20 jumping penalties across country. He’s inexperienced so it’s likely Pippa won’t push him to the max, especially if conditions aren’t perfect, but potentially very exciting.

For similar details on all the Badminton Horse Trials riders and horses, plus score sheets to fill in as the week progresses, buy this week’s magazine, out Thursday 9 May or pick up a free copy from the organisers’s office or the Badminton Cafe by the scoreboards at Badminton, while stocks last.

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

If you are interested in watching the live action of all the Badminton Horse Trials riders 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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You may also be interested in…

Oliver Townend’s Grand Slam bid is over as he withdraws from Badminton

Laura Collett withdraws one of her two Badminton rides

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

The Queen to visit Badminton Horse Trials in special anniversary year

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

Multi-medal winning event rider William Fox-Pitt shares his expertise, giving insights into his training methods, as well as offering advice to help you secure those vital extra marks in competition.

1. Ask someone to video your dressage test and watch it back while it is still fresh in your mind. Visual aids are very helpful and watching your test back allows you to see what the judge saw. Think about what mark you would have given yourself for each movement and where you could gain extra marks.

2. You will never ride a fault-free dressage test, no one does, so don’t panic if you make a mistake.

3. Don’t give the judge a mark. Make sure you do a square halt, your circles are round rather than square and you ride straight down the centre line.

4. When you are coming down the centre line ride straight, look the judge directly in the eyes and dare them to give you less than an eight!

5. Think of each movement in a dressage test as a sentence — liken it to capital letter, sentence, full stop.

6. When doing extended walk, make sure your horse’s poll is lower than his wither, he is on the bit but his nose is slightly forward and you ride him forward and into the rein.

7. Don’t always ride with spurs and/or a whip. Vary it so your horse doesn’t become used to it.

8. A good exercise to do in trot is to change your diagonal every other stride, rising in between. This helps you to soften and give and will improve your sitting trot. By rising you are also encouraging your horse to go forward.

9. Always start small when you are jumping, even with experienced horses. Horses and riders can lose confidence quickly and it will play on their mind if things go wrong so start out easy and build up to jumping bigger, wider or skinnier.

10. Practise jumping out of trot. It helps to improve reactions in both horse and rider and makes the horse decide for himself where he is taking off. Cross-country schooling in trot is useful too.

11. When educating a horse, jump lots of weird and wonderful obstacles on different angles. The jumps don’t have to be big but exposing the horse to a variety of fences is an important training aid.

12. As a rider make sure you are fit enough for the job. Fitness is very important and being tired is no excuse, if your horse is tired you need to be fit enough to deal with it.

You may also be interested in…

William Fox-Pitt: 17 pearls of jumping wisdom

The prolific event rider shares his advice and knowledge when it comes to jumping

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William Fox-Pitt’s five-star winner Seacookie TSF has been put to sleep aged 25 after a stellar career – and almost 10 years of happy retirement.

The Trakehner gelding, who won Pau and Blenheim, and came second at Burghley and Kentucky, retired at the end of the 2014 season, and enjoyed the rest of his days with owner Catherine Witt.

“It’s so sad to see him go – but what memories he left us with,” Catherine told H&H.

Cookie had been produced by German Olympic rider Ingrid Klimke and William had seen and admired him at Boekelo, when Catherine was looking to buy a horse for William to ride.

“That’s how it started,” William told H&H.

“He was a real athlete, who looked like he found eventing so easy, so light and extravagant. It was like riding an elastic band. He had his little quirks; he was quite spooky and had his own little opinions – but very nice ones; he didn’t have a nasty bone in his body. And he gave me some amazing rides at five-star level.”

William and Cookie competed at Badminton in 2010 but did not complete because the horse tied up. But they came second at Burghley that year, won Blenheim in 2012 and came second at Kentucky in 2013, the year they also won Pau.

“Second at Burghley was very sweet, but with a little edge as we came so close, and he was amazing,” said William. “He was such a fighter; he’d never give up. He maybe wasn’t the best galloper and didn’t have the best stamina, but he was up for everything.

“And to have been so close so many times, to finally win Pau; it was a huge relief as he really deserved it.”

William paid tribute to Ingrid’s production, adding: “I think I never quite got the best out of him on the flat; with her he must have been quite a few percent better but he still got pretty good marks with me, so goodness knows what he’d have done with her!

“He was very special and I’m very lucky Catherine bought him for me. We had good fun, then he lived in luxury with her, Parklane Hawk and Bay My Hero, three five-star winners all out together.”

Catherine explained that Cookie was her first horse with William, so he started the partnership Parklane Hawk and Bay My Hero later joined.

“Cookie never gave me a day’s anxiety,” she said. “I’m one of the most nervous owners ever; I don’t really enjoy it till the Wednesday after the event! But I didn’t have a concern with him; I believed in William. He was a perfect horse

“He knew his job, never got overexcited, he just did everything, and we were very lucky. Then he retired sound, and I had him for nearly 10 years more.”

Catherine said Cookie was a very gentle horse to have around, with a cheeky side.

“The others probably got all the blame for anything that happened because it couldn’t have been him!

“He didn’t look like an event horse; he was too pretty, but he kept up with all the others, and when he came second at Burghley and Kentucky, we knew at some point he was going to have a win. William had three horses at Pau that year but it was Cookie who won, and it was brilliant.

“He was beautiful. I feel very blessed to have had such good horses, and blessed to have had him so long.”

You might also be interested in:

Happy Birthday, William Fox-Pitt! Here’s some of his career highlights to celebrate…

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Take a look back in pictures at some of the horses that have helped shape William's career

Previous winners of Pau Horse Trials: Olympic medallists, the sire of a five-star horse and a French female first

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

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

A mix of youth and experience led to two British podium finishes in the Mars Maryland 5 Star results today.

William Fox-Pitt claimed second on Grafennacht. At 54, William was the second oldest jockey in the competition – topped only by 60-year-old Phillip Dutton – and has the most five-star wins of any event rider, at 14.

This result, on Amanda Gould’s 11-year-old mare, marks the Dorset-based competitor’s first podium finish at five-star since his second Badminton Horse Trials win in 2015.

That autumn he suffered a serious head injury in a fall at Le Lion d’Angers. He returned to fitness to ride Chilli Morning at the Rio Olympics the following year, but has never quite recaptured the form and formidable string of five-star horses he had in his glory years.

Grafennacht is currently William’s only top-level campaigner, following the death of Oratorio in March and with Little Fire out of action this year, and he has made no secret of the fact it is talented horses like her and competing at five-star which keep him in the game. The pair put in a super performance this week, with a competitive 26.1 dressage score, one of the fastest cross-country rounds and just one showjump down.

“She’s a great horse, she loves the sport, she finds it quite easy, she always says yes, she always has a go – I think anyone could ride her. I’m the lucky one to have her and she keeps me going,” said William.

Asked about his future in the sport, William said: “I’m coming to my senses quietly. I’ve not got many horses now – she’s my only five-star horse and then I’ve just got two six six-year-olds so there is more time in my life now, which is quite nice, but I’ve got to decide could she give me a bit more fun and do I do her well enough?

“I think as an older rider you’re worried about looking like an idiot. Normally you’re out there on cross-country doing your best and you attack, nowadays I’m thinking, ‘I hope I don’t look like an old man today’ because everyone will think, ‘Oh for God’s sake just give up.’ It’s getting close, but she’s keeping me in the game, she’s a lot of fun.

“Yesterday morning I was thinking, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ but by yesterday evening I was thinking, ‘That’s what I’m doing.’ As we all know eventing is a drug and it’s a good one. I’m enjoying her and goodness knows, I probably need to come to my senses but I’m not sure I’d enjoy watching anyone else ride her yet.”

Oliver Townend claimed third in the Maryland 5 Star results on Paul Ridgeon’s Cooley Rosalent. She was the youngest horse in the competition, just nine years old, and this was already her second five-star.

Luhmuhlen Horse Trials in June was very much an experience building competition for her, with 20 jumping penalties across country and an uncompetitive dressage score of 37.4.

Here, she improved on that first-phase mark by 14.3 penalties and was fast across country (and Oliver said could have been faster). She had two down on the final day but hopefully that will improve with practice and strength – she already looks considerably stronger than last year.

“I felt she really came up a level at Blenheim where she won the eight- and nine-year-olds and I think she’s learnt an incredible amount this week,” said Oliver.

“I honestly don’t believe she came out of fourth gear yesterday in the cros-country. She’s fresh, she’s a little bit mad fresh actually, she’s very happy with herself. H0pefully she’ll learn from the experience and we’ll see an even higher level of performance next time.”

Oliver has not been short of a ride at the top level for a long time, but it has not been clear who his next team horse might be, with Tokyo hero Ballaghmor Class now in the twilight of his career. The answer could be another grey, a plucky mare who showed her mettle in Maryland this week.

You might also be interested in:

‘The result of a lifetime’s work’: an emotional Maryland 5 Star win amid leaderboard shake up

Two riders leave competition at Maryland 5 Star final trot-up, including one Brit

Brit on young superstar leads after Maryland 5 Star cross-country: ‘She’s a privilege to ride’

A five-star debut, a horse produced by a Brit and a married couple competing side by side

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

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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

Austin O’Connor claimed his first five-star title when he topped the Mars Maryland 5 Star results today, calling the victory the “end result of a lifetime’s work”.

The 48-year-old Irish rider went into the arena in fourth place overnight and showjumped clear on his own and The Salty Syndicate’s Colorado Blue, despite one wild moment when the grey took off well away from the USEA oxer at fence seven. When the three ahead of him all had at least one fence down, he claimed Ireland’s first five-star title since Major Eddie Boylan and Durlas Eile took Badminton Horse Trials in 1965, 58 years ago.

“People like me – we’re not supposed to win five-stars, but it’s just happened, I think,” said an emotional Austin. “It’s the end result of a lifetime’s work really. Ultimately it’s all about the horse – he’s unbelievable, he’s been a champion for years and privately I was prepared to give him to somebody better because thought he deserved to win a five-star and I didn’t think I could win one with him, but here we are.”

Austin and the 14-year-old “Salty” have always excelled in the jumping phases since the horse moved up to five-star. They finished third in the tough conditions at Badminton this spring, with the fastest cross-country time of the day. After pulling up following an early run-out at Burghley Horse Trials in September, Austin decided to take the leap of faith and fly the horse out to the US for Maryland.

“It was actually Maryland committee member Tim Gardner – when I was having a bit of a down moment at Burghley, he put his arm round me and said, ‘You’ve got to bring Salty to Maryland’, because Pau would have been the obvious choice. He was the man that convinced us we should come here, I believed him and I’m delighted I did.”

Talking about his showjumping round today on Colorado Blue, Austin said: “I wouldn’t have come to Maryland if didn’t feel there was a strong possibility of him jumping a clear round, but the last couple of three-days he’s done, he’s ended up with a couple of cheap rails. It happens, but there was nothing really obvious and today I made a horrendous mistake and he got me out of jail.”

Austin has been involved with the horse from before he was conceived – he is by Jaguar Mail out of a mare by Rock King.

“I owned his dam and a great supporter of mine [Kate Jarvey] bought her from me. We had a breeding programme together and 20 years later here we are,” he said.

“He always looked a good horse but I guess a bit like myself, with age he’s got better – or luckier, whichever way you want to put it. He’s 85% thoroughbred, he’s all blood, he’s all class, he’s all heart, and he’ll try and try and try to the bitter end. From day one he looked a proper, proper horse.”

Maryland 5 Star results: two Brits on podium

Brits filled the other two places on the podium in the Maryland 5 Star results.

William Fox-Pitt held onto second with Amanda Gould’s Grafennacht, who just had the back rail off the oxer jumping into the Mars treble combination at fence nine.

He said: “She was great today –she can knock a jump or two or jump a clear. She’s not a showjumper although she’s by Grafenstolz – she’s not Lordships Graffalo, though we’re living and aiming for that. She can be a little bit economical and today she really could have jumped a clear round but she didn’t.

“I’m still delighted with one down – she’s the sort of horse she might lose an event with one down, could win one with a clear. There is a clear round in there, she’s great to work with and we can go on working. I’m glad I did have one down for Austin, we’re thrilled for him.”

Overnight leader Oliver Townend finished third with Paul Ridgeon’s nine-year-old Cooley Rosalent. He started out his round with a fence in hand and used up his life at 9c, but it was all over when the Buckeye green upright at fence 10 also came down.

“She was giving me an amazing feeling today,” said Oliver. “It was a baby mistake coming out of the combination – I felt everything was right going in. Then I felt it was me getting a bit too desperate at the next one, so perhaps she had one down and I had one down.

“For the future I’m not concerned about the showjumping phase – I thought she jumped a beautiful round and we had two mistakes. I can’t tell you how happy I am at the same time – I nearly cried for Austin. Austin is a good man and has been a good friend to me in fairly tough times the last few years.”

Austin’s round was the only clear inside the time today. Hannah Sue Hollberg just had 0.4 of a time-penalty on Capitol HIM to finish best of the home side in fourth, while her compatriot Mia Farley had eight faults to drop from third to fifth – still a very creditable first five-star result.

New Zealand’s Caroline Powell jumped clear with 0.8 of a time-penalty on Greenacres Special Cavalier to claim sixth.

You might also be interested in:

Youth and experience blend as British riders claim two podium places at Maryland 5 Star

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

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

Oliver Townend holds the lead after today’s Mars Maryland 5 Star cross-country.

The British world number one came home with six time-faults after a great round on Paul Ridgeon’s Cooley Rosalent, who is just nine years old – young for horse to be competing at five-star, let alone leading going into the final phase.

The pair were notably smooth through the Kelso Question in the main arena (fence 5abc) and only really had one risky moment, when the mare took off with all four feet simultaneously at the drop at the Fair Hill International Rollercoaster & Drop (fence 25abcd).

“She’s so honest and loves her job – as long as I get her nearly in front of the fences she looks for the flags and jumps them really well,” said Oliver. “She’s been very keen all day and she’s a privilege to ride.

“It’s huge thanks to Paul and Diana Ridgeon – they’ve been so good to myself and Andrew Nicholson, supporting us in the sport, and for them to get a superstar like this later on in life, after owning horses for so many years, is very special for the whole team.”

Oliver’s time-penalties mean he maintains his dressage lead but doesn’t have a fence in hand over the chasing pack going into tomorrow’s showjumping.

William Fox-Pitt and Amanda Gould’s Grafennacht got a little close to the final element of the main arena combination, the Kelso Question (fence 5abc), but aside from that it was an assured performance.

The pair had to cope with a hold on course and William then decided to go the long way coming out of the Mars Equestrian Crab Water (fence 21abc), although he did it more quickly than most as he took a short cut by hopping over an extra obstacle. They came home with 5.2 time-faults and have moved up to second overnight, having been third after dressage.

“I thought if I had a run-out at that water everyone would say, ‘Why didn’t you go the long way?’ but I would have been tempted to go straight there,” said William, adding that the mare was “easy but it was a bit of a weird round” because of his hold.

Piggy March’s 13.2 time-faults on Brookfield Cavalier Cruise drop her from second to fifth overnight, just behind Austin O’Connor (Colorado Blue) in fourth. Austin’s round, for 2.4 time-faults, was the second fastest of the day.

Ian Stark’s Maryland 5 Star cross-country course was criticised by some last year because the time proved easy to get, but he had upped the challenge to prevent that this year, with just the one fault-free performance. US five-star first-timer Mia Farley put in the only clear inside the time on David O’Connor’s Phelps to move up from 10th after dressage to third.

“Phelps has proven us all that he’s the world – he’s just a special horse,” said an emotional Mia. “It was fun.”

US rider Hannah Sue Hollberg is the second best of the home side, holding sixth with Capitol HIM, having finished with 7.2 time-faults.

New Zealand’s Caroline Powell, sixth after dressage on Greenacres Special Cavalier, was another held on course and she finished with 12.8 time-faults to slip one spot to seventh. The mare did take a look at the big drop down at the Fair Hill International Rollercoaster & Drop, but she was not penalised.

Boyd Martin held fifth after dressage on Contessa, but he fell off on the landing side of the oxer out of the first water combination at fence 3ab, the Maryland Sports Commission Splash.

You might also be interested in:

Irishman leads after early stages of Maryland 5 Star cross-country plus one fall

British one-two-three at conclusion of Maryland 5 Star dressage

How to watch Maryland 5 Star live from anywhere in the world

A five-star debut, a horse produced by a Brit and a married couple competing side by side

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

William Fox-Pitt has slotted into second place at the break during the second day of Mars Maryland 5 Star dressage.

William showed off Amanda Gould’s Grafennacht even going around the white boards before his test, pushing her into a lovely trot extension. The inexperienced 11-year-old mare wanted to look around in the first halt but the rider quickly corrected her.

She resisted slightly in the rein-back and the flying changes were less expressive and precise than some, but her consistent work was well rewarded with a score of 26.1. This puts William and Grafennacht second at this stage behind the overnight leaders, fellow Brit Piggy March and Brookfield Cavalier Cruise.

“I am very pleased with ‘Lillie’ today – she did a very good test, and was very composed,” said William. “She was quite excited and quite forward going, so did well to contain herself. There were a couple of things obviously which could have been better, as always, but she is up there and she has got every chance.”

Grafennacht is by Grafenstolz and out of Nachtigall, who was a prolific winner at British Eventing national level for Susan Eggleton, who then bred Grafennacht from her.

Willliam is one of the most experienced riders here, with a record 14 five-star titles to his name. But a five-star debutant has impressed today too – the home side’s Jacob Fletcher, 29, was the first rider into the arena and scored 29.3 to hold fifth at this stage. Riding the attractive light bay Fabian, Jacob rode a confident consistent test, marred only by slightly sub-par first and third flying changes.

“My five-star debut has been a long time coming – I’ve had several horses get qualified and it just hasn’t worked out, so it’s really exciting to get here,” said Jacob.

“It’s the first show I’ve not cared how the dressage went after walking the cross-country. Maybe that was a good thing, I was less nervous. He was really good and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

The second in was New Zealand’s Caroline Powell, who piloted Chris Mann’s neat, compact mare Greenacres Special Cavalier to a mark of 29. They fumbled their transition up to canter and the mare did not show much of the required stretch on the canter circle, but overall this was a strong performance from a young horse and Caroline currently sits fourth.

“I’m really pleased with her – there’s a bit of atmosphere and she got a wee bit tight, but she kept her cool and did all the movements. She’s only 10 and she can only improve on that,” said Caroline.

Oliver Townend will be the third and final Brit to perform in the Maryland 5 Star dressage when he takes to the arena at 3.27pm local time (8.27pm British time) riding Cooley Rosalent.

You might also be interested in:

A five-star debut, a horse produced by a Brit and a married couple competing side by side

Elegant thoroughbred takes early Maryland 5 Star lead, plus a frustrating error of course

Brit grabs clear lead on first day of Maryland 5 Star: ‘There’s so much more to come with him’

How to watch Maryland 5 Star live from anywhere in the world

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 wonderful National Hunt mare Snow Leopardess has been retired from racing.

The 11-year-old grey, who was trained by Charlie Longsdon throughout her career, clocking almost £250,000 in the process, will go to stud.

“She’s retired now, she’s back home and she just didn’t owe us anything,” Charlie said to Racing TV. “She had a few soundness issues at the end but she’s just been the most amazing servant.”

Snow Leopardess is owned by the Fox-Pitt family and is a fifth-generation home-bred, having been bred by William Fox-Pitt’s mother, Marietta Fox-Pitt.

“She’s with Mrs Fox-Pitt, Alice Fox-Pitt’s mother-in-law, and she’ll go to stud in the spring,” said Charlie. “All good things have to come to an end. They were amazing days, a lot of fun.”

Snow Leopardess’ career highlights include winning the 2021 Becher Chase at Aintree, becoming the first mare to do so after a great round of jumping, and the Virgin Bet Mares’ Chase, which is a listed contest, at Exeter in 2022. Her last run came in the Glenfarclas Chase at Cheltenham Festival this March, when finishing sixth. She won nine times throughout her career, including in bumpers, over hurdles and fences.

It won’t be the first time Snow Leopardess has been put into foal, as she already has progeny in the form of Red Panda, after being sent to stud while recovering from a previous injury. Red Panda is also in training with Charlie and it is planned she will make her racecourse debut in the next few weeks, according to the trainer.

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In our third episode of an exclusive new online series, Horse & Hound catches up with legendary event rider William Fox-Pitt to learn more about his current and upcoming rides, life away from the horses, and whether he feels under pressure to bring his incredible competition career to an end…

What’s special about William’s current top horse Grafennacht?

Grafennacht is the first mare I’ve ever ridden around Badminton Horse Trials, which seeing as I’ve done 25 is a big statistic. I’ve never even had another mare entered and that’s not because I don’t like mares, I’ve just never had one. She’s a lovely, talented horse.

She’s sadly missed Burghley this year because she did two months of embryo transfers after Badminton and missed too much work. She didn’t produce a foal either so it was all a bit sad. But she’s a very talented horse, very able and went well at Badminton, which was her first five-star.

I’m going to take her to Maryland five-star in America in October. She’s 11 and missed a year last year so is probably still a little bit green for her age. We now need to work on her strength and jumping on the last day.

Which up-and-coming horses is William Fox-Pitt most excited about right now?

I’ve got Duke Legacy, who is a big, gangly teenager and coming on. And I’ve got a great six-year-old called Absolutely, who is very flashy and smart. He won his last three novices. I’m also riding the former racehorse Santini, who was placed in the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He is 11 and got his first double clear round a novice last week – we are very excited about that.

There is another thing I’m doing; my mother Marietta gave her granddaughter (the eldest of my two daughters) a foal, the way grandmothers do. The foal (Cusco) is now six and I’m now producing him for my 10-year-old, Chloe. Lucky daddy is bringing on the six-year-old so when the horse is 12, Chloe will be 16 and I’m dreaming they will be in juniors. That’s the plan, because I certainly won’t be buying her juniors horses. Granny’s home-bred is what the future is about.

They say you never stop learning in horse sport – what’s the last thing William learned?

That’s true! You’re always learning, even at 54. I do more and more teaching now, so I’m learning from my pupils. I wish I’d done more teaching earlier in my career because I’d have learnt more as I would have had to have it all in my head.

I think the whole attention to detail is so important. I was always probably a little bit quick to move on to the next thing. Now, I think getting the basics right is vital, not just good enough. Before, I’ve been happy with good enough and move on – but now the sport is different. Good enough is absolutely not good enough. You’ve got to be the best. Keeping it simple is useful too.

What is William Fox-Pitt’s go-to training mantra right now?

I do a lot of jumping and controlling. Often when people jump, they lose control, and they jump too big because people always want to jump big – but that’s no good if you haven’t got any control.

I start with jumps on the small side and work on straightness, balance, rhythm, tempo and all those boring details, because then it becomes a habit. Then, when the jumps get bigger, you don’t suddenly start to gallop and cut the corners.

What keeps William occupied outside the horses?

I love my poultry. The chickens keep me very busy; we regularly have a fox. We always focus on the next lot of chickens. I love my mix and match bantams. Otherwise, I’ve been focused and single-minded about horses for a long time. I enjoy a bit of hunting and racing – I’d like to get a bit better at skiing, a bit better at tennis and I’d like to learn how to get more excited about fishing.

Outside eventing, what is William Fox-Pitt most looking forward to?

We are going on a family riding safari in Kenya. I’ve joked to my kids they all have to learn to ride well enough so that they can do a riding safari. This is it – the last family holiday with all six of us because Ollie has now left school, Tom is doing his A levels and they certainly won’t be coming on riding safaris anymore. I’ll definitely miss them when they’re gone. They’ll leave a very large hole and we’ll have to fill it up with more gardening and poultry.

What’s new at William Fox-Pitt’s yard?

I’ve just had a mare produce a new foal by Diarado. I used him because I love the horse JL Dublin, who is by Diarado. Although Dublin didn’t have a great European Championships with Tom McEwen, in my eyes he is the perfect event horse. The foal’s dam is a thoroughbred called Tambourine Mix that Nicky and Josh Hamley gave me for my 50th. She’s produced some lovely foals so far, but I was keen to send her to a stallion who can jump. We’ve been calling the foal Thor.

All riders get to an age when they face pressure to retire – does William feel that?

Yeah, I totally have pressure to retire – I totally should retire. I’m 54 and far too old to be eventing really. I’m not Mark Todd – it’s time I grew out of eventing, but I haven’t been able to yet. There will be a time, and I don’t think before too long, when I will retire but I’m not there yet. I haven’t lost my nerve and I’ve got a lovely horse I want to ride a bit longer. I haven’t got many at the top level – Little Fire is injured; Oratorio II had his heart attack and it’s looking as though if anything went wrong with Grafennacht, I wouldn’t have anything else anyway. It’s all heading that way.

Riding at Badminton this year was amazing, I was pleased to jump all the jumps and finish well, not good enough, but well. When you’re my age you might be quite happy with finishing 14th or 15th at Badminton – my goalposts have moved slightly.

I have been very lucky that I have won enough stuff that I absolutely do not feel like I need to win anything else. I would like to, but I certainly don’t need to. I’ve been in 19 British teams, but of course I would like to be in 20. I’ve won 14 five-stars, of course I’d love to win 15. There are all those little dreams, but they’re not realistic and I’m very relaxed about that. It’s no longer about winning.

Peter Charles once told me: “You know what you have to remember mate – you’re a long time retired.” That is always in my mind, and it makes me smile. But there won’t be many more events – I promise.

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Read more about William Fox-Pitt…

‘It’s in my veins’: William Fox-Pitt gives cross-country masterclass on Badminton debutante

‘His last outing was the Grand National’: William Fox-Pitt’s high hopes for new ride

William Fox-Pitt on his first Burghley title: ‘You think how did that happen?’

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William Fox-Pitt demonstrated quite why he is a master cross-country rider, getting a beautiful tune out of five-star debutante Grafennacht at Badminton Horse Trials, presented by Mars Equestrian.

Amanda Gould’s 11-year-old mare looked a touch green in the first third of this influential course, and William had to sit tight as she fumbled her way through the Holland Cooper Owl Hole. William elected to take the slower route to the right into The Lake – having been critical of the direct route beforehand.

But the horse grew in confidence as she went round, despite the energy-sapping ground, and finished with 35.2 time-faults, which kept him up near the top of the leaderboard. William revealed he had been thinking of withdrawing his young mare, but his son encouraged him to go for it.

“I was thinking, ‘Shall I pull out?’ – it’s very muddy today – but my son said, ‘Come on, you’ve been round here 25 times, what else are you doing today?’,” said William. “And it gives you a real kick. Without it you’d really miss it. Sometimes I think I’ve done it so many times, but it’s like a drug, it’s in your veins.

Badminton final scores

“She’s a slightly green horse and this was turning into quite a decent track in the mud, but I did believe in her and I am glad I did. This is a feather in her cap and I can build on it.”

William was particularly impressed with the mare’s recovery after her stumble at fence 12.

“That’s her quality – she doesn’t care if her legs aren’t in quite the right place, it’s the way she is,” he said. “She’s not a superstar amazing jumper, a powerful galloper or a really impressive horse but she’s a bloody good trier and I love riding her. That’s why I’m still going!”

Although William was optimistic about Grafennacht’s ability to jump the fences, the mud was an unknown factor.

“You had to react and see what you had, and it wasn’t all as I expected,” he said. “Everything was big, and jumping out of that mud – there wasn’t a single fence that wasn’t demanding. But you never know if your horse will handle it – she’s never been able to see her footprint before.”

Amateur rider enjoys ‘the time of my life’

New Zealand rider Lauren Innes had been looking forward to an influential cross-country track after lying second-last after dressage. Global Fision M gave the early fences plenty of air, and came home after a foot-perfect clear round for 40.8 time-faults.

“He is a warrior, it doesn’t matter where we are, he sees those flags and he is getting over that fence,” said Lauren. “I had the time of my life!

“I was nervous he would tire, so I didn’t go so fast and I knew I was down on my minute markers, but he just galloped home so strongly. I could have used him a bit more out there – he could have gone round again. I knew he would go on the ground, but until they’ve done it at the five-star level you don’t know. He jumps so high, he jumped right to the bottom of the [Holland Cooper] Owl Hole bank, it just doesn’t bother him.”

Badminton first-timer Kristina Hall-Jackson had an early run-out on CMS Google at the final angled element at the Lightsource BP Hollow, and also glided past the brush corner in The Lake. But the mare was still going well, and they galloped through the finish to complete.

Tom Crisp was in middle of a super round on the diminutive mare Liberty And Glory, when she tipped him out of the plate with an awkward jump at the corner in The Lake. He so nearly clung on, then sportingly mimed a bit of front crawl, and graciously emerged from the water with his hands raised and bowed to the crowd.

Bill Levett was another to fall foul of the tricky brush and ditch at fence 26. Hubertus AC was by then looking fairly leg-weary so after one run-out here he retired.

Austin O’Connor had earlier catapulted to the top of the leaderboard on Colorado Blue thanks to his fast clear round. They were 34th after dressage, and still hold a commanding lead two-thirds of the way through the competition.

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

If you are interested in watching Badminton Horse Trials live from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. To sign up, visit watch.badminton-horse.tv – click the “Sign Up” link in the top right corner of your screen, then follow the instructions. An annual subscription to Badminton TV costs £19.99 and gives you 365 days of access to all of the content in the Badminton TV library, the ability to watch the action live, and the option to replay all of this year’s action later.

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Course-designer responds to William Fox-Pitt saying riders should boycott Badminton fence

‘He was unreal’: Tom McEwen keeps Badminton dream alive, but leading contender falls early on course

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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

Former Badminton winner William Fox-Pitt shared strong opinions on one fence on the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course, at the event presented by Mars Equestrian (4–8 May), and course-designer Eric Winter has responded, explaining he wants to prevent horse falls and mitigate risk.

William spoke out about fence 21c, which is a set of rails into the Badminton Lake. The rails are built with a frangible device, a MIMclip, so anyone triggering it incurs 11 penalties.

“Sadly, I think we should all boycott riding the direct rail into The Lake and jump the alternative rail in,” said William. “I think the direct rail is a horrendous fence for our sport. Why is that fence there? What’s the matter with a log with brush into The Lake? I think it’s very, very sad. And I think Eric has got that wrong for the sport.

“Yes, he wants penalties. Yes, he wants to add 11 penalties for some riders who hit the pin. Yes, he wants it to be a cross-country competition. But to me that fence will be 50/50 whether the pin goes and it won’t be based on how riders will ride it. Some will knock it and I would hope my horse would rub her back legs over it, dropping into water – that’s what good horses do.”

Badminton final scores

Eric responded to William’s comment by saying: “I think the fence will jump well. It’s only 97cm high and we’ve done everything that we possibly can to help them jump it, for example there’s a 90 degree turn before it, that will help set them up.

“This is where the sport is going. We are, as much as we possibly can, making the pictures of horses sprawling across the water at Badminton a thing of the past. The last time I had a log into that water, there were two horse falls at it.

“If we want to maintain this sport for the future, we have to put it in a context that is acceptable for a wider audience, not just people that think that eventing used to be one way and that’s how it should remain. There were a lot of things that were acceptable 20 years ago, that nowadays we feel are not acceptable anymore. It’s a risk sport but as much as we possibly can, we need to mitigate that risk.

“When there was a log into The Lake with two horse falls at it, that was a different time, but nowadays, I’m not comfortable with that, and if I can do something that prevents that, I will.”

Eric stated that William was correct in saying a lot will depend on how the fence is ridden.

“For sure William is right saying that – you cannot come round the corner and ignore that rail, float into it and drop your reins and fall all over the top of it, and because of that, people should ride it properly.”

William shared his plans for tackling this part of the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course after he had completed his dressage on Grafennacht, who is owned by Amanda Gould.

“To me, it’s a bad fence and I’m going the long way in. It will take longer, but that’s too bad. Going the alternative route also makes it a tricky line to the corner in The Lake, and the water is deep enough, and the corner is quite big, so I’m more nervous about that,” he explained.“But at least we will have already jumped the corner at the first part of The Lake before the rail in, so hopefully my mare will jump it well.”

Eric states that there is an alternative rail to jump in over, should riders not want to take the direct route on.

“The alternative will only take about two or three seconds longer, so it’s not significantly different – that is a choice for riders.”

Eric was also keen to point out that the frangible device on the rail into The Lake is a MIMclip.

“So it doesn’t work off vertical pressure – it works off horizontal pressure. So if horses drop their legs on top of it, it will not break or it should not break. If they stifle it, then it will break. But is it acceptable nowadays to see horses gaining stifle injuries from those type of fences in our sport? When we have a mechanism to mitigate the risk in this sport and to make the sport better?

“There are 14 deformable fences on this year’s Badminton track – it’s the most there has ever been on a five-star track. The scoreboard will look different tomorrow with less 20 penalties and more 11 penalties being awarded, but is that a bad thing?”

William was frank in his opinion about the fence on the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course.

“I’m sad about the direct rail into The Lake and I’m very surprised they [FEI officials] let it appear on the course, to be honest,” he said.

William was also strong in his views about protecting the future of eventing.

“I think if we all have enough balls as riders we should all boycott the direct route and go the long way. Otherwise, we all know our sport is changing. We all know it’s getting shorter and easier and some people want combinations to be penalised for knocking flags and if we don’t fight this, what is it next?

“Cross-country will be showjumping poles before we know it and I’ve always said cross-country will end up being solely in the arena. We have really got to try and preserve our sport and, although I’m being quite opinionated, as a group of riders we’ve really got to stand up and have a voice of unison – which generally we’re not good at.”

Eric Winter and Mike Etherington-Smith on the future of the sport

Eric said in response: “Actually, this is what the sport is going to be. And through Badminton, we have an ideal way of showing the public an acceptable vision of the sport. We’re working hard for this sport, we’re not burying our heads in the sand. That fence was not just chucked there – we’ve talked about it and talked about it. I’ve taken every piece of advice on it. But I wanted to use it.

“It would have been very easy to put a log in there, to have put a roll top in there, to have done something that was less contentious. But actually, we have a much safer way to include these types of fences now that looks after horses more, that looks after riders more and that’s what we’re about. Eventing is about looking after horses. It’s a testing sport.”

Eric said that the winner of Badminton has to be a “good cross-country rider” and that he set out to build an “old-fashioned track with modern technology” in 2023.

“By using modern technology, we don’t have to lower the standard and dumb it down. We can stay at that level of riding where the competitor that wins here will be a top class cross-country rider – they will be brave, the horses will be athletic, all of those qualities that we look for in good horses and good riders but within portraying that in a modern way.”

Mike Etherington-Smith, who is course advisor to Eric for the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course, also responded to riders’ statements about the rail into The Lake.

“I work with Eric and he was very keen to have a set of rails jumping into The Lake. We’ve gone through the logic and we have discussed it,” explained Mike. “It’s important to have a fence that’s not going to come down all the time – it’s not good for the sport – and so having had that discussion, we spent a lot of time looking through and addressing the height and so on.

“When you design at five-star level, it’s rare air and you don’t get everything right. Everybody is going to be wiser after tomorrow. I hope that if Eric is proved right, the people who have spoken out about it have the decency to come and shake his hand and say well done because I think that’s important.”

Mike continued by saying that as a course-designer, you have to “be brave sometimes”.

“A lot depends on the shape a rider’s horse makes, and if you’ve got a horse that’s likely to drag its back end through a fence, then you would be as well to take [the long route] – it’s only an extra couple of seconds. They have the luxury of choice and that’s entirely their prerogative.”

However, William praised Eric on the rest of the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country track he has designed in 2023.

“Eric has built a good course with lots of variety and I like the ups and downs and the bending lines that can be ridden on three, four or five strides – nothing is very black and white and it will test riders.”

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

If you are interested in watching Badminton Horse Trials live from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. To sign up, visit watch.badminton-horse.tv – click the “Sign Up” link in the top right corner of your screen, then follow the instructions. An annual subscription to Badminton TV costs £19.99 and gives you 365 days of access to all of the content in the Badminton TV library, the ability to watch the action live, and the option to replay all of this year’s action later.

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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 action has been paused on the second day of the Badminton Horse Trials dressage, at the event presented by Mars Equestrian, as attention turns to The King’s coronation.

At the break, Britain’s Kitty King remains in the lead with Vendredi Biats, just 0.9pen ahead of Oliver Townend and Swallow Springs. Gemma Stevens lies third with Jalapeno, followed by Tom McEwen and Toledo De Kerser in fourth and William Fox-Pitt moving into fifth aboard Grafennacht.

Amanda Gould’s 11-year-old mare Grafennacht is here with William competing at her first five-star, and William said he was “dead chuffed” with her performance here.

“She is quite good on the flat, and she has always had it in her to be good, but she’s inexperienced and she had last year pretty much off so she’s been a bit raw this year. To go in there and behave like that – good girl!”

Badminton final scores

Indeed “Lillie” appeared remarkably relaxed in the arena, moving softly and fluently through the test with her ears pricked, looking as though she was thoroughly enjoying herself. While not the most powerful, this sweet mare showed a really good lengthening of not just the stride but the whole frame in her medium and extended trots, and offered one of the better long-rein circles of the morning. She and William received 25.8 from the judges.

Selena Milnes put another sub-30 mark on the board with 29.7 on the Aquilino x Donnerschlag 14-year-old Iron, who is owned by Angela and William Rucker.

“I was really pleased with him as he was so much more rideable – he’s been really quite hot all week,” said Selena. “Now I know that I can have him like that in the arena, next time I can go for more.”

Like many riders, Selena praised the way in which the ground in the main arena is holding up, despite the rain having proved itself to be a permanent fixture of this second day of Badminton Horse Trials dressage.

“I thought it would be really churned up in there, but actually it wasn’t – it was really good,” said Selena.

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

If you are interested in watching Badminton Horse Trials live from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. To sign up, visit watch.badminton-horse.tv – click the “Sign Up” link in the top right corner of your screen, then follow the instructions. An annual subscription to Badminton TV costs £19.99 and gives you 365 days of access to all of the content in the Badminton TV library, the ability to watch the action live, and the option to replay all of this year’s action later.

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

Keep up to date with all of the breaking news, behind the scenes insight and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limit on how much you can read from as little as £1 per week with a Horse & Hound unlimited website subscription. Sign up now. Plus enjoy our full 22-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from Nick Burton and Mark Phillips, in Horse & Hound magazine (on sale 11 May).

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

Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI will be the first of Britain’s entries to start at this year’s US spring five-star, as the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event draw is revealed for the 27–30 April fixture.

Kirsty wears back number 18 and is followed two horses later by Tom McEwen with Nicola Wilson’s former ride JL Dublin. This section of the draw is flush with Team GB starters as Zara Tindall (Class Affair) appears another two numbers later, as number 22.

There are 45 horses currently in the line-up for Kentucky; it is likely Kirsty and Tom will do their dressage on the first day, with Zara on the cusp between a Thursday and Friday start time depending on final withdrawals.

World champion Yasmin Ingham starts as number 28 with Banzai Du Loir, so is likely to do her dressage on the second day, Friday.

The other Brits on the list are Leslie Law (Voltaire De Tre’, number 33) and David Doel (Galileo Nieuwmoed, number 41).

William Fox-Pitt is no longer on the Kentucky entries list with Grafennacht, having debated whether to run the mare at Kentucky or Badminton Horse Trials the following week, so it looks as though they will head to Badminton. This offers the opportunity for Grafennacht to have another warm-up run at Burnham Market before her five-star debut. Oliver Townend has also withdrawn his potential ride, Tregilder, from Kentucky.

Home-side rider Buck Davidson, who has three rides in the Kentucky Three-Day Event draw, will be the pathfinder with Erroll Govey, while Will Coleman – another US pilot with three entries – will be the last on course with Chin Tonic.

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Eight British names and three world champions appear among the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event entries for the CCI5* event which runs 26–30 April.

World champions Yasmin Ingham and Banzai Du Loir, who were second at the event last year, will return to the US venue next month. Banzai is now registered in the ownership of The Sue Davies Fund following the death of Sue, who owned him alongside her daughter Janette Chinn, in January.

Tom McEwen will make his first trip to the Kentucky Horse Park with the Lamberts’ and Deirdre Johnston’s JL Dublin, the horse who won the European Championships with Nicola Wilson in 2021. The Lamberts were long-standing owners with Nicola and have previously made the trip with horses they owned with her. Tom and JL Dublin were second at Boekelo CCI4*-L last autumn and this will be their first five-star as a combination.

Zara Tindall returns to Kentucky, the venue where she finished third in 2017 on High Kingdom, with Gleadhill House Stud’s Class Affair. This is not, though, Class Affair’s first US venture as he competed at Maryland 5-Star in 2021.

William Fox-Pitt, a three-time winner of Kentucky, holds an entry with Amanda Gould’s Grafennacht, a five-star first-timer who is also entered at Badminton the week after Kentucky.

Oliver Townend will bid for a fourth Kentucky win this year as he is on the list with Tregilder, owned by the Hazeldines and the Mitchell Fox Group.

David Doel is entered on Gillian Jonas’ Galileo Nieuwmoed, with whom he was sixth at Badminton Horse Trials last year. Gillian is 90 this year and she owned Apache Sauce, who was ninth at Kentucky in 2007 with Mary King. David told H&H she wants to go back to Kentucky while she is still in good health.

Kirsty Chabert is another potential British Kentucky debutante as she has last year’s Luhmühlen Horse Trials runner-up Classic VI, owned by Carole Somers, Kate Ward and Kirsty’s father John Johnston, on the list.

US-based British rider Leslie Law, the 2004 Olympic eventing champion, is slated to make his fourth Kentucky start on Tre’ Book’s Voltaire De Tre’, their best result being 10th in 2019.

Australia’s Olympic team silver medallists Kevin McNab and Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam, who belongs to Scuderia 1918 Capital SRL and Kevin’s wife Emma, are also set to make the trip across the Atlantic. They finished sixth at Kentucky last year.

Two German riders are also travelling from Europe. Alina Dibowski, daughter of Olympic team gold medallist Andreas, made her championship debut at the worlds last year on her Kentucky ride, Barbados 26, owned by her mother Susanna. The 2004 world champion, Sandra Auffarth, is set to pilot her world team gold medallist, Nikolaus Prinz von Croy’s Viamant Du Matz.

France also has one entry, in the form of Maxime Livio with S.C. Soixante Seize Et Compagnie, Gilles Saiagh and Celine Fronteau’s Carouzo Bois Marotin.

The other Kentucky Three-Day Event entries are all from US riders, with the exception of two Canadians, including the 19-year-old Jollybo, ridden by Hawley Bennett-Awad.

The home side challenge includes three rides apiece for Tamie Smith (including Alexandra and Ellen Ahearn and Eric Markell’s world team silver medallist Mai Baum and last year’s Maryland 5-Star runner-up Danito, owned by Ruth Bley), Liz Halliday-Sharp, Buck Davidson, Jennie Saville (née Brannigan) and Will Coleman.

Phillip Dutton, the most recent American winner of Kentucky, has just one ride in the mix, the syndicate-owned Z.

Boyd Martin, the most recent US winner of a five-star after his victory at Maryland in 2021, brings forward the Turners’ Tsetserleg TSF, a former Kentucky runner-up, and Club Contessa’s Contessa.

Lauren Nicholson has Jacqueline Mars’ Landmark’s Monte Carlo and Vermiculus in the line-up, although Vermiculus is also entered at Badminton the week after Kentucky, so may well not appear at the US spring five-star if he makes the trip to Britain.

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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

William Fox-Pitt’s five-star ride Oratorio died of a suspected heart attack at Lincolnshire Horse Trials yesterday (19 March).

“Oratorio got the day off to a brilliant start in the dressage with a score of 23, he felt so established and relaxed, even though it was an OI [open intermediate] I was quite excited,” said a post on William’s website. “He jumped a very respectable showjumping round with one pole down.

“The cross-country turned the day into a tragedy. He flew the first part of the cross-country course, feeling amazing and making it all seamless. But then the worst happened; we were galloping towards the last fence and he collapsed and died from a heart attack.

“There is no easy way of saying this but it was out of nowhere, he was one minute feeling fantastic and next minute gone, and I have to take consolation from the fact that he did not suffer, there was no indication that anything was untoward and we all have to believe that, with any animal there is always uncertainty.

“My devastation extends to the whole Oratorio team who have supported him for so long, and believed in him. We were all very excited about Badminton 2023, and he had really felt like an established mature five-star event horse.”

William added his thanks to the event organisers and his own team, saying: “The Lincoln team dealt with the nightmare brilliantly, they were very professional and efficient and I am very grateful for all their support. My team were brilliant too.”

Lincolnshire organiser Catherine Sykes sent her condolences to all of Oratorio’s connections.

A son of William’s 2011 Pau winner Oslo, 14-year-old Oratorio was bred by milliner Cozmo Jenks, a neighbour of the Fox-Pitts’ and part of the syndicate who owned Oslo. His dam was Cozmo’s home-bred Cinnamon Brulee, by Topanoora, who the Fox-Pitts trained as a point-to-pointer.

Oratorio was owned by a syndicate and started his competition career with Laura Collett before William started competing him in 2017.

He was second at Blenheim Horse Trials CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) in 2018 and finished 13th and 14th at Badminton Horse Trials in 2019 and 2022.

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Oslo, who won at four- and five-star with William Fox-Pitt, was put down on 11 October at the age of 20.

“He was a very accomplished all-round horse, who didn’t find anything difficult and you can’t say that about many horses,” William Fox-Pitt told Horse & Hound.

“He had the brain, he could move, jump and gallop. I got him with the London Olympics in mind and he just didn’t stay sound quite long enough, which was definitely a low for me because he would have gone there with quite a nice chance of being competitive. But for him, it wasn’t to be.”

Oslo was bred in France by Philippe Brivois, by the Sydney Olympic showjumping individual silver medallist Lando. William first saw him at Le Lion d’Angers as a four-year-old stallion, but thought he was a little small. He was still underwhelmed when owner Eric Attiger brought Oslo to Britain to a sale at Russ Hardy’s yard, but joked that if he didn’t sell, he’d be happy to take him as a gift.

Unsold, Oslo ended up in Dorset and after he’d spent a month in the yard, William advised the 10-strong Fox-Pitt Eventing Partnership – a syndicate which grew out of the larger Fox-Pitt Eventing Club – to buy him. He was one of the first horses to be owned by a syndicate of this sort and William said he learnt a lot about this set-up from having Oslo.

“We had a big team of owners sharing the fun and it was a great few years that was rather nice to share with a good group of people,” he said.

The horse was gelded at the end of his five-year-old year, with 60 straws of semen being taken, as William felt he had a better chance of being a top-class competition horse as a gelding. The breeding suffix “Biats” was removed from his name at the same time, but has since become better known in eventing through horses such as Kitty King’s European team gold medallist Vendredi Biats and Emily King’s five-star ride Valmy Biats.

Oslo was a prolific winner as a young horse, taking the six-year-old World Championship at Le Lion d’Angers in 2008, finishing second at Tattersalls CCI* (now CCI2*-L) and second in the seven-year-olds at Le Lion in 2009, and then second at Blair Castle CIC3* (now CCI4*-S) in 2010.

“He was an exceptional young horse – overall my horses mature generally a bit later, but I got Oslo at four and he was a very precocious, a very sorted young horse,” said William. “He found everything very easy very early. I was always surprised that he always seemed like he’d read the book, he always knew what to do and what was happening.”

The year 2011 was a bonza one for Oslo. He was third at Chatsworth CIC3* (now CCI4*-S), then won Tattersalls CCI3* (now CCI4*-L), the Blenheim eight- and nine-year-old CIC3* (now CCI4*-S) and Pau CCI4* (now CCI5*). His win at Tattersalls was part of a notable treble for William when he won three CCIs in the same day.

“It looked likely he’d be a London 2012 horse, but that year he went lame and very sadly it wasn’t to be. That was sort of the beginning of the end of his career annoyingly, as he’d won everything up to that level,” said William.

The horse did return to top level competition and completed Badminton in 2013, when William dropped a rein across country and Oslo had the only cross-country jumping fault of his international career.

Oslo’s breeding career was limited, but one of his offspring, Oratorio, is competing at five-star with William and the rider is also currently breaking in a three-year-old mare by him, out of a thoroughbred mare.

“She’s quite little, 15.3hh and very straightforward, so she’ll be a great junior or young rider horse for my daughter Chloe, who will be 15 when she’s 10,” said William.

Oslo retired in 2017 but returned to the fray with William’s goddaughter, Daisy Dollar, who enjoyed a number of placings at BE100 and novice with him in 2018 and 2019.

After that, he moved to the yard owned by Lucinda de Mauley and her husband Rupert and run by Spencer Sturmey and his partner Freddie Ellams, and enjoyed his retirement there.

“Eventually his feet got the better of him”, said Spencer. “After very careful management from us and farriers, the X-rays sadly didn’t lie. In the interest of his quality of life and wellbeing, it was decided that for him the best thing was to have him put to sleep.

“He spent his last two years with us hacking around the estate and villages, charming everyone he met. He was the Colin Firth of the equestrian world, a true gentleman through and through. He had his ‘side’ though, which ultimately made him the tough three-day event horse he was.

“It’s been a very tough time for everyone but his incredible memories will live on, plus there are his undoubtedly talented offspring. We will always remember his wonderfully kind temperament and the way he looked after and taught Freddie, who is a novice, so much.”

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Grand National runner Santini has started a new career in racing with multi-medallist William Fox-Pitt.

The 10-year-old’s last outing on the track was finishing a creditable fourth in the Grand National on 9 April this year and he has transitioned quickly into his new job, finishing 13th in a BE100 at Bovington with William on Saturday (15 October). William has high hopes for Santini, who is owned by Richard and Lizzie Kelvin-Hughes.

“Even though Santini is 10, he has got time to become a top horse, and he could be one by the time he is 14 or 15,” said William. “Look at this year’s Burghley winner – she is 17 years old. I’m really impressed by him and certainly, as he is still green in eventing, if I compare him to my young horses, he’s as nice as what I’ve got.”

During his career under Rules, Santini clocked £490,388 in prize money while trained by Nicky Henderson, for whom Santini finished second in the 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was latterly in the care of Polly Gundry, who trained him to finish second in the Grade Two Cotswold Chase in 2022 and then followed this up with fourth in the Grand National, both under jockey Nick Scholfield.

“It’s a novelty to have a celebrity on the yard – he has so many followers,” said William. “He’s very special.”

William explained that the Kelvin-Hughes decided Santini had given them plenty during his racing days and did not want to ask any more of him.

“His owners didn’t want to keep on asking him to keep racing, and Polly had always said to me that he is so naturally balanced and how well suited to eventing he could be, so they decided to give it a go and he has been with me since July.

“Since I’ve had him, he seems to be finding things quite easy and is getting on with it – he’s a good sport and quite the student.”

Santini got his new career off to a great start at Bovington, posting a very respectable dressage score of 26.8, despite having a few excitable moments in the warm-up.

“He heard the commentary and had a bronc and play around and so I had to sit tight,” said William. “But then I thought ‘Christ, this horse’s last outing was at the Grand National’, so for him to then tie up to the lorry throughout the day and relax into it was quite impressive.

“He’s very educated on the flat and his work in this phase is going to be good – his flatwork is definitely not going to be his limiting factor at the higher levels and he already has some lateral work and his flying changes sorted.”

William and Santini, who is 17hh, then had two fences down in the showjumping, but William explains that the course had some short distances, so at this stage of Santini’s training, it wasn’t a bad result.

“Showjumping is Japanese to him, but he’s got a conscience and learns from his mistakes,” said William. “His ability to shorten is lacking at the moment – he’s a big, loose horse, but he’s not clumsy and he could have had more down, so I was reassured by that. He will certainly jump clear rounds in the future, because he wants to.”

Santini followed up the first two phases with a clear cross-country jumping round, incurring just 1.2 time-faults for finishing three seconds over the optimum time.

“He was quite a tool to sit on across country,” said William. “I was going around for a nice, safe clear and he was only just over the time – usually when I ride a safe, steady clear round, I get 10 to 20 time-faults – but he was always saying ‘let’s go’ and he was loving it.

“It was a really fun day and he far exceeded my expectations as a first-timer.”

William hopes to get one more event in before the end of this season and then they can come out next year and start to progress up the levels.

“I’ll talk to his owners and Polly to make a proper plan, but all being well, he will progress quickly,” said William. “He is fun-loving and always on the go, now all he needs to do is take time to use more brain and less forwardness.”

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Tom Jackson rode an impressive round over the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course on Capels Hollow Drift to move up into fourth with only a dozen horses to run. They were lying in 13th but clocked a comparatively fast round for just 3.6 time-faults.

Tom was held on course after Sammi Birch and Finduss PFP had a fall at the Fairfax & Favor Boot Racks, fence 19. But it hardly broke their rhythm and they picked up their slick-jumping round where they left off.

“You lose your momentum, and it wasn’t the perfect fence to get back into a rhythm but he was a total professional, straight back on to the job,” said Burghley first-timer Tom.

“He went round Badminton really well in the spring and has come here and delivered even better so I couldn’t be happier. It’s quite hard work out there: the beginning of the course is gruelling, steady climbing all the way and then you get to the top and they get second wind, and he flew home.”

Bubby Upton, 23, set out on a mission after an almost-perfect round at Badminton was blighted by a run-out at the final fence. They were lying 11th after dressage on 28.3 and their good clear moves them up the order to fifth at this stage.

The pair set the tone of their Burghley round with a copybook ride through the influential Holland Cooper Leaf Pit. If Cola might have been thinking about running out at the corner, a big kick from Bubby committed him.

“The Leaf Pit was the most challenging fence, once I had that out of the way, I said, ‘Come on, it’s game on now’,” she said. “As it’s my Burghley debut, I had no idea how he would jump that. Every other fence you can prepare for, but you can’t for that.”

Her misfortune at Badminton must have been playing on her mind, as she rode every fence with utter determination to stop the clock with 10 time-faults. Bubby motivated herself for her today’s round by replaying her Badminton video.

“I took a while to analyse Badminton and tried to take away the positives,” she said. “I watched my round before I went today because 99% was pretty perfect, and not many can say that about their Badminton debut. He’s a class act, and he proved it again today.”

Burghley Horse Trials cross-country: the hard-luck stories

Ireland’s Susie Berry, riding Ringwood LB, a first-timer at CCI5*, was going really well when the horse came down on landing from an oxer at the Fairfax & Favor Boot Racks, a similar fall to Sammi’s. This is the highest point of the course, and although the horse had a good shot, he just clipped the front rail with his back legs and couldn’t quite get his landing gear in order. They had been lying 14th.

William Fox-Pitt and Oratorio II had not had the start to Burghley that the six-time winner would have wanted, scoring 30.2 in a distracted dressage test to lie 18th. And his cross-country round came to a premature end when the horse, who was pulling hard, failed to lock on to the final corner element at the Holland Cooper Leaf Pit. After jumping the alternative William elected to save the horse for another day.

Piggy French is still leading after finishing one second over the time on Vanir Kamira, with leaders Kitty King and Vendredi Biats still to come.

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The ultra-competitive Bubby Upton put a couple of high-profile disappointments behind her with a fabulous dressage test on Cola III at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. Bubby changed her warm-up routine after Badminton, where the pair scored 36, and was rewarded with a mark of 28.2, taking sixth place at this stage. Tim Price and Vitali took over the lead on 21.3 earlier in the morning (Friday, 2 September).

“I changed the warm-up because at Badminton he went very flat in the arena because I thought the crowd would lift him and he didn’t give a monkeys, and we hadn’t perfected it at Hartpury either,” said Bubby, who has been “playing with two-time changes” on Amy Woodhead’s dressage horses to help develop her own seat and sharpness. “Today we thought we’d take a risk as we’d tried two things that didn’t work, so we cut the warm-up to 15 minutes and it worked a treat.

“Cola is such a pro, he rises to the atmosphere, so I had to trust he’d stay with me and he absolutely did that. I wanted to be sub-30 so I’m pleased, but there is so much more to come. He has so much potential, which sounds strange for a 12-year-old, but hopefully next year we’ll see the best of him.”

They kicked off with a nine for their first halt (although the E judge, Judy Hancock, gave a 5.5 for it not being square or the off-hind slightly resting from her vantage point), and the good scores kept rolling in. His extended walk was another highlight, earning a nine. The only mistakes came in the right-to-left flying changes, which lacked the flow that characterised the rest of the test. But overall, this flashy mover with four white socks showed so much lift and Bubby was able to show off his presence while he stayed soft and harmonious.

When Bubby was preparing for Badminton, she was in the middle of her university finals, and she has relished the extra time she’s had on her hands since.

“I’ve been riding and going to the gym in the morning, and not working until midnight,” she said. “It’s been so nice and refreshing and has allowed me to focus on myself and the horses.”

Bubby has put herself right into the reckoning with her dressage mark, but she has plenty of respect for Derek di Grazia’s track.

“It’s big, technical and tough, and the more I walk it the tougher it seems to get,” she said. “Derek has made us commit to the straight routes so we need horses that trust us. Fingers crossed my relationship with Cola will shine through and he’ll dig deep as he always does. The terrain is a massive unknown but he’s a fighter.”

Burghley Horse Trials dressage: William Fox-Pitt prepared to climb

A couple of wobbles kept the six-time Burghley winner William Fox-Pitt out of the top placings, on a score of 30.2. He brought forward Oratorio II, a gelding by William’s Pau CCI5* winner Oslo out of a point-to-point mare, and William has long been touting him as a Burghley type.

The most successful Burghley rider came into the ring smiling, and the first part of the test was tremendous, starting with an 8.5 for his first half and trending for a 25. However, the halt at C simply didn’t happen when the 13-year-old seemed suddenly to catch sight of the crowd for the first time, which also affected the rein-back.

“He was really shy of the crowd when he had to halt by them even though they’re miles away,” said William. “He had a moment and threw away rather a lot of marks.”

Initially the picture was delightful – the horse has a beautiful way of going, with ears pricked and good self-carriage. William showed all his tact to settle Oratorio again after scoring a two for the halt, especially in his ground-covering extended canter, which earned eights. They lie in 12th spot with just over a quarter of the field to do their dressage.

“It’s a bit annoying I’ve started down the order, but it might rain a lot, so I can climb,” said William. “I’ve had all sorts of horses here in the past, and I never come expecting to win, but you have to hang on to the end. It’s a tremendous course which has really got us thinking. There are funny distances and lines, a good old Burghley and we’re going to kick on and go for it.”

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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

There was a small dose of drama at the first Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials trot-up this afternoon (31 August) when Kiltar OBOS, the ride of British competitor JP Sheffield, was sent to the holding box.

The 12-year-old gelding, who is by OBOS Quality 004 and is owned by Sue Wilkinson and Anne Marling, was inspected by the holding box vet before being re-presented. He was then accepted by the ground jury of Andrew Bennie, Katrin Eichinger-Kniely and Judy Hancock, much to the delight of the crowds.

A laugh went up among those present at the Burghley Horse Trials trot-up when lofty William Fox-Pitt presented the pint-sized Corouet on behalf of the gelding’s rider Sarah Bullimore, who was studded in her right knee in a fall in the advanced class at Wellington Horse Trials on Monday (29 August).

There was a late withdrawal prior to the first horse inspection in the form of Izzy Taylor and Sarah Van Vegchel’s 11-year-old mare Ringwood Madras.

This means that 52 horses will go forward to the dressage, which will get underway at 9.45am tomorrow morning (1 September) when first to go, Tim Price and Bango, will enter the main arena.

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

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Check out our full form guide for analysis of all the Burghley Horse Trials riders and horses who will tackle the five-star competition in this week’s magazine (issue dated 8 September). 

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

Want to sound knowledgeable when your friends ask you who out of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials riders will be the winner? Check out our list of potential victors for this week’s five-star (1-4 September)…

Burghley Horse Trials riders and horses: the top 10 contenders

(List in number order)

2. Oliver Townend, 39, GBR

Ballaghmor Class, 15-year-old grey gelding, Courage II x unlisted, owners: Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop & Val Ryan

Ballaghmor Class’s five-star record is unsurpassed among horses currently competing – eight top-five finishes at the level from the same number of starts, including two wins and an Olympic team gold. Should be off to the worlds rather than here, but if he did run, it would be surprising if he wasn’t in the top five.

4. Pippa Funnell, 53, GBR

Billy Walk On, 13-year-old bay gelding, Billy Mexico x Golden Bash, owners: Barbara & Nicholas Walkinshaw

Recently second at Barbury CCI4*-S and third in the British open, Billy Walk On looks to be building back from retiring at Badminton. He was second in the five-star at Bicton last year and could be the dressage leader here and even go on to win if he’s on the best of his slightly inconsistent form. Pippa has won here twice.

22. Piggy March, 42, GBR

Vanir Kamira, 17-year-old bay mare, Camiro De Haar Z x Dixi, owner: Trevor Dickens

Piggy and “Tilly”, the 2019 Badminton winners, have six top-five finishes at five-star. Their three starts at Burghley have yielded two seconds and a fifth, and the mare’s fourth at Badminton in May proves age is not holding her back. She recently won at Hartpury CCI4*-S and loves a big occasion, so don’t rule her out.

27. Jonelle Price, 41, NZL

Classic Moet, 19-year-old black mare, Classic x Bohemond, owners: Trisha & Sophie Rickards & rider

The 2018 Badminton winner was 11th there this spring, sticking two fingers up at her age – she’s the joint-oldest horse here. That was her ninth five-star top-20 placing – plus she has two at World Championships. She probably won’t top her best result here (third), but her fans would love to see her in the placings again.

30. Sarah Bullimore, 49, GBR

Corouet, 11-year-old chestnut gelding, Balou Du Rouet x Lovis Corinth, rider, owners: her husband Brett and the Kew Jumping Syndicate

Sarah and this talented home-bred won individual bronze at last year’s Europeans. Corouet was second after dressage on his five-star debut at Kentucky, but lacked rideability cross-country and had a run-out. He’s been placed at four-star since and could impress. Sarah was fourth here (2018, 2019) on Reve Du Rouet.

37. Tim Price, 43, NZL

Vitali, 12-year-old bay gelding, Contender x Heraldik, owners: rider, Alexander & Joseph Giannamore

This horse only joined Tim – the 2018 Burghley winner – in 2021, but he won a CCI4*-L in Poland in April that year and was Tim’s Tokyo Olympic ride, finishing 24th. This year he’s been 10th at Luhmühlen five-star and won the British Open. Showjumping is his Achilles’ heel, but he could be very competitive if he can fix that.

48. William Fox-Pitt, 53, GBR

Oratorio, 13-year-old brown gelding, Oslo Biats x Topanoora, owners: Oratorio Syndicate

William holds the record for most Burghley wins (six), and this horse is a true Burghley type who could give him a seventh. Oratorio makes his debut here, having been 13th at Badminton 2019 and 14th there this spring after an unlucky 2021 which included a fall at Kentucky and a nosebleed at Bicton five-star.

60. Kitty King, 40, GBR

Vendredi Biats, 13-year-old grey gelding, Winningmood x Camelia De Ruelles, owners: Diana Bown, Sally Lloyd Baker, Sally Eyre & Samantha Wilson

Kitty and “Froggy” have been in the top 10 at two European Championships, collecting team gold last year, and were seventh at this year’s Badminton. They’ve proved their form with two top-10s at CCI4*-S since and could be in line for a big result. Kitty has started here twice but, surprisingly, seeks a first completion.

62. Ros Canter, 36, GBR

Pencos Crown Jewel, 13-year-old bay mare, Jumbo x Rock King, owners: Kate James & Annie Makin

This mare is “Little Miss Consistent” and was fourth on her five-star debut at Bicton last year and second at Bramham CCI4*-L in June. She’s not as flashy as her half-brother, Badminton runner-up Lordships Graffalo, but expect to see her in the top 10 – or better. Ros has been round Burghley twice on Allstar B.

67. Oliver Townend, 39, GBR

Swallow Springs, 14-year-old grey gelding, Chillout x Cult Hero, owners: Paul & Diana Ridgeon

Oliver landed the ride when Andrew Nicholson retired and the pair were third at Badminton in May. They’ve since achieved the horse’s fourth CCI4*-S win. Swallow Springs has been third at Burghley with Andrew and stands a decent chance of giving Oliver a third win here if he starts. He is Oliver’s reserve for the worlds.

Check out our full form guide for analysis of all the Burghley Horse Trials riders and horses in this week’s magazine (issue dated 8 September). 

You might also be interested in:

Eight horses withdrawn from this week’s Burghley Horse Trials

Burghley draw revealed: who’s the pathfinder and when is Zara Tindall starting?

Watch Laura Collett walk the Burghley Horse Trials course: ‘it will require proper cross-country riding’

Clare Balding, Olympic equestrian voices and five-star riders revealed as Burghley commentators and presenters

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 gold medal-winning Tokyo squad are among those named in the British team for the World Eventing Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, (14-18 September).

Today (19 August) British Equestrian and the British Eventing selectors have confirmed the five horse and rider combinations that will form the list of definite entries.

The selected combinations for the British team at the World Eventing Championships, in alphabetical order, are: 

Ros Canter with 10-year-old gelding Lordships Graffalo

Owner: Michele Saul

Breeder: Lordships Stud Writtle College (GBR)

Breeding: by Grafenstolz, out of a mare by Rock King

Groom: Sarah Charnley

Laura Collett with 13-year-old gelding London 52

Owner: Laura, Karen Bartlett and Keith Scott

Breeder: Ocke Riewerts (GER)

Breeding: by Landos, out of a mare by Quinar

Groom: Tilly Hughes

Yasmin Ingham with 11-year-old gelding Banzai Du Loir

Owner: Janette Chinn and Sue Davies

Breeder: Pierre Gouye (FRA)

Breeding: by Nouma D’Auzay, out of a mare by Livarot

Groom: Alison Bell

Tom McEwen with 15-year-old gelding Toledo de Kerser

Owner: Fred and Penny Barker, Jane Coppell and Tom’s mother Alison McEwen

Breeder: Kerstin Drevet (FRA)

Breeding: by Diamant De Semilly, out of a mare by Papillon Rouge

Groom: Francesca Gorni

Oliver Townend with 15-year-old gelding Ballaghmor Class

Owner: Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan

Breeder: Noel Hicky (IRL)

Breeding: by Courage II

Groom: Charlotte Holifield

Oliver has also been selected with 14-year-old gelding Swallow Springs as a direct reserve.

Owner: Paul and Diana RidgeonBreeder: Maria Keating (IRL)Breeding: by Chillout, out of a mare by Cult Hero

The team of four and one individual may not be confirmed until the declaration of starters.

Yasmin makes her senior championship debut, while all the other riders have previous championship experience and at least one medal to their names.

The reserve combinations, listed in alphabetical order are:

Sarah Bullimore with 11-year-old gelding Corouet

Owner: Sarah, her husband Brett, and the Kew Jumping Syndicate

Breeder: Sarah Buillimore (GBR)

Breeding: by Balou du Rouet, out of Lilly Corinne by Lovis Corinth

Ros Canter with 13-year-old mare Pencos Crown JewelOwner: Kate James and Annie MakinBreeder: Pennie Wallace (GBR)Breeding: by Jumbo, out of a mare by Rock King

Kirsty Chabert with 13-year-old mare Classic IVOwner: Kirsty’s father John Johnston and Carole SomersBreeder: Peter Charles (GBR)Breeding: by Calvaro FC

William Fox-Pitt with 13-year-old gelding Little Fire

Owner: William and Jennifer Dowling

Breeder: Dr. Volker Steinkraus (GER)

Breeding: by Graf Top, out of a mare by Heraldik

Kitty King with 13-year-old gelding Vendredi Biats

Owner: Diana Bown, Sally Eyre, Samantha Wilson and Sally Lloyd-Baker

Breeder: Phillipe Brivois (FRA)

Breeding: by Winningmood, out of a mare by Camelia De Ruelle

You might also be interested in:

Germany names World Championship eventing squad – including rookie daughter of Olympic gold medallist

Britain win Olympic eventing team gold at Tokyo 2020

First major squad named for eventing worlds: senior rider omitted from championship team for first time in 28 years

Lordships Graffalo – meet Ros Canter’s supreme star who eats tack, licks cars and loves a cuddle

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

Triumph and heartbreak went in hand in hand for the British team as they topped last week’s Aachen eventing results (1-2 July), but the competition was marred by the loss of Ros Canter’s ride Allstar B, the reigning world champion who had to be put down after suffering an irreparable injury on the cross-country.

This is the second year in a row that Britain has won the SAP Cup, which has been dominated by the home side over the 15 years since eventing joined the competition schedule at this premier German show, after first being run at the venue for the 2006 World Equestrian Games.

Last year, the fixture ran later in the calendar, and with the Olympics and Europeans taking precedence for top pairs, nations were mostly fielding teams of less experienced horses or riders. But the Germans certainly fielded a strong quartet this year and it was all credit to the Brits that they led throughout the competition and won by nearly 30 marks.

Britain’s effort was led by double Olympic medallists Tom McEwen and Toledo De Kerser – owned by Fred and Penny Barker, Jane Inns and Tom’s mother Ali – who finished third after adding just 6.4 time-faults to their third-placed dressage score. No one made the time over Rüdiger Schwarz‘s cross-country course.

After his Olympic success last year, Tom has had a tricky start to the season with a fall at Badminton Horse Trials with Toledo and neither of his rides finishing at the five-star at Luhmühlen Horse Trials last month, but he said he didn’t feel any extra pressure.

“The horses been going really well. Sometimes in life, you make mistakes and I’ve made a good few this year, but it’s all about learning and coming out the other side, so if I can learn and move on from that, then we’ll be better and better,” he said.

“I’ve loved everything about being at the world’s best show – it was absolutely rammed for cross-country today and Toledo was super-excited to be at a big show again. He was letting rip trying to jump everything as usual. I couldn’t be happier with him and our team result.”

William Fox-Pitt provided Britain’s second-best score in seventh with his own and Jennifer Dowling’s Little Fire, while Yasmin Ingham impressed on her Aachen debut by finishing 12th on Janette Chinn and Sue Davies’ Rehy DJ. Both William and Yasmin added only time-faults to their first-phase scores.

“Aachen is more than I ever expected it would be and it’s really good for me to build up mileage and come to this incredible show,” said Yasmin. “Everything rode as I wanted it to across country. It was extremely fast and intense out there and lots of the let-up fences were quite decent as well.”

Sarah Bullimore competed as Britain’s individual on home-bred European bronze medallist Corouet – owned by his rider, her husband Brett and the Kew Jumping Syndicate – and finished 22nd with one showjump down and a few seconds over the time, plus a steadier round across country.

Aachen eventing results confusion after protest

German superstar Michael Jung looked set to top the individual Aachen eventing results on Kentucky Three-Day Event winner FischerChipmunk FRH when he led from the start on a dressage of 22.2 and held a significant lead as he headed out across country.

He crossed the finish line with 1.2 time-faults and was announced as the winner, but as he was waiting for the press conference to start, news filtered through that there had been a protest over whether he should have been penalised for missing a flag at the right-handed brush corner at fence 14. The 15 penalties were eventually added to his score card and Michael dropped to eighth.

Michael was riding Chipmunk as an individual. His team ride Kilcandra Ocean Power finished down the leaderboard after having 20 penalties at fence 16d, but the Germans had to count his score as Ingrid Klimke had 40 jumping penalties on Equistros Siena Just Do It.

Their team-mate Sandra Auffarth took top honours individually with Viamant Du Matz. She commented that Viamant Du Matz has more “life experience” than last time he was in Aachen in 2019 and “understands every question” now – an ominous prospect for Germany’s rivals ahead of the eventing World Championships with it in mind that Sandra’s last win in Aachen was in 2014 with another chestnut, Opgun Louvo, and the pair went on to be world champions that autumn.

Andrew Hoy finished second as an individual on David and Paula Evans’ and his own Olympic bronze medallist Vassily De Lassos; Australia did not field a team. The pair put in the fastest cross-country round, finishing just one second over the optimum time.

“It’s an absolute privilege to ride a horse like Vassily,” said Andrew. “I’ve worked with him since 2017 and we’ve developed a very good relationship. There wasn’t once on the cross-country when I pressed the button and said, ‘Come on, you have to go.’ He’s a horse that can just run and jump and for me it was a very nice ride.”

You might also be interested in:

World champion Allstar B put down following injury at CHIO Aachen

‘I’ve never felt this confidence before’: Badminton grassroots winner on the visionary mentoring programme which helped her triumph

‘Our strong bond was the most special part’: top-10 Badminton horse dies, aged 25

‘I hope that’s secured my world champs spot’: exciting night for Team GB in Aachen Nations Cup

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 eventing World Championships nominated entries (14-18 September) have been announced.

British Equestrian and the British Eventing selectors have confirmed the 15 horse and rider combinations from which the squad travelling to Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, will be drawn.

In alphabetical order, the combinations are:

Sarah Bullimore with 11-year-old gelding Corouet

Owner: Sarah, her husband Brett, and the Kew Jumping Syndicate

Breeder: Sarah Buillimore (GBR)

Breeding: by Balou du Rouet, out of Lilly Corinne by Lovis Corinth

Ros Canter with 17-year-old gelding Allstar B

Owner: Ros and Caroline Moore

Breeder: FAJ Van der Burg (NED)

Breeding: by Ephebe For Ever, out of a mare by Erkstein

Ros Canter with 10-year-old gelding Lordships Graffalo

Owner: Michele Saul

Breeder: Lordships Stud Writtle College (GBR)

Breeding: by Grafenstolz, out of a mare by Rock King

Ros Canter with 13-year-old mare Pencos Crown Jewel

Owner: Kate James and Annie Mackin

Breeder: Pennie Wallace (GBR)

Breeding: by Jumbo, out of a mare by Rock King

Kirsty Chabert with 13-year-old mare Classic IV

Owner: John Johnston and Carole Somers

Breeder: Peter Charles (GBR)

Breeding: by Calvaro FC

Laura Collett with 13-yearold gelding London 52

Owner: Laura, Karen Bartlett and Keith Scott

Breeder: Ocke Riewerts (GER)

Breeding: by Landos, out of a mare by Quinar

William Fox- Pitt with 13-year-old gelding Little Fire

Owner: William and Jennifer Dowling

Breeder: Dr. Volker Steinkraus (GER)

Breeding: by Graf Top, out of a mare by Heraldik

Pippa Funnell with 15-year-old gelding Majas Hope

Owner: Pippa and Marek Sebestak

Breeder: Jack Murphy (IRL)

Breeding: by Porter Rhodes, out of a mare by Flagmount King

Yasmin Ingham with 11-year-old gelding Banzai Du Loir

Owner: Janette Chinn and Sue Davies

Breeder: Pierre Gouye (FRA)

Breeding: by Nouma D’Auzay, out of a mare by Livarot

Kitty King with 13-year-old gelding Vendredi Biats

Owner: Diana Bown, Sally Eyre, Samantha Wilson and Sally Lloyd-Baker

Breeder: Phillipe Brivois (FRA)

Breeding: by Winningmood, out of a mare by Camelia de Ruelle

Piggy March with 17-year-old mare Vanir Kamira

Owner: Trevor Dickens

Breeder: Kathryn Jackson (IRL)

Breeding: by Camira de Haar Z, out of a mare by Dixi

Tom McEwen with 15-year-old gelding Toledo de Kerser

Owner: Fred and Penny Barker, Jane Coppell and Alison McEwen

Breeder: Kerstin Drevet (FRA)

Breeding: by Diamant de Semilly, out of a mare by Papillon Rouge

Izzy Taylor with 11-year-old gelding Monkeying Around

Owner: Izzy and and Mark Sartori

Breeder: Christian Heinrich (GER)

Breeding: by Bertoli W, out of a mare by Donnerhall II

Oliver Townend with 15-year-old gelding Ballaghmor Class

Owner: Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan

Breeder: Noel Hicky (IRL)

Breeding: by Courage II

Oliver Townend with 14-year-old Swallow Springs

Owner: Paul and Diana Ridgeon

Breeder: Maria Keating (IRL)

Breeding: by Chillout, out of a mare by Cult Hero

As part of the Eventing World Championships entries, the following 10 reserve combinations have also been selected, listed in alphabetical order:

Kirsty Chabert with 11-year-old mare Opposition LoireOwner: Kirsty and the Daisy ChainBreeder: Mr J Johnston (GBR)Breeding: by Opposition Heracles, out of a mare by Carnival Drum

Laura Collett with 13-year-old gelding DacapoOwner: Diana Chappell, Gillian Morris-Adams, Alison and Michael Smedley and Carolyn TaylorBreeding: by Diarado, out of a mare by Canturo

David Doel with 11-year-old gelding Galileo Nieuwmoed

Owner: Gillian Jonas

Breeder: J W and A P Jurrius (NED)

Breeding: by Carambole, out of a mare by Harcos

William Fox- Pitt with 13-year-old gelding OratorioOwner: the Oratorio SyndicateBreeding: by Oslo Biats, out of a mare by Topanoora

Pippa Funnell with 12-year-old gelding MaybachOwner: S H E Eventing ABBreeder: Camilla Paradis (SWE)Breeding: by Jaguar Mail, out of a mare by Irco Mena

Tom Jackson with 11-year-old gelding Capels Hollow Drift

Owner: Patricia Davenport, Milly Simmie and Sarah Webb

Breeder: Jeanette Glynn (GBR)

Breeding: by Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan, out of a mare by Lucky Gift

Richard Jones with 15-year-old gelding Alfies CloverOwner: Richard, Sandra Martin and Dinah SaundersBreeder: James Hickey (GBR)Breeding: by Tajrassi, out of a mare by Clover Hill

Selina Milnes with 13-year-old gelding IronOwner: William and Angela RuckerBreeding: by Aquilino, out of a mare by Donnerschlag

Tom McEwen with 11-year-old gelding Bob ChaplinOwner: Fred and Penny BarkerBreeding: by Cashell, out of a mare by Silver Jasper

Tom McEwen with 12-year-old chestnut mare CHF CooliserOwner: Vicky Bates and David MyersBreeder: Raymond Carroll (IRL)Breeding: by Womanizer, out of a mare by Ramiro B

The names of the grooms for each horse will be included in the final squad announcement.

You might also be interested in:

Lordships Graffalo – meet Ros Canter’s supreme star who eats tack, licks cars and loves a cuddle

Who are the best event horses in Britain right now? Find out here…

Britain win Olympic eventing team gold at Tokyo 2020

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