Having already finished third at Badminton in 2023, Colorado Blue had put in a personal best this year in the dressage phase of 30.8 for Austin O’Connor. He is known as one of the fastest event horses in the world, so his round in today’s Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country phase (10 May), was always going to be one to watch. He was still flying towards the end, when many horses were flagging to sail home easily inside the time.
“The horse is incredible, and at the ripe old age of 16 I think he’s fitter than ever, in the form of his life,” said Austin, adding that the horse does “hours of hacking” at home. “He was pretty foot perfect. He’s got stacks of ability and a heart the size of Badminton.”
The Irishman milked the moment, as his still-fresh grey cantered in front of cheering crowds at the finish in the main arena. This penalty-free round propelled him right up the leaderboard into provisional second behind Gemma Stevens.
“It’s the most excited I’ve ever been,” added Austin, 50. “He’s been rated the best horse across country, but the more you do the more there’s pressure. I’m not getting any younger so there won’t be many Colorado Blues in my life. ”
Badminton final scores
End of day update: Austin is in fourth place ahead of showjumping.
More fast times at Badminton Horse Trials cross-country
Another Irish rider, Ian Cassells, also put in a fast and smooth round, bringing Master Point home for just 3.6 time-faults to add to their top-20 dressage mark of 30.7.
“He’s a blood horse with a massive stride, but gets a bit hollow in the combinations, a little bit messy – I just have to be very aware of my body,” he says. “It’s my first Badminton, it’s a show like nothing else.”
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Christoph Wahler, a 31-year-old German whose previous best result was 22nd in 2022, put in an eyecatching round on D’Accord FRH to finish inside the time.
“He was quite impressed by the first couple of fences and then he got running,” said Christoph. “He tried his heart out to run so fast.”
While Christoph’s quick round moved him up from 25th after dressage to the top five with quarter of the field to go, Georgie Goss moved down from 11th to mid-division with a steady clear.
It looked a comfortable round for Georgie and Feloupe as the rider bids for her 10th completion at Badminton, though she expressed disappointment at her speed.
“The mare is phenomenal, but I just feel I let her down a bit,” she said. “I wasn’t strong enough with my leg towards the end and I did some long routes.
“She is out of this world, and I’m gutted for her, but she’s done a clear round round her second Badminton so I’ll stop moaning!”
How to watch Badminton Horse Trials
If you want to watch the live action from Badminton Horse Trials from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. This year, Badminton TV has teamed up with ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch Badminton – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £21.99. Go to clipmyhorse.tv/en_GB/badminton to subscribe or to activate your account as an existing Badminton TV subscriber. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. As part of Badminton TV, you can enjoy the documentary programme Legends and Legacy, a fly-on-the-wall insight into the 2024 event and preview of 2025.
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Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
