Badminton Horse Trials cross-country: Gireg le Coz and Aisprit De La Loge

France is having a day of mixed fortunes in the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country, at the event presented by Mars Equestrian. Their leading rider Gireg le Coz produced a smooth clear round on Aisprit De La Loge on both the horse and rider’s five-star debut to move into eighth spot with only a quarter of the field to run. They added just 7.2 time-faults to their 14th-placed dressage mark of 26.7.

“The horse was unreal, I knew he was good, but almost made it feel easy,” said Gireg. “I was terrified! I was thinking he might back off and I’d really have to ride him, but he just jumped normally, not questioning anything. I said go and he goes. It was better than Plan A because he took two strides at the LeMieux Leap when I was going for three, he just stood off.”

Meanwhile his compatriot Tom Carlile, also a five-star debutant, jumped a lovely clear with 10-year-old Zanzibar Villa Rose Z. They did add 15.2 time-faults, but it was a confidence-boosting round for a promising young horse. The senior French rider, Cédric Lyard, was already having a rocky ride when he crashed through the Vicarage Vee, breaking the MiM clip and bashing his knee in the process. He consequently pulled up.

“He was jumping so big, like nearly too big. At the coffin [LeMieux Leap] I nearly went into orbit,” said Susie, 26. “I took a long route at the corners as I’d had a funny jump at the coffin, and I didn’t have him back enough to go straight. I had a lot of horse left at the finish; I didn’t go crazy fast, but he has all the blood and scope to go on and do it another time. I wanted to have a confident first five-star.”

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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.

‘He was so good, it was almost easy’: leading French rider makes sparkling debut over Badminton cross-country fences

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Alice Casburn was another young rider to catch the eye. The 20-year-old rider and her home-bred Topspin stopped the clock for just 4.8 time-faults to move up the order just behind Susie, having been 71st after dressage on 38.1.

“He was just phenomenal, I came out a bit more shell-shocked than he was,” she said. “My mum’s not a teary person and she’s bawling her eyes out.

“It caused carnage this morning, for some pretty experienced combinations. And there I was talking to my horse the whole way round! I can see why people keep going [in this sport], the adrenaline is amazing.”

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