Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight put themselves within striking distance of the great Ballaghmor Class (Oliver Townend) with a score of 29.5 in the Mars Badminton Horse Trials dressage phase.
The pair are already winners at the five-star level (Bicton 2021), and would have come close at Badminton last year were it not for a flag penalty across country.
Gemma was overjoyed with her mistake-free test, which was neat and consistent. They sit 0.2 of a penalty behind the early leader Ballaghmor Class.
“It was an absolute dream to get a sub-30 and when I heard the first few scores I thought there was no chance – I’d be on 38!” said Gemma. “But that horse honestly did his best shuffling ever! We rode every blade of grass.
Badminton final scores
“You can’t make him into London 52, he’s not that type of horse, but he tries his best and he can really gallop.”
As with the pathfinder Kirsty Chabert, Gemma expressed annoyance at the placement of a camera, which is causing horses to spook.
“We said last night, Badminton needs to move the camera,” said Gemma. “He was spooking at it; it’s really annoying. They’re not going to move it now, but next year we don’t need that camera there.”
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Badminton horse trials dressage: early round-up
Harry Meade scored 32.1 on the first of his two rides, 16-year-old Superstition, who finished 12th at Burghley last year. This puts them third at this early stage on the horse’s Badminton debut, though he has completed multiple five-stars.
Another two-horse rider Tim Price lies fourth at the first break on Viscount Viktor, a 11-year-old who has already completed Pau, Luhmühlen and Burghley. They sit on a score of 33.2, and were another pair to find the camera distracting.
“That camera seems very close this year, down at their foot level, so they have to deal with that,” said Tim. “Viscount Viktor is an edgy horse, he gets a bit nervous, and I have to ride him in an instinctual, reactive way.
“He had some good bits and other bits where he got distracted. But he’s a class horse, and he’s honest and genuine with a lovely way of going. The cross-country course is very well presented and I’m looking forward to jumping some big ones.”
How to watch Badminton Horse Trials
If you want to watch the live action from Badminton Horse Trials from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. This year, Badminton TV has teamed up with ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch Badminton – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £21.99. Go to clipmyhorse.tv/en_GB/badminton to subscribe or to activate your account as an existing Badminton TV subscriber. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. As part of Badminton TV, you can enjoy the documentary programme Legends and Legacy, a fly-on-the-wall insight into the 2024 event and preview of 2025.
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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.
