Britain’s Kitty King stormed into the lead early on the second day of the Badminton Horse Trials dressage, at the event presented by Mars Equestrian.
Kitty piloted the delightful 14-year-old grey gelding Vendredi Biats through a polished performance, despite the persistent rain, to earn 22.3 and displace Oliver Townend from the top of the Badminton Horse Trials dressage leaderboard.
Watch Kitty King reflect on her dressage test with Vendredi Biats
As soon as Kitty cantered down the centre line with the Diana Brown, Sally Lloyd Baker, Samantha Wilson and the late Sally Eyre’s gelding, it was clear this pair meant business. Their scoresheet was littered with eights, and they pulled in nines for their smart rein-back and expressive flying changes – both movements that rarely yield such marks – as well as a 10 for their beautiful halt at C.
Badminton final scores
“He was super. He couldn’t have gone any better,” exclaimed Kitty afterwards. “He’s great in sloppy ground – although he’s lovely and white thanks to my amazing groom Chloe, he loves to slop around and was having great time splashing about in there.
“He stayed really with me and is just so consistent now. He comes into his own at the three-days – at one-days he can be a bit ‘normal’, but then he goes into big arena and he’s really with you.”
Vendredi Biats may look the picture of elegance and submission in the arena, but Kitty explained that “he likes to stick his head up in the air most of the time”.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“The way he came out of the arena, with his head in the air and his ears up my nose – that’s his natural way,” she said. “We spend out lives working on trying to keep him round and through. We do lots of serpentines with a 10m circle at the top of every loop.”
Just prior to Kitty’s test, Tom McEwen had already worried yesterday’s top two – Gemma Stevens and Oliver – by producing a highly competitive test with the the 16-year-old Toledo De Kerser.
Tom had the Diamant De Semilly son, who is owned by Fred and Penny Barker, Jane Inns and Tom’s mother Ali, bang on the money, with bold extensions and pleasing self-carriage. They too drew plenty of big marks out of the judges – and achieved what Tom described as a “walk personal best” – and finished on 23.6, just 0.3pen behind Gemma and Jalopeno.
“He’s not one for early mornings and smaller crowds but it’s amazing at 8am to see how dedicated everyone is!” said Tom, thanking the impressive number of spectators who had turned out in the rain. “Toledo loves performing, so I was worried for him in case people weren’t there – for him an empty stadium is the worst thing that could possibly happen.”
Tom was satisfied with where his mark put him among the top contenders ahead of the cross-country.
“All you’ve got to be is there or thereabouts to get into the top mix,” he said. “I’m delighted.”
Watch Tom talk about his test
Aaron Millar and KEC Deakon also impressed with 28.8, as the first combination into the arena on day two of the Badminton Horse Trials dressage. Aaron credits training with grand prix dressage rider Dannie Morgan for their good form on the flat, explaining that Heidi Bates’ 13-year-old Chacoa son can be something of an introvert.
“Dannie is amazing in the way that he trains – he knows my horses inside out and he knows me, so he can start getting me to be more brave,” Aaron explained. “Dannie is definitely the key to this horse. Today he really knuckled down and tried.”
Watch Aaron reflect on his test
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.
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
