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How the rain helped five-star stalwart achieve personal best in Badminton dressage

Martha Terry Martha Terry

    • Oliver Townend and Gemma Stevens are still playing catch-me-if-you-can at the top of the leaderboard at mid afternoon on day one of the Badminton Horse Trials dressage, at the event presented by Mars Equestrian. Oliver’s ride Swallow Springs is 0.1pen ahead of Gemma’s Jalapeno, with Tim Price third on Vitalis, who scored 27.1

    The early afternoon tests featured a couple of personal best scores at the level, but none good enough to challenge the leaders. Tom Rowland topped his previous best at five-star on Possible Mission’s fourth attempt at the level. They produced a correct and rideable test to score 30, into the top 10 at this stage.

    “He was a good boy; he’s a bit of a head-shaker, and the rain actually helps him,” said Tom of Robin Patrick’s Irish-bred gelding by Temple Clover. “I could feel him shaking his nose a bit when it was bright sunshine, so maybe the rain helped.

    “He’s 16, and it’s difficult when they’re an older horse and don’t owe you anything – you question whether you should bring them, but he knows Badminton and I was hoping that was going to bring him alive. He still loves his work, and we keep it varied – a lot of swimming, two-hour hacks up and down hills. We don’t take him in the school much. These older horses know the routine. I’ve been convinced he knows what’s coming for the past week.

    “He’s done a few five-stars on good ground, and I’ve always wanted to do one on wet ground, because he chugs along at his own pace, and I’m hoping he’ll just keep going. He was hunting as a three-year-old in Ireland, jumping banks. Hopefully he’ll keeping going at the same speed, and the others will go a bit slower.”

    Badminton Horse Trials dressage: amateur achieves ‘lifelong dream’

    Dentist Caroline Clarke also scored a personal best, of 34, on Touch Too Much – an impressive accomplishment for this amateur rider whose day job is outside the equestrian realm.

    “He didn’t react to the atmosphere, he was just perfect and it was so nice to be there riding in front of the crowd,” said Caroline, who was set to make her debut in 2019 but the horse kicked his leg on the eve of the event. “To go up the centre line at Badminton is a lifelong dream. I had to tell myself to concentrate! But he did his changes in the right places; he was fantastic.”

    Caroline works three days a week as a dentist, with her family helping her achieve her eventing dreams.

    “My horses have a non-stress life, we live on a farm in North Yorkshire, and everyone mucks in. I have a lovely person who comes and rides out, my mum rides out, my brother rides out. I couldn’t do it without my family.”

    Felicity Collins and RSH Contend Or started very well, but the marks started to drop with mistakes in the flying changes and half-passes marring a string of sevens and eights. RSH Contend Or, owned by Felicity’s mother Vicky and Avrina Milton, jumped double clear on their Badminton debut last year.

    Swiss team rider Felix Vogg made his Badminton debut on Cartania, who was placed top 15 at the last World and European Championships. Felix’s compatriot Capt Hans Schwarzenbach was the first foreign winner of Badminton, back in 1951, but Felix has left himself with a bit of work to do. He didn’t get the start he wanted with a messy initial halt, and the dainty mare generally seemed to be anticipating the movements too early, which spoiled some good work.

    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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    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). 

    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on dogs of all shapes and sizes. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs, one a street dog from Gambia who was abandoned at three weeks old. Now, her constant companion, whether by her feet at her desk or walking cross-country courses, 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.
    Martha Terry

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