30 horses presented to ground jury at Badminton final trot-up

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Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo at the final trot-up at Badminton horse trials
The leaders Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo at the final trot-up at Badminton 2023.
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Despite a gruelling cross-country day on soggy going, 30 horses came forward for the Badminton Horse Trials final trot-up, at the event presented by Mars Equestrian. The field was already diminished by six withdrawals, 17 eliminations and 11 retirements but all 30 who completed the cross-country were presented to the ground jury – and passed. The original field was 64.

Remarkably, no horses were sent to the holding box. Typically during a three-day event, a proportion of the finishers are feeling the effects of their cross-country exertions and are withdrawn before the inspection. For others, the ground jury will want to take a second look and send them to the holding box for another trot. It is rare for all the cross-country finishers to present and to be accepted.

Martha Terry
Martha Terry
Features editor

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.