Two withdrawals at Badminton leave field of 79 to tackle the cross-country phase
There have been two withdrawals post-dressage at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials, leaving a field of 79 to head out of the startbox today (Saturday, 10 May). These are Jesse Campbell’s ride Cooley Lafitte and Aaron Millar with Friendship VDL.
Jesse had a disappointing test on Cooley Lafitte (Henry) on the first day of dressage, leaving them in 77th place on 44.7.
Jesse confirmed to H&H this morning that he is rerouting to Luhmühlen, also posting on Instagram: “Henry is a seriously exciting horse – he’s shown he has all the ingredients of a proper five-star campaigner, especially with the way he jumped at both Badminton and Burghley last year. I truly believe in his quality and can’t wait to see what he can do next.
“That said, I absolutely love competing at Badminton and it’s always a real disappointment not to be riding at what I genuinely believe is the best event of the year. But this is all part of the bigger picture with Henry, and we’re looking ahead to Luhmühlen with real focus and excitement.”
Cooley Lafitte, a 13-year-old owned by Jay Jaffar, finished 15th at Badminton last year.
Badminton final scores
Another Badminton Horse Trials withdrawal on cross-country morning
Aaron scored 35.9 to sit in 49th spot on Friendship VDL, who is owned by Heidi Bates and Hilary Prewecki. The pair were contesting their first Badminton together having finished 25th at Burghley last year.
They scored a better dressage mark here than at Burghley but Aaron said after his test that he was “disappointed in myself”.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“Normally he’s quite a tense horse and he actually went in there quite relaxed, so I could probably have been braver, and ridden him more through and forwards,” he said.
The only other withdrawal at Badminton Horse Trials since Thursday morning was the defending champion Greenacres Special Cavalier, who was scratched in the final hour before she was due to do her dressage.
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.
Enjoy the best of Badminton with Horse & Hound
To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 22-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 15 May.
You may also be interested in:
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
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.