‘I carried my broken martingale in my hand’: how Badminton debutant jumped 40-odd cross-country fences after tack malfunction
Patrick Whelan might not be high up the leaderboard at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials, but he made an eye-catching debut. His clear round on Ikoon Lan for 27.2 time-faults might give the impression of a safe and steady round, but in fact Patrick showed outstanding skills after his martingale broke early on.
“It was a good round, but I’ve had easier ones,” said Patrick. “My martingale broke at fence four, so I carried that in my hand all the way round.”
Fence 4abc, the Savills Staircase, involved riding through a big arch made of hay bales, down two steps and a related distance to a very wide haywain.
“As I jumped the haywain, the martingale popped out,” said the Irishman. “It broke at his chest, so I held it in my hand the whole way and thought I won’t worry about it too much, it’s just one of those things. But it was fine; we got to the finish line.
“But it’s great to be clear and the horse feels good; he galloped all the way in the heat so I’m really happy.”
Badminton final scores
This is a third five-star for Ikoon Lan, a 12-year-old by Emilion, but his first on British soil.
“It’s my first time [at Badminton] in the saddle; I’ve been here [to watch] but I couldn’t remember quite how big the [fences] were,” said Patrick Whelan. “I have nothing to compare, but these are big jumps, you need a good horse, and I’m sat on a good horse.”
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Their clear cross-country round was against the odds after the tack malfunction, but 27.2 time-faults meant they dropped a place on the overall standings from dressage to 40th. However, they’ll be hoping to finish a little higher.
“He’s won a 1.40m grand prix, so we should be jumping clear and it’s my fault if we don’t,” he smiled.
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.