Andrew Nicholson picks out his favourite performances from Mars Badminton Horse Trials
Watching the Mars Badminton Horse Trials cross-country was interesting; there were little mishaps in lots of places without any fence having too much influence. The track had walked like it was relatively straightforward, and riders talked about it as though it was, too.
I thought many of them went a gear faster than normal, perhaps because the good but quick ground meant horses motored easily over it with fences that invited you to keep travelling right up to them, which then allowed mistakes to happen.
The horses also finished quite tired: a lot of riders don’t realise that the course is uphill all the way from the Vicarage Ditch to the top of the Quarry. It doesn’t really feel like that when you walk it, but when you’re riding it, horses can suddenly feel as though they are running out of fuel just before you get to Huntsman’s Close, and there’s plenty still left to do.
But on the whole horses looked, at least, fitter and leaner than previously, which I have noticed as well at events on the Continent this spring.
Fitness was much discussed at the FEI Eventing Forum in January, and it appears that the message has been received and acted on.
I wondered if the water in the Lake was shallower than normal, perhaps because the weather has been so dry. The straight route of one stride between elements before they jumped into the water and then four to the first skinny and four to the second looked like gridwork, but rode short in the water, and I thought that, if the water level was a bit lower, it didn’t have the “drag” effect that would condense the horses’ stride length.
It was quite a different track to those Eric Winter has produced in the past, and nice to see he has another dimension to his course-designing. He should put his name forward for the LA Olympics – the way his Badminton track rode, and the result it produced, should act as a good audition.
Impressive rounds
As usual, the best riders made it look easy. Ros Canter was impressive, as always, and Austin O’Connor was superb – you don’t see many horses jumping the second-last at Badminton looking like they are just setting out on the course.
The young New Zealander Tayla Mason played a blinder at her first Badminton. She was the last rider to get in off the wait list, and she had Centennial very fit and well prepared, which must take a lot of willpower when you aren’t even sure that you will get to run.
Katie Magee finished 11th on her Badminton debut, proving that if you work hard, you can still get to the top of the sport once you’ve passed your 30th birthday, which should encourage others.
It was a pleasure to watch Libby Seed and her beautiful grey horse Heartbreaker Star Quality. They are a real team, go at a speed at which they are comfortable, look very professional and present a picture that is great for the sport.
It was good to see a decent contingent from mainland Europe. Germany’s Christoph Wahler did well to make the time across country, and the Belgian squad will have learnt an awful lot. They weren’t overawed by the fact that it was Badminton, and demonstrated that European riders can show up at big five-stars as well as championships and the less imposing CCI5*s. This is what the sport needs.
Ros had to work hard in the showjumping; her victory wasn’t just an exhibition this time, but well deserved, while Oliver Townend rode a first-class round on Cooley Rosalent. Austin matched his easy cross-country round with a classy performance.
Harry Meade’s day will come. If he keeps jumping clear cross-country inside the time and good showjumping rounds, it will happen. If I was him, I wouldn’t get too hooked up on the dressage; for me, it’s more important to be doing what he’s doing in the jumping phases.
● Who did you enjoy watching at this year’s Badminton? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine
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