‘He went like a champion’: Boyd Martin takes early Badminton dressage lead

The USA’s Boyd Martin took the lead on 29 in the early stages of the first day of Mars Badminton Horse Trials dressage. Boyd was riding Tsetserleg TSF, a 17-year-old owned by Christine, Thomas IV and Tommie Turner, with whom he was ninth at Burghley in 2023.

In the glorious morning sunshine, the pair earned a smattering of sevens throughout their test, with their medium walk being a highlight, garnering two eights and a nine from the ground jury of Sandy Phillips (GBR), Jane Halim (USA) and Christian Steiner (AUT).

“I’m thrilled with him. He went in there and went like a champion, so he couldn’t have done much better and it’s hard to get a dressage test where everything just goes nicely,” explained Boyd. “We’re in with a chance.”

Boyd never dropped below a 6.5 in his test, with no real mistakes and the horse remaining level and on-side with Boyd throughout.

When asked whether an early draw suits Tsetserleg TSF, meaning his dressage test takes place with less crowds present in the main arena, Boyd said “it doesn’t matter to him”.

“He’s a pretty laid back horse – he’s been around a bit,” stated Boyd, referring to this horse’s extensive experience, which also includes a second and fourth place finish at Kentucky, plus a world team silver and a Pan Am double gold.

Pippa Funnell and the incredibly experienced Majas Hope encountered problems in their Badminton Horse Trials dressage test when the horse lost focus. The 17-year-old gelding, owned by Pippa and Marek Sebestak, has previously scored consistently in the mid- to late-20s at five-star level. They scored 40.8 this morning.

First into the arena at 9am, Tom Jackson and Farndon, are currently in second on 33, with Tom Rowland and Dreamliner holding third on 34.9.

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Gemma Redrup

H&H features, racing and point-to-point editor

Gemma is an experienced journalist, having been part of the H&H team since 2014, who is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at in August 2018. Gemma’s reporting talents have taken her to numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.