Lucy Latta produced the stuff of dreams in the Mars Badminton Horse Trials 2024 showjumping phase, as the one-horse amateur rider finished runner-up to Caroline Powell. The 27-year-old Irish rider enjoyed an extraordinary debut at the CCI5* level, finishing with the fastest cross-country clear aboard RCA Patron Saint on Saturday to go into the showjumping phase in third place. The Grafenstolz-sired gelding knocked two down, but as Tim Price and William Fox-Pitt above her fared much worse, she moved up a place to take the second prize.
“I’d have bitten your hand off if you told me this would have happened at the start of the week,” said Lucy. “It was total rider error at fence three so I’m kicking myself about that. I sat up when I should not have, but that’s for me to learn from my mistake, and I won’t do that the next time.”
“I couldn’t have asked for any more from him. He’s the best cross-country horse there is, and I had a good round [today]. He really jumped for me, considering that was his first time over 11min 19 [the cross-country course length] and how big the fences were yesterday.”
Lucy, who works full-time as brand manager for an alcoholic canned drinks company, has shot into Ireland’s Olympic team reckoning with this result. She also has the form of finishing fourth at Blair CCI4*-L last summer.
“I can dream about the Olympics, I would love to think I could go,” she said. “He was phenomenal this week, and there’s still loads to improve on with him, in the dressage and things to clean up in the showjumping.”
Lucy showed remarkable poise to head into the pressure cooker of the Badminton main arena for her showjumping round. She admitted she did notice the atmosphere but it didn’t seem to affect this cool customer.
“It’s something else – the crowds when you’re warming up and the cheers,” she said. “It does get the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.”
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