Badminton Horse Trials will have a different feel this year with the Coronation also taking place over the weekend and consequently the change of dates to run dressage on Friday and Saturday, cross-country on Sunday and showjumping on Monday.
The event ran to this timetable over the 2010 and 2011 bank holiday weekends, driven by a BBC TV deal to guarantee coverage. This schedule always adds an extra dimension to our coverage at H&H, because we still have to put the magazine to press on Monday despite the event not finishing until that day.
The field is a little smaller than usual, at least in part due to the tightening of the qualifications for five-star. As such, there is no waiting list of horses to replace those who withdraw and the final start list will probably be around 65 or 70 runners.
Hopefully having fewer horses to send through the dressage arena will ease things for the organisers in terms of Saturday’s schedule, which will include a break to watch the Coronation.
My predictions
The sad withdrawal of Badminton’s defending champions, Laura Collett and London 52 opens up the field as they would have started as favourites.
The other 2022 podium finishers probably now take pride of place in the pre-event pecking order – Ros Canter returns on the now more experienced Lordships Graffalo and Oliver Townend will presumably prioritise Swallow Springs as one of his two runners from five entries.
Tom McEwen and Toledo De Kerser came into Badminton as many people’s winners last year, but fell across country. After their Olympic success in 2021, 2022 wasn’t the follow-up season Tom would have hoped for, but Toledo’s as good a horse as he’s ever been and certainly has a chance.
If you want a slightly darker horse, look at Izzy Taylor’s 2022 Bramham winner Monkeying Around – he isn’t fully reliable across country and they didn’t finish this phase on a recent prep run at Burnham Market, but his stellar dressage means he’ll be competitive if all goes to plan.
Finally, I’ll have half an eye on both Biats horses – Kitty King was so close to winning Burghley last year on Vendredi Biats and Emily King has proved her form with her Grantham Cup win at Thoresby on Valmy Biats.
It could get confusing with The King being crowned and two Kings riding two horses with the Biats suffix – Kitty and Emily are not related, but both horses were bred by Frenchman Philippe Brivois. He also bred William Fox-Pitt’s 2011 Pau five-star winner Oslo (out of the same mare as Valmy), whose Biats tag was removed when he was gelded between his five- and six-year-old years.
British riders heading to the US
The northern hemisphere five-star action for 2023 starts the week before Badminton at the Kentucky Three-Day Event, where a field of 40 or so will contest the five-star.
The British challenge is strong. World champions Yasmin Ingham and Banzai Du Loir return hoping to go one place better than last year and Tom McEwen makes his first five-star start with JL Dublin, who was European champion in 2021 with Nicola Wilson. It’s also Tom’s Kentucky debut.
Tamie Smith will be the pick of the home-side entries, with world team silver medallist Mai Baum. They lost individual silver in Pratoni with an uncharacteristic two fences down, but I doubt they will repeat that final-phase disappointment.
How to watch Badminton Horse Trials
If you are interested in watching Badminton Horse Trials live from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. To sign up, visit watch.badminton-horse.tv – click the “Sign Up” link in the top right corner of your screen, then follow the instructions. An annual subscription to Badminton TV costs £19.99 and gives you 365 days of access to all of the content in the Badminton TV library, the ability to watch the action live, and the option to replay all of this year’s action later.
● Who do you think will win Kentucky and Badminton? Write to hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county for the chance to have your views published in a future edition of Horse & Hound magazine.
- This exclusive column will also be available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 20 April
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