31 March 2022 - Flipbook - Page 90
90
HORSEWEEK
FARMWEEK
MAY 12 2022
Dream comes true as Laura
Collett wins Badminton 2022
L
AURA Collett
realised a
childhood dream
as she won
Badminton Horse
Trials, presented by
Mars Equestrian, after
a superb performance
on Karen Bartlett and
Keith Scott’s ‘London
52’. Laura’s finishing
score of 21.4 - she added
a mere 0.4 of a show
jumping time penalty to
her dressage mark - is a
record completion score
for Badminton.
Runner-up Ros Canter,
the only rider to finish
on her dressage score,
showed she has another
world champion in
the making with the
10-year-old ‘Lordships
Graffalo’, while Oliver
Townend cemented
his world number one
position with third
and fifth places on
‘Swallow Springs’ and
‘Ballaghmor Class’
respectively, his two
greys hitting a fence
apiece.
It was the first British
one-two-three since
Pippa Funnell led
William Fox-Pitt and
Leslie Law 20 years
ago in 2002, and Laura
Collett revealed that
Pippa’s win on ‘Supreme
Rock’ had been her
childhood inspiration.
“I was going round
the cross-country on
my aunt’s shoulders
and I wanted to be
Pippa Funnell winning
Badminton,” Laura said.
When Laura entered
the show jumping arena,
she had the luxury of a
fence in hand over Ros,
but the pressure was
huge.
“That horse is
amazing,” she said of
her Tokyo Olympic
gold medallist. “He
jumped his socks off. I
couldn’t see a distance
anywhere, but he just
got higher and higher.”
Ros was full of praise
for her new superstar,
who was contesting his
first five-star: “’Walter’s’
eyes were on stalks
when we arrived, but he
enjoyed every part of
it - especially the prize
giving. He will have
learnt so much in the
last few days.”
Piggy March and the
gallant 17-year-old mare
‘Vanir Kamira’, the 2019
Badminton winners who
set the early standard
on the cross-country,
finished an honourable
DREAMS CAN COME TRUE: Laura Collett and
‘London 52’, 2022 Badminton champions.
(FW19-547NN)
PICTURES: courtesy of Kit Houghton
fourth with just one pole
down.
“I think that’s the best
‘Tilly’ has ever jumped.
She left her heart out
on the cross-country
course yesterday, so I
was a bit worried today,
but shouldn’t have
been,” Piggy said.
David Doel, who
lives just 20 minutes
down the road from
Badminton, had a dream
debut, finishing in
sixth place on ‘Galileo
Nieuwmoed’ with a
double clear, and Kitty
King, a member of last
year’s winning European
championships team,
was seventh on
‘Vendredi Biats’.
Irishman Austin
O’Connor interrupted
British domination with
eighth place on the
spectacular ‘Colorado
Blue’, and American
first-timer Tamra Smith
was ninth on ‘Mai
Baum’. Britain’s Richard
Jones and ‘Alfies Clover’
rounded up the top 10.
After a gap of three
years, support for the
event was huge: 180,000
visitors attended over
the four days and the
many tradestands did a
roaring trade, delighted
to be back.
“It was everything I
could have wished for,”
said Event Director Jane
Tuckwell. “Lots of happy
people, fantastic result,
wonderful sponsors in
our presenting partner
Mars Equestrian and
our official partner
Lifesource BP. It’s a
dream come true at last.
Bring on 2023.”
BACK AT BADMINTON
A total of 83 horses
from 12 nations started
at Badminton Horse
Trials, presented by
INSPECTION: Defending champions Piggy March
(GBR) and ‘Vanir Kamira’ at the first horse inspection
at Badminton Horse Trials, presented by Mars
Equestrian. (FW19-550NN)
Mars Equestrian, with
the first competitive
combination into the
dressage arena at
9.30am last Thursday.
The excitement was
palpable as riders,
owners, spectators and
officials returned to
the historic venue for
the first time since 2019
to watch horses being
trotted up in front of
Badminton House at the
first horse inspection
on Wednesday. All
horses passed the trotup, but Kristina Cook
withdrew ‘Billy The Red’
beforehand.
A high-class field,
competing for a £100,000
first prize and the
biggest prize fund in
five-star eventing this
year, included Britain’s
three Olympic gold
medallists from Tokyo,
Tom McEwen, Oliver
Townend and Laura
Collett, plus the reigning
world champion,
Rosalind Canter, and
the reigning European
champion, Nicola
Wilson.
Badminton, which is
the world’s oldest horse
trials, founded in 1949,
represents the pinnacle
of the sport and will
have been a long-held
ambition for the 30-plus
first-timers, including
Hazel Shannon, a
three-time winner of
the Australian five-star
at Adelaide and Mollie
Summerland, another
five-star winner, at
Luhmuhlen, Germany,
last year.
The team at
Badminton worked
assiduously on the
cross-country going for
Saturday and coursedesigner Eric Winter
reported: “We’ve been
watering for a month
and were lucky with the
rain on Sunday. Mark
Lucey, who is groundtesting at a wide range
of events and in racing,
has been here every
four days recently and
has pronounced it
perfect.”
DRESSAGE
Olympic gold
medallists Tom McEwen
and ‘Toledo de Kerser’,
took an early lead
at the beginning of
Thursday’s dressage
phase at Badminton
and remained
unchallenged at the end
of the day after a superb
performance for the
excellent score of 23.4.
“It’s a shame he didn’t
do that test in Tokyo,”
quipped Tom, who
also won the Olympic
individual silver medal
there.
“He was phenomenal,
the half passes were
lovely, he was smooth in
his body and kept up a
great rhythm, and it was
pretty well mistake-free.
It’s lovely to be back
here at Badminton,” he
added.
Tom held a 1.4-penalty
lead over Kitty King
and the smart grey
‘Vendredi Biats’, who
scored 24.8.
Just 0.1 of a penalty
behind Kitty, and
completing a British
one-two-three, were
2021 Luhmuhlen fivestar winners Mollie
Summerland, 24, and
‘Charly Van Ter Heiden’,
who unfortunately
picked up an injury after
his big win.
American first-timer
Tamra Smith and
‘Mai Baum’, was in
fourth place, ahead of
defending champions
Piggy March and ‘Vanir
Kamira’, fifth, and 2009
winner Oliver Townend
with new ride ‘Swallow
Springs’, who finished
fifth with New Zealander
Andrew Nicholson in
2019.
Representatives of
the presenting sponsor,
Mars Equestrian,
pronounced themselves
delighted with the first
day. Geoffrey Galant,
Vice President, said:
“This is the perfect fit
for us. It’s great to see
such an international
field, and to see the
home audience cheering
loudly for all of them. I
promise we are in it for
the long haul.”
After day two, Olympic
gold medallists Laura
Collett and ‘London 52’
headed the dressage
leaderboard after a
superb performance
that earned a score of
21, which put them in
pole position going into
the cross-country day.
Scoring was tight at
the top and it was clear
that a mere handful
of cross-country time
penalties over Eric
Winter’s beautifully built
yet challenging crosscountry course could
change everything on
Saturday!
Laura was 2.4
penalties ahead of
her team mate, Tom
McEwen, riding the
brilliant jumper ‘Toledo
de Kerser’, who was also
the individual silver
medallist in Tokyo.
Oliver Townend, the
third member of the
triumphant Olympic
trio, was in close
contention a mere
couple of penalties
behind. The world
number one was in
equal sixth place on new
ride ‘Swallow Springs’
and equal eighth on
‘Ballaghmor Class’, the
2019 runner-up. As the
winner of Kentucky last
year, Oliver’s goal of the
Rolex Grand Slam (of
Kentucky, Badminton
and Burghley) was very
much alive.
Great Britain are
the reigning Olympic,
world and European
champions and, as
expected, home riders
dominated the top 10.
Kitty King and
‘Vendredi Biats’,
members of the
European championship
gold medal team, were
third on 24.8, just
fractionally ahead
of 24-year-old Mollie
Summerland and ‘Charly
van der Heiden’, who
were best of the 30-plus
first-timers.
US rider Tamra
Smith (‘Mai Baum’)
interrupted British
domination in fifth
place, making a great
debut at her first
Badminton, on a score
of 25.3.
Defending champions
Piggy March and the
mare ‘Vanir Kamira’
were in equal sixth
place with Oliver
(‘Swallow Springs’) on
25.7, and Oliver also
shared eighth place
with Kiwi first-timer
Amanda Pottinger (‘Just
Kidding’) on 25.9.
Laura was awarded
three 10s during her
test, for extended trot,
canter and halt.
“This is what you
dream of,” she said
emotionally. “He is just
so nice to ride.”
‘London 52’, a Germanbred 13-year-old by
‘Landos’, won Pau
five-star in 2020 and has
numerous good results
at four-star level, but
this is his first visit to
Badminton.
“Tomorrow is a whole
different ballgame,”
said Laura of the crosscountry. “It’s very wellbuilt, but there is a lot to
do out there.”
Ros Canter, the
reigning world
champion, was in 10th
and 12th places on
‘Lordships Graffalo’ and
‘Allstar B’.
“I’m absolutely over
the moon,” she said.
“’Graffalo’ is only rising
10, so he’s a very green
horse. He’s come up
through the levels
during covid, so has
seen very little of this
kind of atmosphere
before. I was busy trying
to quieten everyone
down, but he didn’t bat
an eyelid - I don’t know
why I bothered. He’s
such a professional and
just takes everything in
his stride.”
Of the imposing crosscountry challenge, Ros
said: “The more I walk
the course, the tougher I
think it is, the cleverer I
think Eric has been, and
the more complicated
I think it is. You start
thinking about your
minute markers and the
knock-on effect of all
IMPRESSIVE: Olympic gold medallists Tom McEwen
and ‘Toledo de Kerser’ impressed the dressage
judges at Badminton Horse Trials, presented by Mars
Equestrian, and held the lead after the first day.
(FW19-549NN)
those big jumps and the
twists. I don’t think it
will be easy tomorrow,
but I hope if the horses
are confident they will
be rewarded.”
GREAT TO BE BACK
Laura Collett and
‘London 52’ produced
an outstanding crosscountry performance
at Badminton to retain
their dressage lead and
go into Sunday’s show
jumping finale with a
fence in hand.
Her Olympic team
mate Oliver Townend
was in second and
third places on
‘Swallow Springs’ and
‘Ballaghmor Class’.
Ros Canter also had
two horses in the mix
and was in fourth and
sixth on ‘Lordships
Graffalo’ and her world
champion, ‘Allstar B’.
Piggy March, the
2019 winner, provided
a welcome and
confidence-giving
masterclass in crosscountry riding early
in the day and was in
fifth place. The price of
one show jumping rail
covers places second to
sixth.
New Zealand’s Jonelle
Price conjured a vintage
round from the 2018
winner, ‘Classic Moet’,
the mare belying her
19 years. They rose 20
places to seventh, with
one of only six rounds
inside the optimum
time of 11 minutes 44
seconds.
Kitty King was eighth
with her European team
gold medallist ‘Vendredi
Biats’, collecting 11.8
time penalties, and
William Fox-Pitt was
in classic form, riding
two clear rounds on
‘Little Fire’, ninth, and
‘Oratorio’, 10th.
Laura finished 11
seconds inside the time,
having been held on
course.
“It was so near and yet
so far, but he came back
onto the bridle. The
feeling of coming into
the arena at the end was
quite something. We’ve
missed Badminton
and we’ve missed the
crowds, and it’s great to
be back,” said Laura.
“This horse owes me
nothing. He’s given me
my first five-star win
[at Pau in 2020] and an
Olympic gold medal,
and this was the biggest,
most intense course he
has ever seen.”
There were 50 clear
rounds from the 80
cross-country starters,
many of them firsttimers, but the day
got off to a dramatic
start, which shook up
the leaderboard. Tom
McEwen and ‘Toledo de
Kerser’, the dressage
runners-up, were going
brilliantly when they
tipped over the second
element of the bounce at
fence 24. Nicola Wilson
was taken to hospital in
Bristol for precautionary
scans after a fall with ‘JL
Dublin’ at fence 27.
Pippa Funnell (‘Billy
Walk On’) and Mollie
Summerland, fourth
after dressage on
‘Charly Van Der Heiden’,
retired after stops at
fence 17.
Oliver Townend
performed a heroic
save worthy of Andrew
Nicholson, ‘Swallow
Springs’ former rider,
when the grey took off
early at the last element
of the Quarry, fence
4. Oliver was initially
eliminated at the end
of his round, but then
reinstated when the
footage was examined.
“I kicked for one more
stride, but then he
picked up, which I didn’t
expect!” said Oliver.
He revealed that
‘Ballaghmor Class’ was
particularly lit up before
his round and that a
couple of stewards on
hunt horses kindly rode
around with him and to
the start ‘as a comfort
blanket’.
“He felt a bit cocky and
keen at the start, but
once he settled he was
a pleasure to ride,” he
said.
Oliver said Eric
Winter’s influential
track “felt like a five-star
should feel. The class
horses made it look easy
and I felt the balance
was right.”
ALL SMILES: In the Chat Zone after the cross-country
were Ros Canter (who was sitting in fourth and sixth
after cross-country); Laura Collett (first) and Oliver
Townend (second and third). (FW19-548NN)