Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI are our pathfinders for MARS Badminton 2025. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
It’s time for the third of three consecutive 5*s, and it’s going to be a good one. Kentucky gave us a quality German victory via Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH; Adelaide saw Hazel Shannon make history when she took the top spot for the fourth time, all with her amazing 19-year-old Willingapark Clifford, and now we wait with baited breath to find out who’ll add their name to the Badminton winners’ roster this weekend. Don’t go anywhere, things are about to get hot, hot, hot!
I’ll be with you for all of the action from MARS Badminton, bringing you every step of the dressage, every fence on the cross country, and every pole of the show jumping on EN’s classic live blog. Lock on ENers, it’s going to be one heck of a big B.
But first, as is somewhat of a tradition when it comes to talking about spring events in the UK, a moment to digress about the weather. Usually this discussion would revolve around rain, mud, the ground conditions, rain, mud… But not this year. Oh no, this year we’ve been enjoying a warm and sunny leadup to the first British 5* and the forecast promises more of the same over the four days of sport. So yes, we’ll be chatting weather at Badminton, but it’ll go more like – sun, heat, the ground conditions, sun, heat…
I’ll tell you something else that’s hot. This. Field. Hot diggity dog, it’s hotter than, well, a hot diggity dog (of which there are likely to be a fair few out on cross country on Saturday should the temperature reach predictions – Badminton Lake beckons for them after the final horse crosses the finish line). Reigning World Champion. Reigning Burghley Champion. Reigning Luhmühlen Champion. Reigning Maryland Champion. Olympians. Multiple 5* winning riders. Multiple 5* winning horses. Four of the winning Badminton riders from the last decade – two winning horses. No fewer than 16 of the top-20 ranked riders in the world.
It is serious, it’s going to be awesome, and there’s everything to play for as the combinations head up the center line today and get their Badminton underway. It all starts at 9am local time / 4am EST / 10am CEST when pathfinder Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI will kick off the competition. After that we’ll see Maryland winner Oliver Townend and the almighty Ballaghmor Class, then Tim Price… and so it goes on. I informed you thusly – this field is seriously exciting.
Find out everything you need to know about all of the competitors in our new-look Form Guide – you’ll find it here.
There is some news this morning – the defending champions Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier have withdrawn. Caroline shared this message on her social media:
“We’re devastated to have to withdraw Cav ahead of Dressage today. Following her final piece of work before the start of the competition, she’s not feeling quite right and having discussed this with her owners, we’ve taken the difficult decision to save her for another day.
Naturally we were so excited to be defending our title, but Cav’s welfare is our first priority and we are enormously grateful to everyone who has helped and supported us on our journey to Badminton.
In the meantime, we are very much looking forward to High Time’s first time at this fantastic event.”
Before we head out between the white boards for the first day’s dressage, a little ‘refresher’ on the no. 1 rule of following EN’s classic live blog: refresh, refresh, refresh – and all will be revealed.
If you’re catching up with this later and are the type to like things in order, scroll ⬇️ and read ⬆️. If going backwards is more your jam, have at it.
Bringing fellow eventing fans all the fun, frolics and fervour from 5*s is something we take very seriously here at EN, forgoing sleep to wear our fingers down to our bony knuckles as we tap-tap-tap away at all hours of the day and night, under close scrutiny of a tame yet rowdy chinchilla. You’ll find all of our endeavours from MARS Badminton right here. And that’s not all. Check out our Instagram channel @goeventing for even more EN – follow along here.
Chin up, shoulders back, heels down, and go eventing!
MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]
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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.
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4:28am
🇮🇪 Joseph Murphy and Belline Fighting Spirit
This horse has got a lovely white blaze and looks a real picture as he canters up the center line. They get off to a solid start with 6s across the board for the first halt. ‘Spirit’ looks very calm and settled at the start of his test. He’s working really hard for Joseph and delivering a neat performance thus far.
There’s not quite the balance we’ve seen from the more experienced horses we’ve seen so far, but Spirit’s listening and doing everything asked of him. The halt at C and reinback are clean. They set off into the walk and there’s a little jiggy jog in the extended. 4s across the board for that.
The pirouettes are a little tentative but they navigate them neatly enough. There’s some tension creeping in as they got into trot – this is a big arena and although there’s not the crowds there’ll be later on in the competition, it’s still full of Badminton atmosphere.
The gelding settles nicely into the canter work and the scores improve. The changes aren’t quite as smooth as they will be later down the line of this horse’s career but they’re clean and accurate and Joseph really does a great job of making things happen.
They halt at the end of their test and Spirit looks very pleased with himself as he walks out. He’s poking his nose out and lapping up the applause. He sure looks ready for cross country as he jogs toward the chute. A good morning’s work for this pair. This is just a 10-year-old so lots more to come in the future, for sure.
Joseph Murphy and Belline Fighting Spirit score 39.2.
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4:21am
🇳🇿 Tim Price and Viscount Viktor
Tim Price and Viscount Viktor. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
✨ Multiple 5* winner 🙋♂️
World No. 4 Tim Price has achieved the elusive feat of completing at all seven of the world’s 5*s, eight including the pop-up event at Bicton in 2021.
They get off to a little bit of an abrupt start with the halt in the center but then get off into a light and airy trot. Lots of 7s coming in at the start of their test. Viktor has a little bit of a spook at the A end of the arena, similar to Classic VI earlier. Perhaps there’s a scary camera man down there. But he settles back in quickly.
The halt at C is much better than the first. The reinback is a little sticky and gets two 6s and a 5.5. They set off into a relaxed walk and score a 7 and 7.5 for the extended. There’s a little anticipation coming up to the first pirouette and Viktor’s playing with the contact slightly. Tim navigates these difficult movements cleanly enough though.
The camera catches Viktor’s attention slightly on the turn but then they transition into canter and he’s totally back with Tim. The horse looks settled and confident in his canter work and Tim’s obviously riding everything with the utmost accuracy. The first change is neat and tidy for 7s but then then second is a little off and scores 4s. The third is better. He anticipates the last but it’s clean.
They come back round to the center line and then halt for the end of their test. Overall a solid test with an expensive change, unfortunately. Viktor looks very relaxed as he walks out of the arena. A good job overall.
Tim Price and Viscount Viktor score 33.2.
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4:14am
🇬🇧 Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class
Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
✨ Multiple 5* winning combo!
‘Thomas’ is what you would call a 5* specialist, with seven runs and seven top-5 finishes on his card, including wins at Kentucky, Burghley and Maryland. He was 2nd at Badminton on his debut at the level in 2019 and 2nd in 2023, on his most recent start here. Can he go one better this time around and add another win to his string to make it four wins at four different 5*s? If there’s a horse that deserves that accolade, it’s this one.
Well ‘Thomas’ looked superb at the horse inspection yesterday, showing none of his advancing years and dancing round with the excitement of the situation. He sure looked fit to run.
This lovely gelding seems to be very focused as he makes his way around the ring waiting for the bell and Oliver has, as ever, got his game face on.
They come dead straight up the center line. Composed and pro and ready for it. Unfortunately he steps a little left with the quarters in the first halt which scores two 6.5s and a 7.5 from the judges. They set off into a very supple trot and are balanced and rhythmical through the extended for 7.5s across the board. There’s an 8 for the transition after that and another one for the shoulder in, and then another for the 10m circle.
The halt at C is better than the first and scores two 8s. The reinback is a little hasty and the scores drop. The extended walk is very relaxed and Thomas looks very happy and confident in his work. He navigates the first pirouette very neatly although the second is a little sticky for a moment. They go back into a balanced trot and score an 8 and two 7.5s for the transition there. Then they get off into canter. There’s such quality in this horse’s movement – 8s coming in.
The flying changes are clean and accurate and score in the 7s with a couple of 8s.
They come back round and halt at the end of a very smart test. The final halt’s not so great and scores a 4 from one judge but Oliver looks pleased with his pal. Where will they land? It’s 7.5s across the board for the collectives. Sub-30, for sure. Perhaps Oliver would have been hoping for a little better but that was a fine showing from this lovely gelding.
Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class score 29.3.
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There will be a short gap before the next competitors, Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class, who are due to go at 4:14am.
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4am
🇬🇧 Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI
Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
And we’re off! Kirsty and ‘Betty’ have entered the ring. The mare had a little spook as she turned onto the center line but she’s a pro and Kirsty’s a pro and they settle in quickly.
They’re pulling in marks in the 7s for their early trot work which is in a really lovely rhythm. The extended trot gets three 7s from the judges. This horse really is beautiful and she looks very impressive as she trots round the ring.
The halt at C is super square and gets a 7.5 from one judge. The reinback is solid for 7.5s across the board. Betty is relaxed in the walk but doesn’t quite take the contact forward in the extended and there’s a slight loss of rhythm at the end of that movement. The scores drop a little there.
They navigate the pirouettes with some good forwardness but the scores are a little varied from the judges. The transition into trot is a little tricky, it looks like Betty’s anticipating the canter that’s to come.
She settles into the canter though and the scores improve on the whole, until the first change. But the changes on the serpentine are very good for 6s and 7s.
They circle back round onto the center line to halt and Betty shoots forward as the crowd claps for a job well done. A good morning’s work. Now they can relax, until Saturday.
Quote in from Kirsty:
“The stands being a bit quieter actually presents a different problem: they’re so quiet that the horses then tune into any type of noise. The hustle and bustle of a busy crowd dulls the noise. So I don’t think there is a great advantage of being on a Thursday morning anymore, because you have people opening their breakfast and it’s those noises that you hear, rather than actually just a general hum of a busy, crowd that they can tune out.”
Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI score 33.7.
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MARS Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage]
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EN’s coverage of MARS Badminton is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.
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