EN’s classic full report will be with you just as soon as our boots on the ground have wrangled all the action into a readable format, until then, here’s a rapid update of what went down in the show jumping phase at MARS Badminton.
THE HIGHLIGHTS:
History has been made at MARS Badminton Horse Trials.
1️⃣ 🇬🇧 The Badminton 2026 winners are Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo who secure their place in the record books with back-to-back-to-back wins after leading the competition from start to finish. They jumped a steady clear, adding 2 time penalties with Ros knowing she had the buffer to take it steady, and win Badminton on a score of 25.7.
2️⃣ 🇳🇿 Runners-up this year are Tim Price and extraordinary jumper Falco who added nothing at all in the final phase to finish on a score of 33.9.
3️⃣ 🇬🇧 Rounding out the podium are Harry Meade and the mare he loves so much Annaghmore Valoner, who slipped down from 2nd with a rail down and 0.8 for time and end up on a score of 35.1.
4️⃣ 🇬🇧 Just 0.7 off the podium placings are Tom Jackson and exciting newcomer to the level United 36 who jumped clear but were just a fraction of a second over the time to add 0.4 and finish their Badminton on a score of 35.8.
5️⃣ 🇬🇧 And finishing in 5th place is Katie Magee and Treworra who truly proved their mettle in a quality field, adding just one pole and ending on a score of 37.3.
🇺🇸 Best of the US is Cosby Green and Jos Ufo de Quidam who jumped clear with 0.4 of a time penalty this morning to finish in 22nd place on a score of 48.9.
Here’s the top 20:
You’ll find the full scoreboard right here.
FIRSTS:
We’ve just witnessed Ros and “Walter” becoming the first horse and rider pair to defend the Badminton title for three consecutive years, but there were other ‘firsts’ in the offing this week too:
⭐ Rookie horses making their mark:
- Tom Jackson and United 36 had a stunning start to the horses’s top-level career, adding just 3.6 penalties to their dressage score across the competition and finished up the horse’s first 5* in 4th place.
- Marcio Carvalho Jorge and Royal Encounter picked up just a single pole to finish on a score of 48.4 and finishing just outside the top 20 in 21st place on the horse’s debut.
- David Doel and Midnight Rollercoaster had two rails to finish on a score of 55 in 25th spot.
- Michael Owen and Monbeg Darwin took two poles and added 2 time penalties to complete on a score of 65.9 in 28th place.
❗ 15 Badminton debutant horses made it through to the final phase, with all 15 picking up a completion. One such pair was Wills Oakden and Keep It Cooley who have gained their first 5* completion on their second start at the level.
‼️ 2 combinations achieved their first Badminton completion the second time of asking:
- Aaron Millar and Friendship VDL withdrew before cross country last year – they jumped a superb clear with just one second of time yesterday, adding two rails and 1.2 time today, and have banked a Badminton finish just outside the top 10 in 11th place for their record.
- Arne Bergendahl and Luthien NRW took a tumble last year but crossed the finish flags this time, going on to jump the only clear inside the time in the morning session of show jumping and completing the competition in 35th place.
LEADERBOARD CLIMBERS:
One of the most interesting aspects of eventing is the potential for combinations to ascend through the placings as the competition progresses.
30 horse and rider pairs made leaderboard leaps this week; 30 also found themselves in the ascendency as today’s show jumping played out. Notable risers include:
- Jonelle Price and Chilli’s Midnight Star who jumped in the morning session having started off the day in 26th place and ended up in 12th place after putting in a valuable clear, albeit with 0.8 time, on a day where they were few and far between.
- Tayla Mason and Centennial jumped clear this afternoon, adding just 1.6 time and rocketing themselves into a 6th place finish, having started out in 40th after dressage and 11th after cross country.
- Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza started out behind the pace in 38th after dressage, but a clear inside the time yesterday propelled them up into 12th, and their round with a single rail today saw them finish up in 7th place.
TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE:
It can’t be everyone’s day, that’s just the sport, and there were a few combinations who found it tough going in the final phase, although we must remember that a Badminton completion – heck, just a Badminton entry, really – is an achievement in and of itself.
However, the cups seemed shallower for some in the show jumping ring, including:
- Tom Bird and Cowling Hot Gossip had a great time out on cross country yesterday but found things altogether more tricky today, lowering 10 poles in total for 40 jumping penalties and adding a further 3.6 time.
- Fiona Kashel and Creevagh Silver de Haar were another pair to find the show jumping phase difficult after a superb round yesterday, catching 7 rails and adding 28 jumping and 1.2 time penalties.
- Holly Richardson and Ballyneety Silver Service were the first clear inside the time yesterday, but today’s effort was a different story, with 5 poles down and 1.6 time dropping them out of the top 20 to end up in 27th.
- Nadja Minder and Toblerone tumbled 9 places down the leaderboard after picking up 4 rails and 0.4 time in the ring today. Nevertheless, Nadja looked delighted with her Badminton completion and there were huge pats for her pal as they left the ring.
- Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Luhmühlen winner Hooney d’Arville were in the top 10 coming into day, but ended up in 19th place after having 3 poles down and adding 0.4 time.
- Lucy Latta and 2024 Badminton runner-up RCA Patron Saint were right in the mix in 5th place after the cross country, but an extremely tough day in the office – literally, Lucy has food poisoning – saw them have 3 rails and 1.2 time and drop to 17th place.
- Tiana Coudray and Cancaras Girl had a disappointing day out on cross country, dropping from 2nd place after dressage to 45th. They added a further two poles and 1.2 time today and finish up in 40th position.
THE STATS:
The show jumping phase got underway this morning with the cross country finishers who sat outside the top-20 as things stood after yesterday’s action.
👌 20 competitors came forward, with 4 jumping clear to complete their Badminton experience. Only one of those clears was inside the time – that came from Arne Bergendahl and Luthien NRW.
⬇️ 4 pairs had one pole down, 8 lowered two, 1 took three, and 3 had four or more.
⏰ 13 picked up time faults.
The most influential fence on course was the oxer going into the double at 12A, which came down 7 times, followed by the oxer coming out of the double at 5B, the water tray at 6 and the parallel going into the double at 8A which each came down five times. Two competitors picked up jumping penalties at the final fence. Only one fence stayed up throughout the session, the vertical flanked by postboxes at 4.
The top 20 on the scoreboard after cross country went this afternoon to wrap the 2026 edition of MARS Badminton up.
👌 Just 3 combinations finished up with a jumping clear this afternoon, making the clear round total 7 from 40 rounds. Just one of them was inside the time – that came from Tim Price and Falco.
⬇️ 7 pairs had one pole down (11 overall), 5 lowered two (13 overall), 2 took three (3 overall), and 2 had four or more (5 overall).
⏰ 15 picked up time faults (28 overall).
The fences which came down most often this afternoon were the water tray at 6 and the oxer at 10, which each came down 5 times. The oxer going into the double at 12A was the most influential overall, coming down 11 times over the two sessions. Every fence on the course came down at least once.
A moment for our MARS Badminton 2026 champions, Ros Canter’s Lordships Graffalo:
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Sophie Robins/Girl in the Field.
It’s been an epic week of sport, for sure.
Eyes on EN for the full report coming soon.
Go eventing!
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