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Which rider fell off their bike? And who ran to the start box beside their horse? Nine things you might not know about last week’s Badminton

Pippa Roome Pippa Roome

    • Still not had enough of Badminton Horse Trials, presented by Mars Equestrian? We’ve got some fun facts from the week for you…

    1. Kitty King, who finished seventh on Vendredi Biats, fell off her bicycle on Friday evening. She joked after her clear across country that that meant she’d got her falls out the way before her round on Saturday.

    2. Vanir Kamira, Piggy March’s ride who won here in 2019 and was fourth this time, occupied the stable where Paddy, the hunter of event director Jane Tuckwell, usually lives the rest of the year.

    3. Tom McEwen ran to the start box beside his second ride, CHF Cooliser, and only mounted once he was about to start.

    “We do that all the time so we just carried on. I warmed up and then got off,” said Tom. “She got a bit quirky with start boxes always having the finish next to them. Too many times people were coming flat out past her and she went with them rather than in the direction she’s meant to be going in. It’s just an easier way and she’s completely chilled with it.”

    The pair finished 27th.

    4. The final rider on the Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course, Kylie Roddy – a British first-timer who impressed with 20th after dressage – pulled up at the Holland Cooper Vicarage Vee because her ride SRS Kan Do had lost a shoe. She hopes to re-route to the five-star in Germany, at Luhmühlen, in June.

    5. The youngest rider, Alice Casburn, wore a necklace which said 2002, the year of her birth, on cross-country day. No, no, we don’t feel old at all…

    6. First-timer Hector Payne, who finished in 42nd place on Dynasty broke his leg at Tweseldown in May last year and said it’s taken longer than he expected to get over it.

    “I apologise if I’m tired at the end of the track but I’ve not been able to run as much as usual,” he said.

    7. Fellow debutant James Rushbrooke bought his ride Milchem Eclipse with two other horses, but expected to sell him “because he was nice and easy”. He no longer has the two other horses, but he’s never even tried to sell Milchem Eclipse and the pair finished 43rd.

    8. US-based Australian rider Dom Schramm sold patches on a cooler rug as part of his fundraising for his trip over to Badminton. In total, more than 380 people contributed to his fundraising effort. He and Bolytair B finished 49th.

    9. Among Laura Collett’s congratulations were messages from 2016 Badminton winner Michael Jung and Grand National-winning jockey Rachael Blackmore. She woke up in a panic on Monday morning thinking it had all been a dream and the first message she saw was one sent at 5.30am by 2019 winner Piggy March, reassuring her it had all been real.

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    Pippa Roome
    Pippa Roome

    H&H magazine editor and eventing editor
    Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
    Pippa Roome

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