EVENT NEWS: The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials 2015
Clash of the Titans
Written by Amy Bennett
On first inspection of the Mitsubishi
Motors Badminton Horse Trials list of
accepted entries, it looks like the who’s
who of the eventing world. With no
less than eight previous Badminton
Champions, including reigning title
holders Sam Griffiths and the 12 year old
mare Paulank Brockagh, it seems that
2015 is set to be a bumper year for talent
and an exciting competition between
eventing’s big guns and fresh new
competitions.
The entry list has noticeably
diminished from previous years at
104 horses – down from 141 last year,
and is in fact the smallest entry for a
number of years. Most likely due to new
course designer Giuseppe della Chiesa’s
intimidating track last year, that left
just over 30 horses completing on Show
Jumping day, leaving riders
reconsidering whether they are ready
for the ultimate of eventing challenges.
Considering that anything between 15
to 43 combinations can be accepted off
the waiting list it is highly likely that the
14 sat on this years’ wait list will get their
call up for the competition before the
cut-off date of the 3rd of May.
The list of previous past winners
reads like the eventing bible but we can
expect to see British favourites Mary
King, Pippa Funnell, William FoxPitt and Oliver Townend challenging
the title with their likely European
Championship contenders for this year
as well as being accompanied by the
Antipodean champions Jock Paget, Paul
Tapner and Mark Todd on their top
mounts.
But lest we forget to mention the
equestrian champions gracing
William Fox-Pitt on Parklane Hawk
Image credit Mike Bain
6
Badminton’s hallowed turf! Although
Sam’s Paulank Brockagh and Jock
Paget’s Clifton Promise are the only
two previous Badminton champions to
contend the title again this year, there is a
whole host of proven 4* winners that are
being campaigned for their shot at this
years coveted trophy. British contenders
are William Fox-Pitt’s Parklane Hawk
and Cool Mountain (who is likely to
head to Kentucky) as well as Mary
King’s homebred 14 year old mare Kings
Temptress who is just coming back
into competition after recovering from
injury. Other 4* champions are Avebury
& Wesko (who is also likely to head
to Kentucky) with their New Zealand
riders Andrew Nicholson and Tim Price
as well as TS Jamaimo being ridden by
Australian Christopher Burton.
Other nations throwing their hat into
the ring include a strong contingency
from Ireland as well as France, Sweden,
Brazil, the Netherlands and Germany.
However noticeable German omissions
from the Badminton start list include
world champion Sandra Auffarth and
reigning Olympic champion Michael
Jung who are likely to be planning their
European Championship campaigns
with vigour.
Along with Cool Mountain & Wesko,
some of the other equestrian stars
featured on the list are also likely to fly
to Kentucky rather than keep their entry
into the event including Zara Phillips
& High Kingdom, William Fox-Pitt’s
Bay My Hero who won there previously,
Francis Wittington’s current British
Open Champion Easy Target and Nicola
Wilson, who is currently recovering from
a broken collar bone, riding her parent’s
Annie Clover.
So the gauntlet is laid but it is still
far too early to place your bets on
a contender yet. What you can bet
your bottom dollar on is one strong
competition, and with this year’s cross
country course as fierce as the last it’s an
event you won’t want to miss.
To find out more information please
visit www.badminton-horse.co.uk
Everything Horse UK Magazine • Issue 19 • April 2015