Are posted; https://www.badminton-horse.co.uk/index.php/entries/2019/
It’s too bad more US riders don’t go over. You can’t expect to compete on the world stage if you never leave your own back yard.
4 Likes
I was thinking the other day that the US would benefit from an ERM series of it’s own. If they have similar in other parts of the world, you could actually have a “World Series Final” sort of thingy.
4 Likes
Pure speculation on my part, but since this is a PanAm year and the US needs a top PanAm performance to qualify for Tokyo, I’m thinking some of the big time US riders who may be in contention for team spots are happy enough to stay on this side of the pond and aim their best horses for Kentucky.
8 Likes
Go Selena and Woody!!
I was purely amazed at how many Brits and some others have horses here year after year after year. The top Brits, Aussies, Kiwis and Germans seem to never be without multiple 5* horses. Impressive next to NA.
3 Likes
US has a pipeline of good 4* short format horses so PanAm is no execuse. While I like to see riders supporting the home turf at Kentucky it’s a bit sad our top riders don’t have the mounts or just aren’t competitive enough for the toughest course in the world.
3 Likes
Looks like a couple of US riders are on the wait list.
I think a lot of US riders don’t have the financial backing to travel to Badminton to compete. Still, I am surprised at how few are entered!
9 Likes
I personally don’t think there’s much point in taking on the effort and financial burden to go to Badminton until a horse has done at least two Kentucky’s successfully. I don’t think there are any U.S. riders currently with enough established 5* horses in their string to warrant the trip. There is a handful of riders who probably will make the trip in the next two or three years but Kentucky a) is at home b) offers better prize money c) far less of a logistics and planning effort and easier on the horse.
We’ve seen multiple inexperienced/middle of the pack U.S. riders contest Badminton unsuccessfully over the past few years. Maybe people are realizing that if you’re going to go, you should go knowing you have a horse that can be competitive.
That being said, I was hoping that we might see Donner at Badminton this year. Maybe Burghley is in the cards. It looks like all the U.S. riders currently on the wait list will get in after the field is trimmed down to the two horses per rider limit. Excited to see Tammie in there.
5 Likes
That’s already been taken into account when determining how many riders to accept at the outset (as in, Oliver is listed four times because each of those horses has enough points to be accepted as compared to those on the wait list, but since he can only occupy a maximum of two spots on the start list, two additional horses have already been accepted - so there are six horses showing on the list, four of which are Oliver’s and two are for someone else, but only four spots in the starting order are considered occupied because only two of Oliver’s are “counting”).
That said, the remaining American riders are fairly near the top of the wait list, and historically would be expected to get in. I doubt we’ll see the number of withdrawals we did last year, since hopefully the European horses will actually have prep runs available to them this year, but it is still horses and things do still happen. Can’t wait for Badminton 2019!
2 Likes
“There is a handful of riders who probably will make the trip in the next two or three years but Kentucky a) is at home b) offers better prize money c) far less of a logistics and planning effort and easier on the horse.”
These kind of comments come up all the time when it comes to overseas competition. It never seems to change. You’re not going to win on the world stage if you stay home all the time. Hell, we don’t win even in our own backyard. Dutton was the last US rider to win back in 2008.
5 Likes
1969 50th Anniversary course; https://app.crosscountryapp.com/badminton/qj23ly?base=satellite&guide=true
I’m actually getting to go this year! So I’m hoping there’ll be some Americans to cheer on.
3 Likes
They are a bit thin on the ground. One on the entry list, two on the wait list (#5,#15)
One on the ground jury :lol:
Donner I think would rock Badminton! But maybe he’s aiming for KY to try for an American win.
I think he’s more of a team horse. Solid placings that can be relied upon. Has he ever won a 4* ?
Maybe he can bag Kentucky this year.
When I saw Donner go at Burghley I thought he could be a top 5 horse but IIRC it was his first big event post injury and she was quite slow & working towards Team stuff. I was bummed because he looked so fantastic in Dressage. He’s a bit cheeky though, she is a good rider. I haven’t paid as much attention the past two years (motherhood) but I hope she quits saving him for Team events and works on the best results they can muster at the time. But a first big run back it’s very understandable not to go super fast (but then part of me wonders why go to Burghley? Why not Pau which is softer). They are a favorite pair. He strikes me as a horse that would thrive at Badders.
I’m also going to miss seeing Donner at Badders this year, he’s one of my fav US horses. He’s sixteen I believe, and I’d love to see him win another really big event before he retires. Lynn Symansky is such a talented rider, sometimes I’m a bit surprised that her string isn’t much deeper.
How cool that Mark Todd is still competing at Badminton, after all these years! I notice he and Andrew are only riding one horse each, which is somewhat unusual for them, although Nicholson’s Nereo retired last year.
His dressage is really good now, also I’m sure people thought the same of Classic Moët!! Haha
