British team gold and individual silver Olympic medalists Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser head the leaderboard at the lunchtime break on day one at Badminton Horse Trials, presented by Mars Equestrian. The pair performed, a lovely fluent test to score 23.4 including a 10 for the extended canter.

‘It’s a shame we didn’t do that test in Tokyo!’ said Tom afterwards. ‘Compared to our Olympic test it was pretty much mistake free. The changes were nice and clean – he can do more expressive ones but they were perfect for here, the half-passes were lovely, he was really smooth through his body and in a great rhythm. You can’t ask for much more than that really.’

American rider Tamra Smith lies in the runner-up spot on Mai Baum (25.3), a horse with an excellent dressage record. The pair contested Kentucky five-star last year, but it is their first trip to Badminton.

‘He’s been on fire all week and got a little bit overwhelmed by the crowds. I think it’s his first test on grass and, while he’s never made me nervous going in to dressage, I was a bit “hmmmm” yesterday when working him so I played it a bit safe in there. I’m super proud of him.

‘I could have gone back to Kentucky, but I feel that he’s the best horse in the world. He’s just an unbelievable creature and I want to be at the best event in the world with him. It’s not every day you have a horse you can bring here. Neither of us have 30 years ahead of us, and we are ready!’

Defending champion Piggy March (Vanir Kamira) and Oliver Townend (Swallow Springs) tie for third place on 25.7 with another first timer, Amanda Pottinger from New Zealand hard on their heels riding Just Kidding.

Follow more extensive coverage of the Badminton Horse Trials – May 4-8, 2022 here!

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