May 10, 2025 
Mars Badminton Horse Trials has narrowed to a two-horse race, featuring two of Britain’s best, as they head into show jumping’s final phase and they don’t have a rail to spare.
Oliver Townend (GBR) and Cooley Rosalent, winners of the 2024 Kentucky CCI5*, finished Saturday’s cross country course fault-free and within the time to advance on their dressage score of 22.3.
“She is still relatively babyish and a little nervy; she is a very sensitive mare, pretty much the opposite of Thomas (Ballaghmor Class),” said Townend of the 11-year-old mare. “She was very shy of the crowds, particularly in the warm up, but the more the course went on and the stronger the questions became the more she seemed to enjoy it and by the time we jumped through the lake we were away.”
Nipping at his heels is countrywoman Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo, who added three penalties to their score to hold onto second on 25.3.
Canter sits just 3.2 penalties behind Townend, but the Equirating’s Prediction Centre still tips her to take the title with a 56% win chance to Townend’s 42%.
Both riders successfully appealed 15 penalty flag violations.
“I was absolutely certain that Walter (Lordships Graffalo) had jumped within the flags at every fence. It’s a privilege to sit on him. He absolutely loves it and makes my life easy,” said Canter.
“I wouldn’t class myself as a naturally fast rider, but on Walter everything feels so easy and he never seems to tire.”
Completing a British top three, Gemma Stevens is lying third on Chilli Knight, a horse cloned from Chilli Morning, the first stallion to win Badminton, back in 2015. Irish rider Austin O’ Connor sits in fourth on the Maryland CCI5* winner, Colorado Blue. Both finished within the optimum time.
Fellow Brit Harry Meade was the only rider to come home within the time on two horses. Superstition has climbed 18 places from dressage to lie fifth overnight and Cavalier Crystal jumped from 33rd after dressage to seventh going into the show jumping.
“It was a very strong course—some of those back rails seemed a very long way away!” said Meade.
Problems were evenly dispersed throughout the course. The first big challenge came at the Agria Corners (fences 6 and 7). Although separately numbered, the two fences were very close together and the second element claimed seven refusals and two flag violations. The lake produced its own drama, but only one combination, Germany’s Arne Bergendahl and Luthien NRW, received a true ducking. The Ineos Grenadier Sunken Road at fence 12 caught out several of the early riders but as the word got back to the riders tent, it caused no problems later in the day.
The deep shadows in Huntsmans Close (Fence 26) prompted a last minute phone call from Oliver Townend’s father.
“A phone call from Dad is very rare but he said, ‘It’s getting very dark in Huntsmans and two have just stopped at the corner so if you are anywhere near the time just gallop over the options’…I always do what my Daddy tells me!” said Townend, tongue firmly in cheek.
Sixty of the 79 starters completed the course. Forty-four of those completions had no jumping penalties.
The 2025 Badminton title will be decided Sunday and streams on Badminton TV.
