May 8, 2026 
Twelve weeks ago, Ros Canter gave birth to her second daughter, Seneh. As of Friday, she’s leading the CCI5*-L at the Mitisubshi Motors Badminton Horse Trials on Lordship Graffalo. Again.
The 2025 champions are back to defend their title at Badminton, riding to a 23.7 score in Friday’s dressage. Canter announced her pregnancy in September after winning her last five-star appearance on Lordship Graffalo at Burghley Horse Trials.
“I’m delighted” said Canter of their performance.
“It’s been a funny few weeks having just had a baby—focus is a very different thing at the moment so I have had to work very hard the last few days to make sure I’m in the right frame of mind. I was possibly a little bit stressed this morning so I had to have a word with myself and spend some time on my own. My changes weren’t going well but that was probably me panicking—he’s not a horse that would choose to do a flying change so I have to change the canter slightly. It’s a fine balance.”
Badminton is familiar—and wildly successful—terrain for the Canter and the 14-year-old British Sport Horse gelding. Three of their five career five-star starts have taken place at the manor where they’ve never finished out of the top two. They were second in their Badminton debut in 2022 and won it in 2023 and 2025.
If three months seems like a speedy return to five-star sport, it is. For normal people. For Canter, it’s par for the cross country course. She returned to competition just 10 days after the birth of her first daughter, Ziggy—and won a 4* long format class three months later.
Seventy-seven pairs came forward for dressage. Tiana Coudray sits in second place with Cancaras Girl on 28.1. Lara de Liedekerke-Meier moves into third on Hooney d’Arville on 28.6.
All eyes now turn to course country, staring at 6:00am ET. Catch all the action on ClipMyHorse TV.
