Moments From Day 1 Dressage At Badminton CCI****

PUBLISHED

May 4, 2017
3:05 pm

WORDS BY

Molly Sorge

South Gloucestershire, England—May 4

A Frenchman making his Badminton debut has gone into the lead on Day 1 of dressage at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton CCI****, making quite the splash as a somewhat tense test by defending champion Michael Jung put him into third on La Biosthetique Sam FBW.

Read all about Day 1’s action here, and see great photos of the day from Shannon Brinkman:

Thibaut Vallette on Qing du Briot ENE HN marked his first Badminton appearance by going into first on dressage Day 1. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

What does Vallette think of the cross-country? “It’s a dream to be here at Badminton,” he said. “It’s a very big course with a lot of intense jumping. It’s my first four-star and my horse’s first four-star, so the distance element will be new for us.”

Thibaut Vallette of France gave a salute at the end of his test on Qing du Briot ENE HN. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Laine Ashker (left) is at Badminton to cheer on her fellow U.S. riders like Elisa Wallace (right). Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Hannah Sue Burnett rode Harbour Pilot into eighth place with a lovely test. Photo by Jon Stroud

Did you know? Burnett is superstitious and has made a rule not to walk the cross-country course at three-days on Wednesday—she headed out for her first walk after her Thursday dressage ride.

About Harbour Pilot, she says: “He’s a really cool horse with a big personality, and he doesn’t love everyone—he knows his people. If there’s a crowd of people, and someone he knows yells his name, he will look right at them. He loves atmosphere, and he loves being at a party; he’s a social kind of guy and a show-off.”

Lynn Symansky piloted Donner to a solid test with just a few problems in the flying changes to go into a tie for 14th place. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Symansky took a walk around the cross-country, which has been described as one of the biggest at Badminton, on Wednesday. “I haven’t quite wrapped my head around all of it yet, but he’s a great cross-country horse,” she said. “He’s done six four-stars and was great at Burghley two years ago, so I have a lot of confidence in the horse, so I’ve just got to go out and attack it. If any course is going to suit him it’s this kind of course. It’s not a dressage show, for sure.

“I am a little light on runs this year, but he’s so experienced that he doesn’t need to run too much. I’ve schooled a lot, and he feels prepared. I think the crowds with the close galloping lanes will be the hardest thing for him,” Symansky said.

Donner and his loyal groom, Kendyl Tracy. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Bettina Hoy of Germany and Designer 10 trotted into second place. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Hoy on the cross-country course: “I might have a sleepless night before—there’s a lot to jump out there, and it’s definitely not a dressage competition,” she said.

Designer 10 took a quick snack after the dressage test that put him and Bettina Hoy into second place. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Defending Badminton champion Michael Jung flashed a quick smile as he prepared for his test on La Biosthetique Sam FBW, which put them into third place. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Pietro Sandei of Italy was interviewed by the press after his test on Mouse. He’s in 40th place. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

The Brits love their Jack Russell Terriers! Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Rosalind Canter used Allstar B’s powerful trot to to help put them into a tie for eighth place. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Allstar B, the ride for Rosalind Canter of Great Britain, got some love from his groom after his test, which put him and Canter into a tie for eighth. Photo by Shannon Brinkman