Surprise twist as Badminton Horse Trials wait list cut-off deadline passes

The team at Mars Badminton Horse Trials have extended the wait list cut-off time to give the final rider on the reserve list the possibility of competing at this week’s five-star (7-11 May).

The change means New Zealand’s Tayla Mason and Centennial can be added to the start list if anyone withdraws before noon tomorrow (Tuesday, 6 May).

The FEI schedule for the event states that wait-listed entries will be “accepted in order as and when there are withdrawals, up to but not after 2pm on Sunday, 4 May 2025”. Had this been enforced, Tayla would definitely have been unable to compete as she was still on the waiting list at 2pm yesterday.

But at midday yesterday event director Jane Tuckwell told Tayla she will be accepted if anyone withdraws before noon on Tuesday.

“We hope this gives Tayla every chance of competing in the unfortunate event that another athlete has to withdraw,” said the notification on Badminton’s social media.

No one has withdrawn from the event since midday yesterday, so at present, the New Zealand rider still remains on the wait list.

Tayla will be making her Badminton debut if she gets the chance to compete, on the 14-year-old gelding Centennial, who is owned by his rider, her mother Sonya, brother Kyle and Sue Rutter. Centennial was bred by Sonya.

Tayla and Centennial were 14th on the Badminton Horse Trials wait list originally and the other 13 pairs above them have all now been accepted. The two riders below Tayla on the waiting list, Ireland’s Fred Scala (Everon Vivendi) and New Zealand’s Hollie Swain (Solo), have both withdrawn.

An unusually small number of horses has been withdrawn from Badminton this year – since the waiting list system was brought in in 2008, between 14 and 43 pairs have been accepted from it in the years when there has been a wait list (there was no waiting list last year; all those entered were accepted straight away).

The small number of withdrawals is perhaps partly due to the good weather and conditions this spring, which have meant riders have been able to give horses the required preparation runs for the five-star.

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