Rethinking fitness for horse and rider pays off as Kylie Roddy strives to reverse her Badminton fortunes

On a morning at Mars Badminton Horse Trials when few horses were posting close to their best dressage marks, SRS Kan Do (George) scored one of his top five-star scores of 30.1 for Kylie Roddy. This put them third at lunchbreak on day one, less than one penalty behind Oliver Townend (Ballaghmor Class) and Gemma Stevens (Chilli Knight).

They performed a remarkably consistent test, earning sevens almost throughout, with their highlight coming in the halt before rein-back, which scored two eights.

“I’m beyond thrilled,” said Kylie. “The first phase is the one we riders get the most stressed about. George is such a level horse to ride, but he was quite frisky in the stable this morning, trying to nibble us, buck a bit. Most horses it sends them over the edge, but with George it gives him that added extra.”

Kylie will be hoping it’s third time lucky at Badminton for SRS Kan Do, who has been successful at other five-stars, but notched up two non-completions here. This year Kylie has overhauled his winter training to try to target spring success.

“He’s always been an autumn campaigner so this time I didn’t give him long off in the winter,” she said. “I kept him in work to see if it’s a body conditioning thing, rather than seasonal, and did my work a bit differently.”

She worked a lot on building up strength in the 15-year-old’s back, working over raised sleepers to engage his core, “getting the mobility in the joints without putting miles on the legs”.

“He does 100 of them a day, so he’s worked smarter not harder,” she said. “And I didn’t run him too close to Badminton; in spring you’re always trying to get the runs in, but he runs better fresher. So I tried to do what I normally do in autumn.”

Kylie’s also made big changes to her own fitness regime, and it seems to be reaping dividends.

“This winter I decided to be very miserable and eat 800 calories [a day] from November, and then in March at Poplar Park I could up my calorie intake,” she explained.

“So I’ve been miserable but smiley inside because it’s all for the greater good as George finds the whole job easier. I’ve been going to the gym too after I lost a lot of weight. It’s for the welfare of the horse, to make his job easier.”

Mistakes prove costly in Badminton Horse Trials dressage

Jérôme Robiné, one of a four-strong German contingent, had some exceptional moments in his test with his Blenheim third Black Ice. But a major blip in the counter canter to flying change earned them a string of ones, which marred an otherwise beautiful performance. Their score of 34.6 was nonetheless good enough for a place in the top 10 by the end of the first morning.

Meanwhile, David Doel also paid a heavy price for an error with his five-star specialist Galileo Nieuwmoed. They posted 38.1 after the 15-year-old wrecked his chances, also in the counter canter to flying change – scoring ones.

“I’m really disappointed, but you’ve got to put that behind you,” said David. “He just got a bit too fresh and perky in there. He was being fantastic, worked well last night and this morning; I thought he was on it and sorted. He didn’t give me any signs he was going to be so perky, but as they get older they get craftier!”

How to watch Badminton Horse Trials

If you want to watch the live action from Badminton Horse Trials from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. This year, Badminton TV has teamed up with ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch Badminton – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £21.99. Go to clipmyhorse.tv/en_GB/badminton to subscribe or to activate your account as an existing Badminton TV subscriber. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. As part of Badminton TV, you can enjoy the documentary programme Legends and Legacy, a fly-on-the-wall insight into the 2024 event and preview of 2025.

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