‘Disappointing’ test for dressage favourite at Badminton leaves top rider adrift of the leaders

It was a tense finish to the Mars Badminton Horse Trials dressage phase, as one of the outstanding performers in this five-star field was very last to go. Tim Price and Vitali have a personal best at this level of 18.7 (Burghley, 2023) and two other sub-23 marks on their record, so were among the favourites to lead this phase.

However, the 15-year-old Contender gelding, owned by the rider and Alex Giannamore, couldn’t keep a lid on his exuberance in front of the packed stands on Friday afternoon and scored an uncharacteristically high 30.6. This left them nearly 10 penalties adrift of the leader Oliver Townend (Cooley Rosalent).

“I needed 10 more minutes before my test time,” said Tim. “Vitali has been so good all week, and he normally goes beautifully in there.

“Normally his little foibles and quirks are not that he becomes tight and unrideable, so that’s a new one, but you get them so fit and he is feeling very well. It’s disappointing.”

A little stumble after their first halt set the scene, followed later by a fidgety halt at C before the rein back. The horse also lost balance halfway through his usual party piece, the extended trot.

While most of the rest of their test was decent, it lacked the wow factor this horse can show and those slightly ragged moments proved expensive.

“I was looking forward to fighting for a good position tomorrow,” said Tim. “But you know how this game goes – you have to do three phases really well, and it may be one of these weird weekends where I was nowhere near the lead in the dressage but end up with a good result.”

They lie equal 16th ahead of cross-country, at the conclusion of the Badminton Horse Trials dressage phase.

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