Last year’s victor Sam Griffiths is one of nine former Badminton winners entered for this year’s event.
Former champions
Entries are in, from a which a total of 85 riders will compete to take home the famous Mitsubishi Motors Trophy.
These include Australians Paul Tapner and Andrew Hoy, New Zealanders Mark Todd and Jock Paget, and BritsWilliam Fox Pitt, Pippa Funnell and Oliver Townend, all of whom are past winners of the prestigious four-star event.
Mary King is also a former winner, though she is currently on the wait list with the homebred Kings Temptress.
A total of 12 nations are represented, with riders from Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Brazil, Ecuador, Italy, South Africa and Sweden also on the entries list.
Who will win?
The past winners have obviously proved their supremacy at Badminton, but there are lots of other names that could well be added to the roll of honour at this year’s event.
New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson, the reigning Burghley winner, has entered Nereo and Avebury. Despite a phenomenal career and a recent spate of three- and four-star wins, he is yet to win Badminton.
World and Olympic team gold medallist Ingrid Klimke is also on the entries list with her Pau winner, Horseware Hale Bob.
British chances include fast-rising stars Gemma Tattersall, Francis Whittington and Izzy Taylor, who have all been regulars on the squad for the FEI Nations Cup series. Laura Collett will do her first four-star with Grand Manoeuvre, who was 22nd last year with former rider Nick Gauntlett – Nick is also entered with two horses, El Grado and Crown Talisman.
Leading ladies
Some of Team GB’s most successful team riders are also heading to Badminton, including last year’s World Equestrian Games team silver medallist Tina Cook, who is entered with De Novo News.
Nicola Wilson, who has just returned to riding after breaking her collarbone in a showjumping fall, has enteredOne Two Many, Beltane Queen and Annie Clover (only two of which will be allowed to compete).
Jeanette Brakewell, best known for her partnership with the superb Over To You, makes her first Badminton appearance since 2010. She rides Lets Dance, who was 18th at Burghley in 2013.
Hoping for a chance
The waiting list is considerably shorter this year, with 14 riders waiting to see if a vacancy arises during the next six weeks. This makes it likely that Mary King and Kings Temptress, who are at the bottom of the list, are likely to be accepted.
Andrew Heffernan’s Millthyme Corolla has already been accepted, leaving 13 other hopefuls.
The full lists can be found here.
The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials runs fromWednesday 6 May to Sunday 10 May.