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Oliver Townend wins at Badminton Horse Trials

26 yr old British rider Oliver Townend's life long dream came true when winning The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials – his first Badminton title, riding Edward Nicholson’s Flint Curtis, surviving a nerve-wracking show jumping round under pressure.

The combination used the ‘life’ of a fence in-hand halfway round the course. A second pole down would have handed the trophy to former winner William Fox-Pitt.

The competition heightened as the afternoon went on. Nine of the final top 20 riders produced clean sheets and – those adding faults found themselves dropping rapidly down the order.

William Fox-Pitt and Idalgo, who jumped clear, were ones to benefit from others’ mistakes and in the end it was so close – the pair was just 0.7 penalties behind the leader and William a fraction away from recording his second win – the British Olympic rider won here in 2004.

“Idalgo has been sensational all week,” said William. “He’s been a bit unlucky in the past but we’ve always believed in him and his owners – George and Jane Apter – have been very loyal and as he proved he’s been well-worth waiting for.”

British-based Australian Sam Griffiths and Happy Times up into the frame to take third place after a clear round. Happy Times, at 10-years-old, one of the youngest in the field, is a German-bred gelding by the influential eventing Thoroughbred sire, Heraldik. The pair, 20th after dressage, rose to eighth place after cross-country.