{"id":2201994,"date":"2025-05-14T12:34:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T11:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/?p=2201994"},"modified":"2025-05-14T12:36:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T11:36:34","slug":"round-up-of-a-fantastic-week-badminton-horse-trials-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/round-up-of-a-fantastic-week-badminton-horse-trials-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Round Up of a Fantastic Week | Badminton Horse Trials 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What a week it\u2019s been at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials 2025<\/strong>! From impressive performances to perfect weather, delicious food, and plenty of shopping, this year\u2019s event had all the ingredients for an unforgettable few days in the heart of the Gloucestershire countryside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heartbreak and Highs for Caroline Powell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the big stories going into the week was Caroline Powell\u2019s decision to withdraw her talented mare Greenacres Special Cavalier \u2014 a tough call after their win last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But stepping up was High Time, her 13-year-old British-bred sport horse gelding, making his Badminton debut \u2014 and what a debut it was. He delivered a composed and expressive dressage test, jumped clear across country, and added just 4 faults in a tricky show jumping round on the final day. A performance brimming with promise, and definitely one to watch at 5* level.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Caroline and High Time on their way to super clear cross country<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Caroline also caught plenty of attention at the final horse inspection, turning heads in a striking Newmarket 875 trench coat<\/strong> \u2014 the work of local designer Hanako Varian, who is based less than 10 miles from Forelock & Load HQ. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Caroline and High Time at the final horse inspection wearing the fabulous trench coat from Newmarket 875<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A Grassroots Championship Debut to Be Proud Of<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

17-year-old Keira Parsons and her 18-year-old gelding Saratoga Candyman (affectionately known as Buddy) made an outstanding impression at their first Badminton Grassroots Championships<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keira produced a wonderfully accurate dressage test, expertly managing Buddy\u2019s enthusiasm to earn a starting score of 32.1. As one of the earliest to show jump, the pair delivered a faultless clear round, before tackling their most challenging cross-country course yet \u2014 and doing so with style and confidence, finishing clear with just 1.6 time penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Keira and Buddy flying the Chatham Brush after the water<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A memorable highlight? Keira was very fortunate to walk the course with Caroline Powell herself \u2014 an experience she\u2019ll surely treasure. Finishing 23rd in a highly competitive class of 103 combinations, this talented duo has a bright future ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Caroline and Keira at the LeMieux Saddle fence in front of Badminton House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A Special Shout out to One of Our Own<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We couldn\u2019t be prouder of Charlotte Cutler, a Suffolk-based rider who has been part of the Forelock & Load team since she was 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlotte took on the Badminton Grassroots aboard Holy Street, a 13-year-old ex-racehorse owned by Helen Alcoe. Together, they delivered a lovely dressage test, followed by a fantastic double clear. With a 5.6 cross-country time penalty speeding fine to add, they finished 50th in a very competitive field.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Holy Street showing his scope flying the corner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Now stepping up to Novice, we\u2019re excited to see where this hardworking and determined partnership heads next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the Competition: The Best Bits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there is more to Badminton than the horses and riders. We soaked up the sunshine, enjoyed catching up with old friends (and making new ones!), and admired the incredible backdrop of Badminton House<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cross-country course, designed by Eric Winter, was a masterpiece \u2014 beautifully built and technically challenging, it made for great viewing and even better walking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trade stands were a real highlight too \u2014 we may have done a little more shopping than planned (oops), but with such a great selection of equestrian and country lifestyle goodies, how could we resist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And last but certainly not least\u2026 Dingo<\/strong> made his modelling debut for Newmarket 875 and absolutely stole the show. We\u2019re expecting modelling contracts to roll in any day now.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Dingo modelling the silk scarf from Newmarket 875. He is often found in the Forelock & Load shop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Until Next Time\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Badminton 2025 was a week full of inspiration, sunshine, laughter, and unforgettable moments. Whether you were riding, shopping, spectating, or soaking it all in \u2014 thank you for being part of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s to another fantastic year, and we\u2019re already looking forward to what 2026 will bring!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What a week it\u2019s been at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials 2025! From impressive performances to perfect weather, delicious food, and plenty of shopping, this year\u2019s event had all the ingredients for an unforgettable few days in the heart of the Gloucestershire countryside. Heartbreak and Highs for Caroline Powell One of the big stories going<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":2202006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[433,434,435,45,49,13,89],"class_list":{"0":"post-2201994","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-equestrian","8":"category-news","9":"tag-badminton-grassroots","10":"tag-badminton-grassroots-championships","11":"tag-badminton-horse-trials","12":"tag-british-eventing","13":"tag-eventing","14":"tag-forelock-and-load","15":"tag-team-forelock-and-load"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/61\/2025\/05\/image14.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Kirstie","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/author\/kirstie\/"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/61\/2025\/05\/image14.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2201994"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2202004,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201994\/revisions\/2202004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2202006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2201994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2201994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/flld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2201994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}