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On her 25th attempt at this level Great Britain’s Piggy French finally won her first 5 star on Trevor Dicken’s 15 year old mare Vanir Kamira and there isn’t a more deserving winner of the final Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials.

Oliver Townend had one hand on the trophy going into the final show jumping phase with a fence in hand on Ballaghmor Class but a careless rail and 1.6 exasperating time faults handed the trophy to an ecstatic Piggy by just 0.3 of a penalty. “I’m very much not used to this – I can’t believe it. In the nicest possible way she’s a pain 362 days of the year but I love her to bits and she comes into her own at these big ones”.

With last year’s new dressage socring system reducing the influence of the dressage scores Eric Winter’s excellent cross country course provided a perfect test on great ground on the Saturday. Australia’s Chris Burton piled on the pressure with 2 beautiful rounds on Graf Liberty and Cooley Lands, Imogen Murray on Ivar Gooden prose from 65= to 8th to win the Glentrool Trophy and Piggy and Oliver rose to the challenge with immaculate rounds to fill the first 2 places after the second phase.

Piggy would be only one of eleven of the 56 show jumping starters to jump clear inside the time to book her place on the Badminton winners board and claim the £100,000 first prize.

Commentary by Spencer Sturmey, narrated by Adam Cromerty.

Approx. 45 mins.