It is fair to say that Dodson & Horrell Ambassadors had the most incredible week at Badminton Horse Trials. There were some fantastic performances from each of their horses who looked superb all week long and we are so proud to support them!
Congratulations must first go to Laura Collett and London 52 for their fabulous win, it is so well deserved. London 52 (Dan at home) looked a picture and Laura kept a cool head leading from the front after a wonderful dressage display on Friday. This was followed by foot perfect clear rounds in the cross country and showjumping to lift the coveted trophy and set a record as the lowest completion score ever at Badminton.
Laura commented on her monumental win, “I’m still in total shock to have won Badminton Horse Trials! It’s been a childhood dream of mine! London 52 was foot perfect all week, he looked a million dollars and his performances showed he was clearly feeling a million dollars too - thanks to Dodson & Horrell feed!”
Piggy March and Vanir Kamira (Tilly at home), the 2019 Badminton Champions, were not far behind in fourth. Tilly was looking incredible, now 17 years young, you would never know. She put in a fast clear round across the country and with only one down in the showjumping they moved up two places from their dressage - really giving the rest of the field a run for their money with their sixth top five finish at five-star level!
Richard Jones riding Alfies Clover put in a brilliant performance to finish 10th - their best result at Badminton to date. Alfie had his game face on the whole weekend and seemed to absolutely relish in the atmosphere and really stepped up to the challenge with two brilliant clear rounds and only time a few time penalties to add to their dressage score.
Tom McEwen had mixed fortunes with an unfortunate fall on the cross country with the formidable Toledo De Kerser however, was really pleased with an impressive 27th at CHF Cooliser’s (Eliza) first ever Badminton. Harry Meade and Away Cruising (Spot) gained their fifth five-star completion and Bubby Upton and her horse Cola had a first Badminton performance with so much to be proud of.
Dr Laura Wilson BVM&S MRCVS, Technical Advisor at Dodson & Horrell works closely with the Ambassadors to make sure their horses are in peak condition throughout the eventing season.
“Each horse is an individual and it is important that they are fed as such. I visit our Brand Ambassadors regularly and as well as setting them up for the best chance of success nutritionally at the start of the eventing season, we keep in touch and make any tweaks needed to diets as is necessary. Some such as Bubby’s Cola can be quite spooky to ride and so low starch / high fibre and oil feeding is key for him. He can be a fussy eater and prefers to be fed out in the paddock. On the other hand, feeds such as Competition Mix and Performance Concentrate Muesli are designed to provide the quick release energy Harry is looking for with Away Cruising, these feeds are also carefully formulated to support digestive health. All of the horses competing were fed extra electrolytes to help replace losses sustained during heavy sweating especially during the heat that we experienced on Saturday at Badminton. Staypower Muesli and Cubes are a popular choice with our eventing Ambassadors as these are specifically formulated to provide steady release energy and support stamina needed at this high level of sport.” explains Laura.
You don’t have to be competing at Badminton to benefit from the science and expertise of D&H products for your horse or pony. Contact our D&H Helpline and use our free Feed Review service to get individual feeding advice from our qualified nutritionists and vets. Visit https://dodsonhorrell.myshopify.com/pages/feed-review to access our Feed Review which will generate a unique diet report for your horse or pony or get in touch with the Helpine via LiveChat, email helplineenquiries@dodsonandhorrell.com or by calling 01270 782223 for friendly and unbiased advice.
