Will
Faudree and
Antigua (Will and Antigua are pictured at the right below jumping the skinny
after the water at Southern Pines this spring.); Sara Kozumplik with
As You Like It; and Heidi White riding Northern Spy are entered for Badminton.
Please
see the below Press Release for details of other competitors. BADMINTON
2005 MORE INTERNATIONAL THAN EVER A record eighteen Nations will
be represented at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials which run from
5th to 8th May in the Duke of Beaufort’s Gloucestershire park. The remarkably
varied field boasts four previous winners of the Mitsubishi Motors Trophy:
Rodney Powell, who this time rides Liquid Ice, Mary King on the
late Caroline Pratt’s Call Again Cavalier, Pippa Funnell with Supreme
Rock (the 2002 and 2003 dual winner), Primmores Pride or Cornerman and last year’s
champion William Fox Pitt (Tamarillo and Ballincoola). Pippa and Cornerman
are pictured below at the left jumping the jetty at Badminton last year.) Twenty
nine riders have ridden for their countries at the Olympic Games, winning team
medals of all colours and there are two individual Olympic gold medallists, Matt
Ryan from Australia and Leslie Law, the Athens victor. The number
of competitors hoping to start two horses is fifteen and yet again there is a
very  healthy
tally of riders new to Badminton, thirty three in all out of the one hundred entries
accepted. Competition at the top will be fierce. Senior riders Andrew
Nicholson (New Zealand), Matt Ryan, Andrew Hoy (Australia) and indeed
Leslie Law himself have won almost everything else and have come within
touching distance of the famous Trophy without ever actually winning the blue
riband of the sport, while double World Cup winner Linda Algotsson from
Sweden has not yet been higher than fifteenth. Jeannette Breakwell’s veteran
Over to You bids for his sixth completion; Bumble Thomas, third last year
and second at Burghley, and Sarah Cutteridge, so cruelly deprived of an
Olympic start by a minor lameness, are sure to challenge for the top spot. The
eighteen nations include first ever entries from Japan (Yoshiaki Oiwa),
Croatia (Pepo Puch), Portugal (Carlos Grave) and the Czech Republic
(Jaroslav Halta). Apart from the large British contingent, the other nations
challenging are Australia, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Dutch Antillies, France,
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden and the USA.  Badminton
2005 is also likely to see a new record when Andrew Nicholson aims to go
ahead of Lorna Clarke with the most completions of the great event. Currently
they are level pegging on a remarkable 22 each.
A full list of entries is
on the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton website – www.badminton-horse.co.uk –
(see 2005 Entries) where it is also possible to book tickets securely online,
although the most popular grandstand seats for the final show jumping are already
sold out. This year’s cross country course with eleven new fences will be
unveiled on 14th April. **ENDS** Further information:
Julian Seaman, Press Officer
41 Gastein Road, London, W6 8LT
Tel: + 44 (0)
207 385 0591
Fax: + 44 (0) 207 386 9820
Email: Julianseaman@gastein.fsnet.co.uk Also:
Mitsubishi Motors Press Office
Tel: + 44 (0) 1285 647200
Email: pressoffice@mitsubishi-cars.co.uk
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