here are victories. And then there are the ones that redefine the sport.
At Badminton Horse Trials, the ultimate five-star cathedral of eventing, Ros Canter and the evergreen Lordships Graffalo delivered something truly extraordinary: a third victory together in the legendary British CCI5*-L. In 77 years of Badminton history, no horse-and-rider combination had ever achieved it. Pressure? Barely.
In the final show jumping test, “Walter” produced an ice-cold clear round as if he were cantering around the family paddock back in Lincolnshire.
Badminton thrives on drama.
Rails falling. Leaders cracking under pressure. Dreams collapsing on the final line of the show jumping. And once again this year, everything seemed set for a nerve-shredding finale.
But Ros Canter had breathing room. Real breathing room. Ten penalties clear before entering the arena, an almost outrageous margin at this level. Still, she had to finish the job.
The result? Just 2 time penalties. Zero rails. Zero panic.
Fourteen-year-old Lordships Graffalo, ears pricked from start to finish, jumped with the calm confidence of a horse who knows exactly where he is, and exactly why he’s there.
Badminton had just witnessed history.
Three Badmintons. Two Burghleys. A winning machine.
The craziest part? This victory almost feels routine for the British duo.
After a first Badminton triumph in 2023, followed by another in 2025, Ros and “Walter” now claim a third Badminton crown. Add to that two victories at Burghley Horse Trials (2024 and 2025), double European gold in 2023, and Olympic team gold in 2024.
At this point, the horse is no longer simply an eventing star. He’s becoming a historical benchmark.
Before him, only a handful of horses had managed to win Badminton twice: Kilbarry, High and Mighty, Great Ovation, Sir Wattie and Supreme Rock. None had ever reached three.
Lordships Graffalo has now created his own category.
Tim Price strikes, Harry Meade pays the price
Behind the untouchable British pair, Tim Price delivered one of the finest Badminton performances of his career. His clear round aboard Falco elevated him to second place overall — his best result here since 2017.
« Falco is a fantastic little horse, all brain and all heart. »
Longtemps dauphin provisoire après le cross, Harry Meade a lui laissé filer le podium idéal avec une faute au jumping sur Annaghmore Valoner. Une petite barre, énorme conséquence : troisième place finale.
Behind them, Britain’s Tom Jackson impressed with the young United 36, finishing fourth for his best-ever Badminton result, while Katie Magee and Tayla Mason completed a remarkably international top six.
Lara de Liedekerke and the emotional rollercoaster of Badminton
For two days, Lara de Liedekerke-Meier genuinely believed she was on course for one of the biggest results of her career. Third after a superb dressage test. Still eighth after a strong cross-country round.
Then came the show jumping.
Three rails down pushed the Belgian rider all the way back to 19th place overall.
A brutal result on paper.
But one that barely captures everything she experienced throughout the week.
Because even before the sport itself, there was the emotion of returning to this mythical venue.
“When I arrived there, I had one of those moments… I sent a message to my mum half crying, thinking I never imagined I’d come back here after everything that happened. And actually, I’m just incredibly lucky to do what I love every day.”
Yet from the dressage onwards, everything seemed to align.
“It was pretty much what I expected, although the comedown back to reality was maybe a bit harder than expected because we produced a really great dressage test.”
Lara described a technically polished performance, built more on trust and consistency than flashy movement.
“She’s not a huge mover. She doesn’t move to score nines and tens. But everything is confirmed. Everything is established. The most important thing was having her relaxed, feeling good there, and able to show the best work possible.”
Then came the sentence that perfectly captures what top-level event riders chase every day:
“When you can perform at the exact right moment with your horse completely in sync with you… that’s special.”
The story became more complicated on cross-country day.
The ground rode incredibly fast, forcing Lara to constantly balance competitiveness with preservation.
“The ground rode like a show jumping arena the whole way around. I still had some doubts about her stamina because we didn’t have the preparation I wanted.”
And yet, despite those doubts, the mare answered every question.
“She actually ran really well. She’s not the fastest mare either, so I think we delivered a very good performance and did what we needed to do.”
At that point, Lara was still right in the mix. Still inside the top ten. Still allowed to dream.
Then came the show jumping. And confusion.
“Honestly, I felt quite confident for the jumping. I’ve done hundreds, thousands of rounds. I thought she could do zero, maybe four faults, but I really didn’t think she’d do more than that.”
In the warm-up, everything had felt perfect.
“She jumped beautifully in the warm-up and I felt the track suited her perfectly.”
But once inside the ring, everything unravelled.
Three rails. Three mistakes in combinations. And a dramatic drop to 19th.
With hindsight, Lara believes the explanation was probably physical.
“I think she was lacking a bit of suppleness in her body. And that’s where we paid for our preparation. She jumped the single fences very well.”
Then came the brutally honest self-analysis.
“If we’re being 100% honest with ourselves, maybe it was unrealistic to think we could come here with such a short preparation and win everything.”
The frustration remains huge.
“I’m frustrated because I don’t just want to participate. I want results. I was capable of producing a top performance and we didn’t do it.”
But in the very next breath, she also explained why she keeps coming back for moments like this.
“This is the sport that makes me tick. The one that makes me wake up in the morning wanting to understand my horses, understand the sport, move forward and improve.”
Amid the disappointment, the Belgian rider also witnessed something that deeply impressed her: Ros Canter’s historic third Badminton victory.
And once again, her perspective went far beyond the result itself.
« “What’s fascinating with Ros Canter is that she’s incredibly humble, incredibly approachable, very grounded.” »
Then came an almost poetic description of the partnership between Canter and Lordships Graffalo:
« “He’s not the kind of horse where you think he gallops like a Thoroughbred or jumps like a pure show jumper. But he’s the ultimate event horse. Polite. Responsive. He cruises around a five-star as if it were a one-star. With unbelievable ease. And it’s not over yet.”. » ajoute t’elle.
Impossible, too, not to mention what impresses the paddock almost as much as the results themselves: Ros Canter’s ability to balance elite sport with family life. Mother of two young daughters, including a baby born in January, the British rider keeps stacking five-star victories as though it were the most normal thing in the world. A balance that particularly fascinates Lara de Liedekerke-Meier:
« “The fact she’s also a mother… seeing her there carrying her child around, half breastfeeding, and proving that if you’re organised and structured, you can wear all these hats and still succeed… while others complain about nothing. I think it’s incredible. I even told her that her daughter had already won three five-stars because she was pregnant during some of those major victories,” the Belgian joked.
In a sport where the physical, mental and logistical demands are enormous, Ros Canter almost makes the impossible look ordinary. A complete champion — without ever playing the untouchable superstar.
Finally, Lara perfectly summed up what many people likely felt throughout the weekend at Badminton:
« “That symbiosis, that harmony… the image she gives to our sport is incredible. And above all, they achieve all of this with disarming ease.” »
“Walter Should Be Considered the Best in the World”
As she climbed off after her round, Ros Canter herself seemed almost overwhelmed by what she had achieved.
« It’s difficult to put into words what I’m feeling right now. Once everything settles in, it will be incredible. »
Then came the statement that now sounds more like a fact than a claim:
« I hope this result makes Walter the best horse in the world. »
At 40 years old, the British rider continues to build a monumental résumé. After starting out producing young horses before joining the British team in 2017, she has become one of the coldest competitors under pressure on the world circuit.
And in a sport where simply surviving Badminton already borders on achievement, the duo’s technical dominance commands admiration even from rivals.
Harry Meade summed it up perfectly:
« Getting a horse to the start is already incredibly difficult. Producing performances like this is something every horseman will recognise. Her composure and technical quality will leave a lasting legacy. »
Not just praise. A statement of fact.
A New Dynasty at Badminton
For decades, the records of Lucinda Green, Mark Todd and Pippa Funnell seemed untouchable.
Now, Ros Canter is doing more than earning a seat at their table. She’s hosting the banquet.
And with a 14-year-old Lordships Graffalo still jumping like a luxury metronome, perhaps the question is no longer whether this pair is already legendary. But rather: where does the legend stop?
