British Bred & Futurity Graduate Lordships Graffalo under the expert guidance of former World Champion Ros Canter led from start to finish in the 2023 MARS Equestrian Badminton Horse Trials. The eleven-year-old SHB(GB) registered gelding produced one of only three double clears to take the title.
‘Walter’ owned by Michele Saul, was bred by the Lordships Stud at Writtle college when Pennie Wallace was a senior lecturer and loaned her mare Cornish Queen to the stud to be bred to the Stallion Company’s Trakehner stallion Grafenstolz.
Lordships Graffalo’s sire – formerly ridden by Michael Jung – achieved 5 two-star wins and two 3* placings. His dam Cornish Queen was bred by former Olympian Bridget Parker and by the SHB(GB) advanced eventing stallion Rock King who was by the leading sire Just a Monarch. Just as importantly Cornish Queen was out of Cornish Faer by Ben Faerie xx who with Bridget’s daughter Katie Parker was 21st at Badminton in 1995 and long-listed for the Atlanta Olympics.
Graffalo was one of five British Bred Horses that finished in the top 20;
Irish rider, Austin O’Connor, produced the fastest clear cross country with the Salty Syndicate’s grey Colorado Blue to rise 31 places up the leader board to a final 3rd place. Bred by Kate Jarvey Colorado Blue is by the prolific eventing sire Jaguar Mail out of Rock Me Baby who is also by Rock King out of a mare by Shaab xx.
The highest placed mare was taken by the lovely British Bred mare, Jalapeno, who is by the former Badminton Winner Chilli Morning out of a Shaab xx mare and was bred by former eventer and Futurity Evaluator Nick Gauntlett , ridden by Gemma Stevens and owned by Chris Stone.
9th place was taken by the maternal half sister to Lordships Graffalo, Pencos Crown Jewel, who as also bred by Pennie Wallace out of her amazing dam, Cornish Queen,(as above) by the great eventing sire, Jumbo.
The final British Bred in the top 20 was the homebred and produced Topspin ridden by 21yr old Alice Casburn.. Topspin is a second generation homebred from the Casburn breeding program, out of their Thoroughbred mare Capriati xx, who is by the stallion
El Conquistador xx, by Shirley Heights xx. Capriati’s dam is a mare named Spangle that Caroline competed to Advanced.
On evaluating these pedigrees quickly, it becomes clear to see that every one of these top British Breds has been bred with a strong damline with a high percentage of thoroughbred blood.
Of course, Cornish Queen, is not only bred in the purple for eventing but has now become one of the all time great dams of top Event horses. She also has an entire son by Chilli Morning called Pencos Arctic King (2018) and a full sibling to Lordships Graffalo currently unborn which was sold as an embryo to USA in November 2022.
Badminton, which is a 5-star international event (the highest level, CCI5*), was founded in 1949 and takes place on The Duke of Beaufort’s estate in Gloucestershire.
