SUNDAY morning at MARS Badminton Horse Trials was not without drama, as Will Rawlin, lying seventh overnight with Ballycoog Breaker Boy, chose not to present his horse at the trot-up on Sunday morning. Kylie Roddy the same call for SRS Kan Do (in 40th), and during the course of the final horse inspection, several others were sent to the holding box. Among them were Tom Rowland’s Dreamliner, who was subsequently withdrawn, Alex Hua Tian’s Chicko and Sarah Ennis’s ride Grantstown Jackson. Both were represented, and ultimately spun.

Of the 40 combinations remaining in the competition, 20 jumped in the morning session, and only one produced a clear round inside the time. This came from Germany’s Arne Bergendahl and Luthien NRW, who also competes at national show jumping competitions at 1.40m level. Jonelle Price left all the poles intact after her round on Chilli’s Midnight Star, incurring only 0.8 of a time fault to top the leader board at lunchtime, while four faults were good enough to leave Bubby Upton and Cola lying second ahead of the afternoon session.