King hungry for Badminton return after mixed debut in 2016

Having dreamed of competing at Badminton Horse Trials her whole life, 2016 was the year that dreams came true for Emily King.

Seen as the pinnacle of the eventing scene, the three-day competition combines dressage, cross-country and show jumping in a test of a rider’s ability in all three disciplines.

The 20 year-old got off to a fantastic start in her maiden appearance in May of last year, ending the dressage event in second place overall, just 2.4 penalty points behind eventual winner Michael Jung.

However she could not continue her pursuit for glory after suffering a fall at the second to last fence of the cross-country event.

King’s leading horse, Brookleigh, suffered a tendon injury shortly before the incident and such are the time scales of a horse’s recovery, both horse and rider must now wait until 2018 for their second attempt at glory.

We caught up with the Team GB rider who shared her reflections on her Badminton debut.

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Audio commentary courtesy of FEI.

Main photo courtesy of Horse & Hound.