The Badminton Horse Trials have always been one of the most important features of the British Equestrian Calendar but with the Athens Olympics looming, the event created huge Antipodean interest with Australia and New Zealand boasting ten entries apiece.

Pippa Funnell, who had the season of a lifetime last year, when winning Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley - along with £50,000 and a Rolex watch - had two chances to defend her title. If she managed to win on either Viceroy II or Cornerman, she would also match the record of three consecutive Badminton wins, only ever achieved by Sheila Wilcox in 1957,58 and 59.

First to go in the dressage, British short-listed rider Caroline Pratt started the event with the kind of test usually only ridden in nightmares. Primitive Control sadly showed a lack of almost any control and Caroline could purely battle to keep him in the arena.

© Sue Wingate - The Joy of Horses 2004