Badminton winning horse 'an eventing legend' says rider

By Justine Thompson

Event diary

04 May 2010 10:44

Australian Paul Tapner described his horse Inonothing as a ‘legend in the sport of eventing’ following his magical Badminton win yesterday.

Paul, who is himself described by fellow riders as one of the hardest-working in the sport, rode with focus and determination to achieve the greatest moment of his equestrian career to date.

He went clear in the final Jumping to hold his slim overnight lead at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials.

“This means everything to me,” said Paul. “Every second of this year has been focussed on this moment.”

Inonothing is one of few horses who have won 1,000 points under British Eventing rules. He was originally given Paul to hunt, in an effort to sort out his somewhat tricky behaviour.

Paul took a little while to click with him, and nearly gave him up after a particularly awful event.

“I had such a dire day I wanted to tell his owners there was nothing I could do with him, but something stopped me saying that on the phone. I’m glad I didn’t, because soon after that, something clicked,” said Paul.

Germany’s Andreas Dibowski rose from fifth to second place on Euroridings Butts Leon – frustratingly, it was the pair’s third runner-up placing in their last three 4-stars, following Luhmühlen and Pau last year.
 
“My horse was foot-perfect across country, but if I’d just been a little faster or had a slightly better dressage, who knows? Maybe I’ll win next year!”
 
Daisy Berkeley (nee Dick, GBR) climbed from sixth to third, her best ever four-star placing, on the 17-year-old Spring Along. “He was awesome,” said Daisy of her horse, who has won her a team medal at every level at World, European and Olympic level. “He jumped like a super star.”
 
There was, however, disappointment for Mary King (GBR) who dropped two places to fourth on Imperial Cavalier, who looked strong and hit the first part of the double.