The 2026 Badminton Fan Guide is now live. Here are a few curated highlights but you can access the full visual guide here.

Schedule

DRESSAGE
Thurs May 7th - 10:00 am
Fri May 8th - 10:00 am

CROSS COUNTRY
Sat May 9th - 11:30 am

SHOW JUMPING
Sun May 10th - 11:30 am (1st group) | 2:45 pm (top 20)

Livestream

Live streaming of all three phases is on BadmintonTV, powered by ClipMyHorse.TV. A year-long BadmintonTV subscription costs £22.99 and you do NOT need a ClipMyHorse subscription. Once you're a BadmintonTV subscriber, you simply log into ClipMyHorse using your BadmintonTV credentials.

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What to Watch

Can Lordships Graffalo make history (again)? - A third Badminton win would be unprecedented; no horse has ever claimed the Badminton title three times (dating all the way back to the event's start in 1949). Lordships Graffalo already made history at Burghley last year by becoming the first-ever horse to win both Badminton (2023, 2025) and Burghley (2024, 2025) twice.

RCA Patron Saint's speed threat - Lucy Latta & "Paddy" top the speed rankings. At Badminton 2024, they were the single fastest pair of the day and it earned them second place after they were initially in 43rd after dressage. Watch for this pair to make a similar climb up the leaderboard come Saturday evening.

The dressage battle - Lordship Graffalo's 6RA of 23.6 gives him a significant edge over the rest of the field, but the Badminton winner has come from as far back as 25th after dressage.

The cross country factor - Only 6% of starters have gone clear inside the time over the last 10 Badmintons. Expect big leaderboard swings on Saturday.

Falco's show jumping streak - Tim Price's Falco hasn't knocked a rail in 15 consecutive international SJ rounds. If he's in contention going into Sunday, watch out.

The show jumping factor - In each of the last five years, just two of the overnight top five kept all the rails up on the final day. In 2024, Caroline Powell & Greenacres Special Cavalier showed that a clear SJ round can catapult you up the leaderboard; the pair came from 6th after XC to win that year.

Five-star first-timer to watch - With Tom Jackson, United 36 makes more than one top-10 list among this year's field.

Top Contenders

Lordships Graffalo - Ros Canter

The strong favourite. Winner of Badminton 2023 & 2025 and Burghley 2024 & 2025 - the only horse ever to win both twice. Best dressage 6RA in the field (23.6). Has made the five-star time at Badminton and Burghley multiple times. The one to beat.

RCA Patron Saint - Lucy Latta

Tops the speed rankings with a TSP of 97% and was the single fastest horse at Badminton 2024. Finished 2nd that year.

Falco - Tim Price

Previous CCI5* winner (Pau 2021). Strong dressage (6RA 27.9) and the longest active SJ streak in the field: 15 rounds without a rail. A well-rounded threat across all three phases.

Greenacres Special Cavalier - Caroline Powell

Badminton 2024 winner. Proven ability to deliver in the jumping phases, particularly on Sundays; he is the highest-rated showjumper in the field.  

Hooney d'Arville - Lara de Liedekerke-Meier

Luhmühlen 2024 winner. Solid dressage (6RA 28.8) and five-star experience — a dark horse for the podium.

Cartania - Felix Vogg

Maryland 2025 winner and the wildcard of the field. 6RA of 30.0 suggests dressage may cost him, but a strong cross country could bring him right into contention.

Key EquiRatings Stats

6RA (Dressage Rating): The average of a horse's last 6 FEI dressage scores. Lower = better. Lordships Graffalo's 23.6 is comfortably the best in the field, with the next-best (Corimiro, 27.6) nearly 4 points behind.

XCJ Clear Rate: Just 51% of starters have jumped cross country clear over the last 10 Badmintons, and only 6% have gone clear inside the time. The average clear round still finishes 41 seconds (16.4 penalties) over the time. 

Top Speed Percentage: Measures how many opponents a horse has been faster than on it's three fastest XC runs (of his last 10). A TSP of 96–97% means a horse was faster than nearly all of his rivals over those three runs.

SJ Clear Rate: Only 14% of combinations showjump clear at Badminton (clear & inside the time). In some years it's been as low as 0% (2014). A clear SJ round is a major differentiator on the final day.

Dressage-to-podium range: The winner has come from as far back as 25th after dressage, and podium finishers have come from 48th. Leading after dressage is no guarantee — only 3 of the last 10 winners were overnight leaders.

FAQ

Who is the favourite?

Lordships Graffalo and Ros Canter are the clear pre-event favourites based on EquiRatings predictions. They hold the best dressage rating in the field, have made the five-star time at Badminton and Burghley multiple times, and arrive with four consecutive five-star wins behind them.

What does the EquiRatings Prediction Centre say?

EquiRatings' pre-event predictions place Lordships Graffalo & Ros Canter at the top of the win chances. Predictions are updated after each day of competition (dressage day 1, dressage day 2, cross country), so you can see the picture shift as the competition unfolds.

Which combinations are strongest across country?

Annaghmore Valoner (Harry Meade), RCA Patron Saint (Lucy Latta), Lordships Graffalo (Ros Canter) and five-star first-timer United 36 (Tom Jackson) feature among this year's highest-rated XC horses. The full lists with ratings are detailed in the full Fan Guide.

Where can I view the full guide?

The full visual Fan Guide is accessible right here ↓ or at news.equiratings.com → Form Guides.