Six former racehorses take to the stage at Badminton

Six former racehorses are among the 90 set to compete at this weekend’s Badminton Horse Trials, headed by Arctic Soul, who finished a tremendous third overall last year.

Once again the highest-placed of the racehorses turned top-class eventers will win a £1,000 cash prize offered by Retraining of Racehorses.

The six former racehorses and their riders are Arctic Soul (Gemma Tattersall, GB), Galley Light (Ben Way, GB), Kaapachino (Jesse Campbell, New Zealand), Donner (Lynn Symansky, USA), Simply Priceless (Elisa Wallace, USA) and Balladeer Durban Hills (Sarah Parkes, GB).

As well as Arctic Soul, Galley Light and Kaapachino completed at Badminton last year, with Galley Light finishing 12th and Kaapachino 33rd. The remaining three former racehorses will be making their Badminton debut.

RoR chief executive Di Arbuthnot said: “It was a real thrill last year to see the likes of Gemma Tattersall on Arctic Soul and Ben Way on Galley Light flying the flag for former racehorses at the world’s premier three-day-event. For the inaugural winner of the RoR prize to finish third overall was brilliant.

“This year we have another strong line-up and we’re hoping the RoR prize will continue to raise awareness of the versatility and talents of former racehorses.”

Badminton runs from Wednesday to Sunday