Lucy Latta in Paris Olympics frame after Badminton Horse Trials landmark

admin admin | 05-13 08:15

Lucy Latta achieved one of Irish eventing history's landmark results after a second-place finish at the prestigious Mars Badminton Horse Trials.

The Wexford rider was making her five-star debut and the runner-up finish puts her firmly in the Paris Olympics selection frame.

Latta, who is the cousin of Grand National-winning jockey Robbie Power, went close to becoming the first Irish winner at Badminton since Captain Eddie Boylan 59 years ago.

Eight faults on RCA Patron Saint in Sunday's jumping phase enabled Latta to rise to second from an overnight position of third in the 75th edition of the competition.

New Zealand rider Caroline Powell, 59, and the Irish Sport Horse Greenacres Special Cavalier, bred in Meath by Michael Callery, overtook Latta with a clear round to triumph with a total penalty count of 43.2.

Somerset-based Alex Bragg took third on Quindiva, with Emily King and Valmy Biats finishing fourth.

"I can dream about the Olympics, I would love to think I could go," Latta said after her feat, adding that she would "have bitten your hand off" to have been in the position she found herself on Sunday.

"My horse was phenomenal this week, and there's still loads to improve on with him, in the dressage, and things to clean up in the show jumping."

"These are the weeks and days that you dream of and they don't come off too often in this sport.

"It's quite a difficult sport. There's lots of injuries, there's any amount of things that can go wrong but luckily for me this week, everything seemed to go right."

Additional reporting: PA

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.


ALSO READ

USD exchange rates today: Rupee and other major currencies

The latest currency exchange rates have been updated, showing fluctuating values across major intern...

PSX KSE-100 index gains 158 points after profit-taking

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index ended 158 points higher on Monday, closing...

Gold prices in Pakistan reach record high with Rs268,000 per tola

Gold prices in Pakistan continued their upward trend, reaching a new record high on Monday. In the l...

Wall Street mixed as markets digest last week’s gains

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Monday as markets attempt to build off last week’s ...

Plucked and coloured: Auckland woman fined after doves found suffering

An Auckland woman has been prosecuted and banned from keeping animals for five years after birds in ...

Trump taking breather from campaign when Secret Service saw a rifle

Today was to be a day of relative rest for Donald Trump, a rare breather this deep into a presidenti...