skip to main content

Lucy Latta in Paris Olympics frame after Badminton Horse Trials landmark

Lucy Latta riding RCA Patron Saint on her way to second place during the jumping test
Lucy Latta riding RCA Patron Saint on her way to second place during the jumping test

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."

Latta competes part-time, working full-time as a brand manager for a Dublin-based company, and speaking to RTÉ Sport's Darren Frehill, she added of managing a momentous achievement: "It's been an incredible week. It means so much to me and to my family and to everyone who has supported me.

"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

Read Next