Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo are the answer to who won badminton horse trials 2026 if they can turn a bid for a third straight victory into another title at Badminton. Canter enters the 2026 event as the rider trying to extend a rare run on one horse, after winning the 2025 Badminton Horse Trials on Lordships Graffalo.
That 2025 result came after Oliver Townend led following dressage and cross-country, only to drop to second when he knocked down a rail in the show jumping finale. Canter’s win was her second at Badminton and she dedicated it to Caroline Moore, her coach and mentor, who died two months before that victory.
Badminton Estate and Canter
Badminton runs across four days, with dressage on Thursday and Friday, cross-country on Saturday and show jumping on Sunday. The winner is the combination with the fewest points across the three phases, which makes every phase count in a way that leaves little margin for a late mistake.
The event has been part of eventing’s Triple crown, also called the Grand Slam, alongside Kentucky and Burghley. Started in 1949 by the 10th Duke of Beaufort, it is now in its 78th year and has drawn crowds of around 200,000 people to the Badminton Estate, about 15 miles from Bath and Bristol.
Oliver Townend and 2025
Townend’s 2025 lead showed how quickly Badminton can shift at the top of the standings. He had the edge through two phases, but the final rail cost him the win and left Canter to close the door on another rider’s run at the title.
For Harry Somerset, the 12th Duke of Beaufort, whose family home is the Badminton Estate, the event remains the centerpiece of a competition that still rewards precision over four long days. Canter and Lordships Graffalo now carry the weight of that history into a return bid that would put them alone in the event’s recent record book.
