Mary King aiming for four-star return

Popular event rider Mary King is planning to make her four-star return at Badminton with her homebred mare Kings Temptress.

Homebred

The Devon-based rider announced yesterday on her Facebook page that she was aiming for the famous four-star with ‘Tess’, who has had some time off through injury.

“This year I have Tess aiming for Badminton – very exciting – yes, I still get excited at the thought of riding at such a great event!” she wrote.

Mary hasn’t competed at this level since Badminton last year, when she pulled up a tiring Imperial Cavalier soon after surviving a sticky moment at the Owl Hole fence.

At the previous year’s Badminton, Mary finished 13th with Imperial Cavalier, but was eliminated on Kings Temptress after jumping the wrong side of the flags at a corner fence.

Back in work

Mary and Tess’s next event following Badminton was Salperton in June 2013, where they suffered a heavy fall on the cross-country.

The mare last ran at Aston Le Walls in July of that year, but withdrew after the dressage. She then missed the entire 2014 season with a minor tendon injury.

“The horses are enjoying starting work again,” Mary wrote. “Nick Rule, our farrier, came and shod them all, and now it’s a few weeks of walking on the roads, gradually increasing the length and amount of hill work. Tess was shod three weeks before the others, as due to her time off with an injury I thought it was sensible to do an extra few weeks road work with her.”

Smaller string

After retiring Imperial Cavalier last May and with Kings Temptress off work, Mary was left without a four-star ride last season.

She was also suspended from competing for two months from June, after receiving a second yellow card for ‘dangerous riding’.

Last season Mary concentrated on competing her small string of younger and up-and-coming rides, as well as working with daughter Emily. Emily King made her three-star debut last year, and was also part of the Junior Eventing team at Bishop Burton.