‘Maybe I should try to catch him up on the cross-country!’ Husband and wife to go head to head at Badminton

Among the hopefuls lining up at the LeMieux Grassroots Championships at Badminton next week (6-7 May) will be a husband and wife going head to head – with just one other competitor on course between them.

Mary and Oliver Lofthouse have qualified Kilrainey Queen (Sandra) and Amicitia (Spot) respectively for the BE100 final. It will be a first for Mary, who evented up to four-star level before she had her three children. But Oliver and Spot are veterans, having contested the 100 and 90cm finals on multiple occasions.