Belgium is increasingly a nation on the up in eventing and the MARS Badminton Horse Trials is very much a part of trainer Kai-Steffan Meier’s plans: “I telephoned Jane Tuckwell [Badminton Director] in February and told her that I had four riders I wanted to bring and they are all here.”

Kai-Steffan represented Germany at championship level. “I loved competing here myself,” he explains. “Badminton is very much part of the development of a nation like Belgium which needs more exposure to competitions of a higher level than championships [which are held at 4* level].

“I learned a lot from Chris Bartle when he was our team trainer and would bring German riders to Badminton. I feel that it is usually a pattern that it is the five-star nations who get the medals and that events like Badminton and Burghley are the top of the sport.

“The Badminton experience is very much part of trying to move to a new level,” explained Senna Vervaecke, who is making his Badminton debut along with Seppe Vilain and Wouter de Cleene. Completing the quartet is Kai-Steffan’s wife, Lara de Liederkerke-Meier. Last year she became Belgium’s first five star winner, triumphing on Hooney d’Arville at Luhmuhlen.

“It was as much a surprise for me as everyone else,” said Lara. “I am certainly not expecting to do the same again. Badminton is very much a learning experience for me, too.”