One of the greatest honours for an up-and-coming young rider is being invited to perform the ‘guinea pig’ dressage test at MARS Badminton Horse Trials, so that the three judges can ‘get their eye in’ before the first competitor enters the arena.

This year’s Ground Jury consists of Xavier Le Sauce (FRA) at C, Nick Burton (GBR) at H and Robert Stevenson (USA) at B, and first to ride up the centre line in front of them at 8.30am tomorrow will be Izzy White on her own 12-year-old Icarus.

East Midlands-based Izzy, 26, finished third at Bramham last year with Icarus and the combination tackled its first five-star at Pau. She also has several young horses progressing through the grades and showjumps up to 1.40m.

“I’m quite excited, and a little bit nervous,” Izzy admitted. “It’s a really good opportunity for me and Icarus to see the arena and a real honour to have been invited to do it. He finds dressage quite tricky but is gradually getting more established with the movements. It’s now a case of putting it all together – we are only just moving up to the level.

“Luckily he quite likes people watching him – he’s a bit of a showman, so hopefully we will both enjoy it.”

Kirsty Chabert has been drawn as pathfinder on Classic VI, due into the arena at 9am as the first in a field of 83 combinations.

All the action will be streamed live by ClipMyHorse.tv. A 2025 Badminton Season Pass, costing £20, is available to buy via this website. John Kyle and Nicola Wilson will be heading up the Badminton TV commentary, expert analysis and comment alongside invited guests.