Top local 5* Eventing Rider David Doel prepares for the season and Badminton
David Doel with Mars
For someone who topped the British Eventing leaderboard as the rider with the most cross-country clears in 2025, experiencing two uncharacteristic falls with his top horse, Galileo Nieuwmoed, at both Badminton and Burghley could easily have been difficult to recover from.
But leading Wiltshire event rider David Doel is very pragmatic: you simply have to make sure you don’t repeat the same mistake, and he admits he is quite good at bouncing back.
Prior to these falls, the pair had never recorded a cross-country run-out, refusal, or flag in more than 50 runs together. David and his team carefully reviewed both incidents involving his top five-star campaigner, Galileo — owned by David, Gillian Jones, and Mary Fox — before heading to Pau, where they returned to their brilliant best, finishing sixth overall. This end-of-season success undoubtedly supports his positive attitude, which he believes riders at all levels can learn from.
As he heads into the 2026 season, those lessons will be carried forward, and he is excited about the year ahead. It also helps, he says, to have a strong string of horses to keep him busy. Five of these are now happily based at the Mata do Duque International Trials in Portugal, where David plans to compete over the next couple of weeks due to the UK weather.
“We have five four-star horses and another four coming through, with a few more following on. Although it’s a job, I just love riding horses, and if you start thinking too much about it, then you will make mistakes,” explains David.
David and Galileo will be heading to Kentucky for their first five-star of the season.
“We spent 18 months working on Galileo’s flatwork and suppleness, and we saw the benefits of that. We achieved a personal best in the dressage at Burghley, which made the fall more frustrating, so we have had to make him a little bit ruder again — a bit perkier. He was back to his old self at Pau so I am really looking forward to Kentucky,” he says.
“It is a great event; the hospitality and welcome are amazing, and I am lucky to have supportive owners who want to go, as the flight alone costs £28,000 for the horse.”
Ferro Point and Midnight will be heading to the Mars Badminton Horse Trials. This year there is a week’s gap between the two events, which makes it more manageable for riders.
With 30 horses in total to ride and compete, David will be busy focusing on the season ahead — not the past.