Charlotte Dujardin has her lucky breeches. McLain Ward dismounts before his class in the warm-up ring. And for American eventer, Elisa Wallace, a relatively new tradition is now a key part of her pre-competition routine in the U.K., where she’s currently stationed ahead of her first run in this weekend’s Badminton Horse Trials.
For the second year in a row, Wallace chronicled her trip to the Avebury Wishing Tree in Wiltshire, South West England, in a Rider Vlog for Badminton. The ancient, gnarled European beech tree is thought to bring good luck to visitors, who make wishes while tying bits of string and thread to its sprawling root network. Last year, Elisa visited the site ahead of her run with Simply Priceless at Burghley in September, and it seems to have worked: the pair were the highest-placed Americans at the event, finishing 14th overall.