Andrew Hoy and Rutherglen hold 2nd place at Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials at the lunch break on the first day, despite a couple of mistakes in their test. Photo by Samantha Clark.
We saw some nice tests between the first morning break today and the lunch at Burghley. Andrew Hoy must be wondering what he might have scored if it hadn’t been for a couple of bobbles in the first couple of changes and a moment of confusion on the final halt. Although not as accurate and not such a polished test overall as Michael Jung’s (which currently leads with fischerRocana FST on 34.2), Rutherglen’s movement and presence was much bigger and as it was they scored 37.8 which puts them in 2nd place currently.
Rosalind Canter and Allstar B rise to the occasion at their first 4*. Top three finish at the lunch break at Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials first day of dressage Photo by Samantha Clark.
Another horse with the wow factor was Rosalind Canter’s Allstar B. A huge horse with a massive stride, Rosalind did a fantastic job of showing him off and their test was smooth and forward and a pleasure to watch. At their first four star event for them both, they should be thrilled with their performance today.
A nice test from first timer Vanir Kamira with experienced 4* jockey Paul Tapner leaves them in equal 5th at the first day lunch break Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. Photo by Samantha Clark.
Paul Tapner rode 4* first timer Vanir Kamira into equal 5th place on a score of 42.5 behind fellow Aussie Chris Burton and tying with Sam Griffiths with a consistent, steady test.
Fernhill Highlight and Francis Whittington during the dressage phase of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials 2015. Photo by Samantha Clark.
Francis Whittington may not have won the judges’ hearts this morning but he won the crowds’. Mistakes in the changes marred some nice work from Fernhill Highlight and leave him with a score of 54.9. When asked what he though the best points of the test were immediately afterwards he grinned ruefully and pointed out how beautifully turned out his horse is, and said that his best work had been in the collecting ring.
However, as Sam Griffiths mentioned, with the cross country course as tough as it looks this year, none of the riders are predicting that Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials 2015 will be a dressage test, and despite a lovely test on Badminton 2014 winner Paulank Brockagh, Sam said he imagines it may well pan out the same way as when he won. Without the rain though, we’re all hoping; despite some fairly serious looking dark clouds it has stayed dry and fairly chilly all morning and the forecast is for more of the same.
Looking forward to cheering on the USA after the lunch break with Lynn Symansky and Donner at 2pm local time, 9am EST. If you can, make sure too follow along with the Horse & Hound live blog at this link. Also follow @eventingnation on Twitter for live commentary, and remember you can watch the dressage tests on demand at Burghley TV. Thanks for joining Eventing Nation at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials this year, and GO Eventing!
