Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
And so we come to the conclusion of the first phase at the 2024 Defender Burghley Horse Trials – one in which, so far, it’s really just Ros Canter’s world, and the rest of us are just living in it.
The diminutive Olympian (and European Champion, and former World Champion, and two-time five-star winner, and all the rest…) began her week in fine style yesterday, putting a 19.8 on the board as second in the ring with Pau champion Izilot DHI. In doing so, she set a standard that couldn’t be beaten and delivered Burghley’s second best-ever dressage result in the process.
This afternoon, there were two horses up to bat who, we though, might stand the slightest of chances of usurping Izilot’s lead. One of them? Tim Price and Vitali, who set the Burghley dressage record last year when delivering an incredible 18.7. The other? Ros’s second ride, her Badminton-winning European Champion – and Paris team gold medallist – Lordships Graffalo.
Look, we already spoiled this one for you: no one beat her. But at the end of the day, it’s Ros who is Ros’s closest challenger, thanks to a five-star personal best effort from Lordships Graffalo, with whom she posted a 22 – a mere tenth of a penalty better than their prior PB, obtained at Badminton in 2023, when they won, and 1.4 penalties better than their score at the Paris Olympics.
“I was delighted with Paris, but I knew we could do better, to be honest,” admits Ros. “So the last couple of weeks, after we had a bit of a break, we’ve been kind of trying to work out what it was I was struggling with and things like that. And really, [we] just had a light bulb moment about seven days ago on straightness. [We] got straight, and the whole thing got so much easier. It’s funny, that!”
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Ros and twelve-year-old British-bred gelding ‘Walter’ (Grafenstolz – Cornish Queen, by Rock King) are known for their prowess in this phase (along with, well, both the others, too), but still, Ros confesses, “I’m pleased to get that out of the way! I’m pleased that [with] Paris and the atmosphere and everything he was still dead relaxed today. We had a good plan; I didn’t do too much with him this morning and he felt great – really great.”
“I was hoping for [a score like that], but I do find him slightly trickier,” she continues. “I talk about Izilot being tricky spookiness-wise, but actually, Walter’s just a little bit trickier in that he gets a bit stressed with work and pressure and things like that, [so you] have to be a little bit more careful and tactful with him. So I always feel like it’s slightly more of a question mark, whether I pull off the day. But then actually, when I get on him, and I get working, I realize what a dude he is — he actually just loves it, doesn’t he? He absolutely loves the people and being in an environment like that.”
Ros will now go into tomorrow’s cross country with 2.1 penalties in hand over herself – or five seconds, in real-world terms – while Lordships Graffalo has a margin of just 0.3 between him and third-placed Tim Price and Vitali, which doesn’t even give them a second to spare.
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
“I can’t quibble with a 22.3, can I?” says Tim, pragmatic after not quite smashing the lofty heights of last year with the fourteen-year-old gelding. “He was really, really good, and I actually found him – it was more conventional, this time. You know, everyone sees what goes on in the ring, but last year, he was really funny out here [in the warm-up], and this was just nice and normal. I could just be a bit more conventional with our preparation and when we went in, he just did what he does so well, which is a nice flowing test. To pick a few holes here and there is doable. I can think of little bits and bobs, but he tried really hard, and he was really good fun.”
Coming into the ring as the last combination of the day, and with last year’s record fresh in everyone’s mind, was a uniquely pressurising situation, Tim says.
“He’s a really good dressage horse, so you just put a bit of pressure on yourself to do what the horse is capable of. So I had a little bit of that playing in the background, and all day to sit and wait for my test,” he says. “But what is pressure, really? It depends what you do with it. You do an 18 one year, so you’re like, ‘well, how do I go a little bit better?’ Because that’s what we do with all our horses across all levels – you just want to improve and push a bit. I watched last year’s test, actually, to see how I could improve upon it – but it’s all just words now, in the end, isn’t it? He was great; he went in and was rideable and happy doing his job, and I think I did a good job, too.”
Other than that outlier of a test from Ros in the lead, much of our top ten is now tightly packed scores-wise (and, in fact, a single 20 penalties covers the entire top 55, which sets the stage for no end of excitement tomorrow). The best of this morning’s session, Emily King and Valmy Biats, now sit fourth on their 24.1, 1.8 penalties, or just a hair over four seconds, behind Tim and Vitali, while Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent in fifth are just 0.3 penalties behind them.
Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Sixth place after dressage goes the way of US-based Kiwi Monica Spencer and her charismatic Thoroughbred Artist, who delivered a sparkling 24.4 – despite a frustrating error of course in this new test.
“I was having so much fun out there, I went the wrong way!” she laments. “So I’m disappointed with myself, but thrilled with the horse.”
This isn’t the pair’s first time flirting with scores this low: they posted a 24 at Adelaide in 2023 on their CCI5* debut, and the year prior, put a 25.6 up at the World Championships in Pratoni, which uses a five-star test. Their more recent five-star tests, at Maryland last year and Kentucky this spring, have seen them drift into the high-20s and very low-30s, respectively, but on both occasions, they’ve finished seventh after efficient cross-country rounds and two-rail showjumping finales.
Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
“He’s a real trier, and his best attribute is how trainable he is. So he just keeps getting better and better,” says Monica. “I’ve done Maryland and I’ve done Kentucky, and was seventh at both of those, so I’m looking to improve on that here. And everyone keeps telling me I’ve got a Burghley horse, so it’s time to find out.”
France’s Gireg le Coz, who produced a 25.3 this morning with Aisprit de la Loge, sits seventh going into cross-country, and Badminton winners Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier move into eighth on their 25.4, while this afternoon saw France’s very good day in the office continue with two new entries into the top ten.
Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold HDC. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Nicolas Touzaint, who was part of the silver medal-winning team in Paris with Diabolo Menthe, began his Burghley debut with Absolut Gold HDC on the horse’s international personal best across all levels. Or, his equal personal best, anyway – the pair also scored a 26.1 in the CCI3*-S at Arville this year, which has markedly fewer flying changes (none. It has none.).
“I’m very, very happy with the horse – I know that he can do the very best, but I don’t always get it out of him. Today, we did it,” says Nicolas.
Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold HDC. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Nicolas, who is the only Frenchman ever to win Badminton, which he did in 2008, has long dreamed of coming back to Britain’s other Big B, and to do so with Absolut Gold, a horse who has partnered him to team medals and individual placings at the Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 European Championships, is a particular treat.
“I’ve never ridden here at Burghley, so I’m really excited about it,” he smiles.
His compatriot Gaspard Maksud sits just 0.7 penalties behind him on a 26.8 and overnight ninth place with Zaragoza, with whom he finished sixth at the 2022 World Championships.
For British-based Gaspard, who was left off the Paris team over concerns about his horse’s first-phase performance, delivering a best-ever five-star score, and one of the eleven-year-old mare’s best international performances ever, was an enormously emotional moment.
Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
“When you’ve been told your dressage isn’t good enough, you want to make a point to build at a big one and show [it, like] ‘you know what? Look at her,’” he says. “After Luhmühlen, and being told she was a bit too quiet… but she’s a hot horse — she can’t be ridden in that way all the time, otherwise she would explode. So she was very prepped for [Paris] and [now] she was prepped for Burghley, to be able to do, on the day, the test she needs to do to be competitive. And when you put it up in a big one like this, it’s always quite emotional.”
In the test itself, Gaspard says, ‘Zoe’ “did everything I asked. She got a bit hot after, but I tried to be brave and just to manage [her] at the end. She just keeps giving. She knows the atmosphere, she knows why she’s here, and she wants to do her best. I know on a good day we could be like just [under?] 27. You never know what can happen, but I knew about 27, 28 would be a very good result, [and] so with a 26.8, I couldn’t be happier. We’re going to enjoy today — tomorrow’s another day.”
Gaspard, who began the week as a two-horse rider, will now just ride Zoe tomorrow – he’s withdrawn early ride Kan-Do 2, who’s been sold. That takes away his chance to learn about the course ahead of his competitive ride later in the day, but it does give him lots of time to watch, learn, and adapt his plans accordingly.
Andrew McConnon and Wakita 54. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
The last of our strong US contingent, Andrew McConnon, was all smiles after his test with Wakita 54, who he knew wasn’t coming to her Burghley debut to try to lead this phase. But what makes her tricky on the flat – they earned a 40.4 for overnight 57th place after some green wobbles in the walk and canter work – is exactly the collection of qualities he hopes will help her shine tomorrow.
“She’s a great horse,” he smiles. “She wouldn’t find the dressage to be the easiest, so I was pleased with her. She went in there, she was really happy and stayed with me the whole time. She’s funny — she’s really, really quiet, and anyone can hack her. But when she gets going, she’s pretty difficult to ride. She wants to have her way, which is great. So as long as I kind of go with it little bit of a loose rein and stay out of her way, then she’s pretty happy. I’d say [the last] two years, she’s really come even more on side, become a little softer. She’s 11 this year, and I think given another year or two, I can get her a bit softer over her top line, softer over her back.”
“The [rideability] is a little bit easier on cross country: I can give her a little bit longer of a rein – the judges don’t want me to go around in a stretchy circle the whole test! – and I kind of leave her down and alone, and then kind of balance her up when I need to,” he continues. “But as long as I kind of remotely guide her to the fences and then stay out of the way, she normally has the rest. So I’ll want to support her, not leave her to do it on her own, because this is a big track, but you know, we’ll give it our best shot.”
Andrew, who was previously based in the UK with William Fox-Pitt, has long held a dream of competing at Burghley – a dream he’s realising this week for the first time.
“I visited in 2011 for the first time, and then 2016 and 2017 to watch, but never to ride. It’s been a goal forever, but more specifically when I was over here with William [Fox Pitt]. Burghley has always been my favorite event anywhere, and so I wanted to come back, and my mare, she’s bold and strong and willing, so it should be a good track for her. I just hope that we’ve done the preparation to give her a good run.”
We’ve currently got a hefty field of 65 starters – pending any overnight withdrawals – for tomorrow’s trip around Derek di Grazia’s cross-country track, which begins at 11.00 a.m. BST/6.00 a.m. EST. And the verdict on it? We’ll be bringing you insights directly from the mouths of the riders soon, but for now, suffice it to say that nearly all of them have told us that they’ve never seen fences as big as the arrowheads in the Leaf Pit. It’s an awe-inspiringly big, bold track, with a huge amount of intensity in the first quarter of the course, and tomorrow’s going to make for some pretty thrilling viewing. For now, you can take a look at the rider times for tomorrow here, and have a ‘walk’ around the course via the CrossCountry App here. You’ll be able to watch all the action on Burghley TV, where there’s also a comprehensive course preview video, and, of course, you can join us right here on EN for live updates and a bumper end-of-day report full of insights and analysis.
Until then: Go Eventing!
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