Joseph Murphy and Belline Fighting Spirit. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Joseph Murphy will be the first to tell you to hold your proverbial horses, that there are two phases left to come, after a good dressage performance. But to come in to Defender Burghley and lay down a personal best for a horse that’s not slipped into the low 30s often, if at all, in the past, deserves some exploration.
Belline Fighting Spirit, a 10-year-old Anglo European gelding by Freeman VDL, is contesting his third CCI5*, first Burghley, this week. Prior to this, the horse’s personal best in FEI competition was a 31.8, earned at the 3*-S level back in 2022. Today, despite some touch and go weather, the Irish Olympian piloted “Spirit” (love that barn name) to a 30.9, shaving nearly four points off his previous best 5* mark earned at Pau (his debut at the level) last year.
“It wasn’t perfect in there,” Joseph, ever the realist, said after the test. But should his weekend finish according to plan, it will be the accumulation of Joseph’s pursuit of betterment, and some extra education he’s gained from none other than triple Olympic champion Michael Jung of Germany.
Joseph’s maintained a friendly relationship with Michael through the years, helping to source horses for him and asking for some assistance. Michael has earned a reputation for his meticulous preparation of his horses, and Joseph shared that those “good habits” are paying off in his own way now.
Joseph Murphy and Belline Fighting Spirit. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
“There’s the accumulation of a lot of things—-what makes him such a brilliant horseman, and how he works with his horses, and how compassionate he is with them,” he explained. “But the competition side, for me, is how disciplined he is in his preparation and what he expects from the horses. I think that’s the biggest thing. If I had this conversation with him now, he’d be probably shaking his head, thinking, ‘Well, that’s just what I do.’ But from the outside, it’s incredible, really—-how he prepares for an event and how he expects the horses to be right at the right time, for the dressage and for all phases.”
Joseph maintains a level of self-awareness that allows him to have an open mind, even so far into his own eventing career as he is, about the ongoing education of the event rider and horse.
“I think that, you know, I hold my hands up: I haven’t been riding good enough. I haven’t been preparing good enough. I haven’t probably been disciplined,” he continued. “The riding, in one way, came quite natural to me. But that’s not a great thing either, because then you tend to ride a little bit off the seat of your pants. And that’s what I was doing until I really now started knuckling down…I’ve got feedback from judges. I’ve watched videos. I’ve been more disciplined in my preparation and training with the horses every day. And I think that’s the thing that’s now starting to show.”
He’s coming off a banner preparation run at Lisgarven in Ireland, where all of his horses finished inside the the top 7 or better across divisions; for him, that’s the proof that some of these good habits are beginning to show and pay off in a big way.
“For me, that’s incredible. My goals are starting to come off. To come here with this horse and it’s another personal best—it’s a goal for me,” he said. “So I think that with a change of mindset, that’s really what I’m talking about. I have to focus on that and believe in it, and not let the outside world dictate a little bit what I do. We all can get drawn into teams and championships and trying to rush horses and so on. But I’m in a lucky position. I have some fantastic owners who are very supportive. They more or less give me free rein, and I want to get the results for them now. I feel I can, as a rider, I feel like I can do it, but I need to put it together now. In a way, I’m probably my own worst critic, but that’s how it has to be now.”
It can be difficult to tangibly state what it is a rider has learned from someone like Michael Jung. Really, even Michael himself can’t really put it into words, but Joseph tried: “The preparation events—-he would always bring the horses to a place where they’re going to be prepared properly, whether it be in the dressage ring or a jumping ring. Everything is thought of—-it’s just not on a whim. And that’s why the good results come. He’d be definitely made a different way than most people, but he knows his horses so well. So I think for me, the takeaway is the good habits that creates in the competition environment and before it.”
Many thanks to Kentucky Performance Products for their support of our Defender Burghley coverage! Click here to learn all about their science-backed and time-tested nutritional support products for horses.
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