#Winning, photo courtesy of Allie Conrad

William Fox-Pitt stands alone as the only rider in history with 6 Burghley wins.  William navigated the first time four-star horse Parklane Hawk to victory with just one time penalty in the show jumping and a 4.4 point margin ahead of second placed Andrew Nicholson and Nereo.  With the win, William passes 5 time Burghley winners Mark Todd and Ginny Eliott for Burghley supremacy. 

All of the show jumping videos are being uploaded on Burghley.tv.  Click the link and to watch replays of every round for free. Update: All of the rides are now posted. [Burghley.tv]

The British weather just couldn’t let Burghley go by without playing a factor.  It rained heavily throughout the morning including at times during the final group of show jumping.  The grass footing became more and more torn up as the rounds progressed.

Since William, Mary, and Andrew all had two horses in the top 10, they jumped their first rounds out of order.  Mary had 4 rails with Apache Sauce and William pulled 3 with Neuf Des Coeurs to drop them both out of contention.  Andrew Nicholson on the other hand had a brilliant clear round with Nereo meaning that Andrew could warm up Avebury knowing that Nereo could finish no worse than 5th.  At that point, with the footing deteriorating and having just seen Mary and William pull multiple rails, I thought to myself that the WEG silver medal winning horse might end up with the Burghley win.

It turned into a dramatic finish when Mary, Andrew, and William rode their top placed horses.  Mary King and Rolex champion Kings Temptress, sitting in 4th, pulled one rail to ruin their hopes of a second 4* win this year.  Caroline Powell and the 18 year old Lenamore then pulled 2 rails to end their hopes of a Burghley repeat.  Andrew Nicholson and Avebury had a chance to put extra pressure on William with a clean round, but they dropped three rails, giving William a one rail margin ahead of Nereo.

Parklane Hawk didn’t need the breathing room and cleared all of the jumps easily.  Burghley shaped up perfectly for Parklane Hawk.  William has talked throughout the weekend about Parklane Hawk’s galloping and jumping ability and those were by far the most important qualities at this year’s competition.

Burghley Results:

1. William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk (GBR) +1  39.7
2. Andrew Nicholson and Nereo (NZL) +0  45.1
3. Mary King and Kings Temptress (GBR) +4  47.4
4. Caroline Powell and Lenamore (NZL) +8  50.8
5. Jonathan Paget and Clifton Lush (NZL) +0  52.7
6. Clear Phillips and Lead the Way (GBR) +0  53.7
7. Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos (USA) +4  53.7
8. Andrew Nicholson and Avebury (NZL) +12 54.8

[Full Scores]

What more can we say about Boyd and Neville that hasn’t already been said?  Rain, mud, 20 hours removed from a Burghley cross-country round 3 months after nearly dying, barely jumped since Rolex–none of that can stop Neville.  Neville and Boyd had one rail down in the triple, but finished in 7th as the highest placed US pair.  Neville is a four-star jumping machine.  Bubble wrap that horse and put him away until London. 

Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville had a disappointing two rails to drop them down to 15th.  Sinead had hoped that Tate would be a little fresh at the jog today, and Samantha noted in her jog report that he was a bit quiet so maybe the cross-country took a bit out of him.  Either way, two rails in a muddy arena don’t change the fact that this pair had a fantastic weekend.  That is two straight great performances at 4*’s, and Sinead and Tate are certainly frontrunners to make the US Team next year. 

The rest of the North American riders jumped in the morning round and all of them had good rides. Jessie and Exponential jumped clear, Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz pulled a rail, Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble had 3 time, and Hawley Bennett pulled one rail with Gin & Juice.

This was a mixed weekend of results at Burghley for both the US and Canada.  The united states started 5 horses, finished 4 of them, and placed two in the top 20.  Canada has to be excited with Exponential’s jumping performance, but things are going to have to come together better in England next year for the team to repeat or better their WEG silver.   

Great Britain and New Zealand dominated Burghley.  Great Britain finished 5 horses in the top 10.  Perhaps more impressively, New Zealand finished 4 horses in the top 10 after starting just 10 pairs at the competition.  Andrew Nicholson had two horses in the top 10.

Audio Interviews: [William Fox-Pitt, Andrew Nicholson, Mary King]   

Lenamore is certainly one of New Zealand’s best horses, but his age is going to start playing a factor especially considering that he is just 15.3 hands.  Hopefully he has one last big run left in him for the Olympics.  Lenamore is one of the oldest horses in the field, along with James Robinson’s Comanche, who finished in 29th.  Both horses are 18 years young. 

As a few other quick notes, 20 year old Tom McEwen dropped three rails with Dry Old Party but still finishe as the best placed British first timer.  Mark Todd and Major Milestone rubbed their way around the course, but Mark helped Milo off the ground just enough to get a double-clear and they finished in 14th.  Zara Phillips finished in 10th on High Kingdom and it looks like she has finally found another top four-star horse.

[Horse and Hound Recap]   

I want to give a big thanks to everyone who helped with our coverage here on EN.  Samantha was of course fabulous all weekend, I’m not sure she got a wink of sleep.  ESJ also did a great job with is photos and posts and we look forward to his coverage of Blenehim this coming weekend, where several North American riders including Phillip Dutton, Kyle Carter, and Clark Montgomery will be competing.  Many thanks to the wonderful Horse and Hound crew for their great coverage, as always, and especially for their the live blog.  It was a great addition to our coverage and we appreciate sharing the live blogs with them.  Also huge thanks to Nico Morgan for letting us use several of his photos this weekend and for keeping Samantha and ESJ out of trouble!  Also thanks to Allie Conrad for the show jumping photos today.  Thank you to the organizers of Burghley for being very hospitable and putting on a great event.  Thanks to Burghley.tv for their great video replays.  Thanks of course to all of the volunteers and fans for making Burghley possible.  And, most of all, thank you for joining us for our coverage on Eventing Nation.

Go eventing.

Colleen and Shiraz finished a wonderful weekend at Burghley, photo courtesy of Allie Conrad

Despite the rain, the show jumping course rode well in the grass for the morning session of show jumping.  7 of the 30 pairs had double-clears although several riders had time penalties.  The terrain is always a factor at Burghley, but this course seems designed to the horses’ benefit.  The top 24 riders will show jump starting at 2:30pm local, 9:30am ET, after the lunch break.

[Show Jumping Results]

With just two North American pairs left to show jump later this afternoon, Jessica Phoenix and Exponential of Canada are the top placed North American pair in the clubhouse.  They jumped a double-clear which is almost expected from Exponential, no matter the size of the fences.  Samantha credited them with an almost perfect ride and said they looked like they could jump anything.  As the highest placed Canadian pair at Burghley, Jessie and Tucker get to go into the winter loving their chances to compete for Canada at the Olympics.  

Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz finish their great weekend one spot behind Jessie after pulling just a rail in the show jumping.  Colleen and Shiraz also finished 12th at Rolex this year and they are one of only three US pairs to get around the Burghley cross-country course without a stop.  They haven’t been put on the latest training lists or received any grants this year and they are consistently outperforming most of the people who have.  Go watch their XC video that we posted this morning–this pair is completely legit and people will have to take notice after this weekend. 

Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble jumped so high that they had 3 time penalties.  Samantha credited Chapel Amble with the most stylish round of the morning so far and said that they jumped a mile in the air.  That horse can jump and despite 20 penalties yesterday they should go away from their second four-star with a lot to look forward to in the future.

Hawley Bennett and Gin & Juice finished their weekend with one rail in the show jumping.  Samantha reported that Ginny knocked an oxer behind early on the course but looked fresh and wonderful throughout the round.  Despite the 20 penalties they received yesterday, they were one of the only two Canadian pairs to complete Burghley this weekend.  You have to like their odds to compete again for Team Canada at the Olympics, particularly because Ginny is going will fit the Olympic track quite well.

A few additional show jumping notes from Samantha:
–The time is definitely a big factor on Richard Jeffery’s course.

—Ireland had three riders show jump, all of them were clear and inside the time.

—Ben Hobday rode a nice round if a bit slow, but he still looked delighted to finish his first Burghley.

—Laura Collett never fails to impress as a rider and competitor.  She packaged up the great big Noble Bestman and jumped clear but with 1 time fault.

—Matthew Wright’s Well Spotted looked tired despite all Matthew’s coaxing and had 4 down.

—Pippa Funnell had a lovely round with Mirage D’Elle in a hackamore.

—Emily Llewellyn jumped a lovely clear on Pardon Me and didn’t look to be hanging around but they had 4 time faults.

–The rain has stopped for now, but who knows what it will be doing this afternoon.

Burghley is on a lunch break now until the afternoon show jumping.  One thing to keep an eye on is how the turf holds up as more and more horses jump on it.  Stay tuned for the live blog to follow Boyd’s and Sinead’s rides as well as the final results.  Will William make it six Burghley wins, can Carolina Powell make it two Burghley wins in a row?  Will Mary King make it two 4* wins in 2011?  The top 4 riders are separated by less than a rail, making for an awesome finish to Burghley’s 50th anniversary.  

Go eventing.

William and Parklane Hawk have three riders within a rail of their lead

Good morning Eventing Nation!  Thanks for joining us on a final day of Burghley coverage.  The second and final horse inspection has just concluded.  Elizabeth Power and Kilpatrick River unfortunately had to withdraw before the jog.  That pair had a fabulous cross-country round for Ireland yesterday and they were sitting in 6th pace.  Jeanette Brakewell and Primitive Pistol of Great Britain also withdrew before the jog.

Ginnie Turnbull and Instand Reaction were held and withdrew from the holding box.  Laura Song and Jim Newsam was held but fortunately passed after a lengthy discussion.  Lucinda Fredericks jogged Prada twice but was then accepted.

Samantha reports that all of the horses that were presented looked great, especially the Canadian and US horses.  Dr. Ober, the Canadian team vet, said that the Canadian horses finished the cross-country looking like they did before they started.  And Samantha spoke with Michael Pollard who said the doctors are now telling him his wrist might not be broken–we’ll keep you updated on that as well as the Pan Am implications.

55 horses will move on to the show jumping.

Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz looked great for the USA at the final inspection

Georgie Spence won best dressed

Boyd and Neville are keen to show jump

Sinead and “Tate”

The rain has started poring in England.  The first round of show jumping is scheduled to start at 10:30am local time, 5:30am ET, in reverse order of placing.  Jules, Hawley, Jessie, and Colleen will all jump in the morning session.  The final group of 24 including Boyd and Sinead is due to start at 2:30pm local, 9:30am ET.  Stay tuned and go eventing.

Five time Burghley champion William Fox-Pitt is poised to claim the title once again after taking the lead with Parklane Hawk in today’s cross-country action at Burghley.  Parklane Hawk is competing in his first four star, but the ex-racehorse ate up the ground and finished with a double-clear.  The dressage leader Simone Deitermann of Germany fell from Free Easy NRW at Capability’s Cutting.  Fortunately both horse and rider are fine. 

Andrew Nicholson moved up to second by adding nothing to Avebury’s dressage score.  Last year’s Burghley champions, Caroline Powell and Lenamore jumped to third with the same score as Andrew but a less optimum time.  Kings Temptress didn’t make things easy for Mary King, but the veteran rode through all challenges and just dropped one place to 4th with 1.2 time.  I’m not sure there is a better rider than Mary at pulling things together and fighting through when a ride isn’t going well.

Replays of all the cross-country rides are being uploaded to Burghley.tv currently, as well as Burghley’s Youtube channel. 

[Burghley.tv]

William, Andrew, and Mary all have two horses each in the top 10.  That is an indescribable level of dominance.  They collectively added 9.6 time penalties to their dressage scores.  Great Britain has 5 riders in the top 10, New Zealand 3, Ireland has Elizabeth Power in the top 10, and Austrialia has Sam Griffiths.  

10 riders finished with double-clears, which is a couple more than I was expecting.  5 riders finished with a stop.  11 fell or were eliminated and 9 retired.  The issues were fairly evenly spread throughout the course.

Eight pairs from North America started out on the cross-country today.  That many rides mixed with a tough Burghley course meant that there were sure to be mixed results and we saw the full range of highs and lows today with 4 clear rides, 2 stops, and 2 falls for North America.

Michael Pollard and Icarus had a big fall at the new water complex at the end of the course.  Both Michael and Icarus were up after the fall, but Michael has a broken wrist and Icarus is a bit banged up.  I spoke with Michael who said that Icarus was feeling tired and flat at the end but he felt Icarus get a bit of a second wind as he turned for home.  The long Burghley course took its toll on a number of horses today.

Kyle Carter and Madison Park took a tumble at fence 12, the Waterloo Logs table.  They were having a fantastic round up until that point and Parker lost a shoe right before the fence, causing him to slip into it and pop Kyle off.  I spoke with Kyle’s wife Jenn briefly who said that Kyle and Parker are both fine and will look to head to Blenheim next weekend since the fall was so early on the course.  Kyle was so determined to get around Burghley, I hate to see their weekend come to an early end. 

On the other side of the spectrum, Boyd Martin and Sinead Halpin had incredible rides.  Boyd and Neville finished with a double-clear and Sinead and Manoir De Carneville added just 4.8 time penalties to their dressage score.  So far this year everything has seemingly gone right for Sinead and wrong for Boyd.  For Sinead, today is an affirmation of her performance at Rolex and a true welcome to the top of eventing.  For Boyd, today is a turning point and a much needed great day for Boyd and his entire team.  Boyd and Sinead go into the show jumping in 11th and 12th respectively.

Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz jumped way up the placings by finishing with just 9.2 time penalties.  Jessie Phoenix and the superb jumping Exponential crossed the finish line with 16.8 time, the best performance of the day for Team Canada.  That is one of the XC replays I can’t wait to watch.

Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble picked up 20 penalties with a circle in the Trout Hatchery, but Jules finished Burghley well.  Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice added 20 penalties at the Maltings Branch combination.  It’s easy to get caught up looking at where riders are on the scoreboard, but I always try to remember that just finishing a course like Burghley is a remarkable achievement.

Burghley XC Results:

1. William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk +0  39.7
2. Andrew Nicholson and Avebury +0  42.8
3. Caroline Powell and Lenamore +0  42.8
4. Mary King and Kings Temptress +1.2  43.4
5. Andrew Nicholson and Nereo +2.8  45.1
6. Elizabeth Power and Kilpatrick River +2.4  45.7
7. Mary King and Apache Sauce +2.0  46.8
8. Sam Griffiths and Happy Times +1.6  47.1
9. William Fox-Pitt and Neuf Des Coeurs +3.6  49.1
…
11. Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos (USA) +0  49.7
12. Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville (USA) +4.8  50.8
40. Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz (USA) +9.2  72.9
44. Jessica Phoenix and Exponential (CAN) +16.8  76.3
51. Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble (USA) +34.4  86.4
53. Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice (CAN) +36.4  94.9
Michael Pollard and Icarus (USA) MR
Kyle Carter and Madison Park (CAN) RF

[Full Results]

The youngest rider in the field, 20 year old Tom McKewen from Great Britain, had a wonderful trip around the course and finished clear and inside the time.  He jumped into 10th with Dry Old Party.  [Audio Interview with Tom] 

The oldest horse at Burghley is Commanche, who is just 2 years younger than Tom.  Commanche has competed at Burghley a staggering 9 times–more than most riders can ever hope to in their lifetime.  Commanche and James Robinson completed the course with 7.6 time penalties today.
 
The other 5 time Burghley winner, Mark Todd, was slightly disappointed with 2.0 time penalties on Major Milestone and they are in 22nd going into the show jumping. [Mark Todd Interview] 

Stay tuned for much more and go eventing.

Click below for a live blog of the Burghley competition from our friends at the Horse and Hound and click here for the Horse and Hound’s complete Burghley coverage.  Eastern Time is Burghley time -5 hours.

[Live Scores, XC Course Map, Video Replays, Interviews, Ride Times]

If the live blog does not work in your browser click here.

Go eventing.

It’s the stuff of Disney movies.  The term “miracle” might not be strong enough.  If a group of Hollywood directors got together and decided to make a movie about a horse they couldn’t come up with a better story.  Almost three months ago to the day Neville Bardos was struggling for his life at a Pennsylvania vet hospital after the barn at True Prospect Farm burnt down around him.  He was coughing badly, his blood work was terrible, scans of his throat showed severe damage.  The only reason he was alive was that Boyd ran into the burning barn and led him out, but the vets weren’t even sure that he would survive.  In just a few days however, Neville was shocking the vets at the New Bolton hospital with his appetite and good spirits and he continued to improve each day.  After losing six horses in that fire, tragedy struck the Martin family again a month later when Boyd’s father passed away back home in Australia from a cycling accident.   Most normal folks would have given up.  But that’s not how Boyd works and it’s not how Neville works. 

Now, just three months later, Boyd and Neville have galloped around the Burghley cross-country course with a faultless round.  Half way through the cross-country at Burghley they have one of just five-double clear scores so far and have rocketed up the leader board.  Sometimes, often times, horses transcend the insignificant results of competitions and affect the lives of everyone around them.  After the round Boyd was brought to tears and said “I knew he had heart – he has never had a time penalty. He has kept me going through everything and it was good that we had this to aim for. Burghley is a breathtaking event – it is just so beautiful.“

[Boyd Interview]

Elsewhere on the leader board, William Fox-Pitt and the ex-racehorse Parklane Hawk jumped a superb double-clear round in the horse’s first four-star.  William sat second after the dressage so only overnight leader Simone Deitermann can overtake him with a perfect round, and only be a few tenths of a point.  Andrew Nicholson and Mary King both had good rides on their first horses and they are sure to go into the show jumping in good position. 

[William Interview]

The cross-country course is riding as tough as we would expect with already double-digit riders not completing the course and time penalties playing a big factor in the results.  For North America, Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz have finished an excellent round with just 9.2 time penalties which will improve their placing considerably.  Jessica Phoenix and Exponential finished with 16.8 time penalties and Jessie was overjoyed with Tucker after their round.  Julian Stiller picked up a stop at the Trout Hatchery, and Hawley and Gin & Juice had 20 at #14. Cross-country rolls on at Burghley. 

HJU caught up with Boyd after his ride:

Stay tuned and go eventing.    

The infamous Mark Phillips giggling course walk

Just hours from now horses and riders will be heading out on the biggest and longest course most of them have ever seen.  As a public service to the Burghley riders, we have only posted links to this video tour of the Burghley course…until now.  Now that it is too late for the riders to lose any sleep, we’ll go ahead and embed the full 30 minutes of glory for your viewing pleasure.  There’s nothing to be said about this course that hasn’t already been said.  It’s big–you can park cars in the ditches and the brush fences are taller than Michael Pollard, well almost.  The course is also long and of course it is technical as well. 

[Live Scores, XC Course Map, Video Replays, Interviews, Ride Times]

The field is talented, but not the most experienced that has ever competed at Burghley since many of the top European horses competed at the European Championships last weekend.  North America has had a tough time traveling to foreign 4*’s lately, but this time we have sent a group of great cross-country horses.  If we are ever going to have a shot at putting together a few top placings at Burghley this is going to be the year. 

Good luck and Godspeed to all of the horses and riders.  Go eventing.

Eventing just isn’t eventing on Labor Day weekend without a topless coursewalk at Feathercreek

It’s a holiday weekend here in the US, as we prepare to celebrate labor this coming Monday.  The good news is that you won’t have to work.  The bad news is that you won’t get any mail.  Devastating, I know.  There are no less than 11 USEA events this weekend.  Here’s a guide to all of them before we resume our regularly scheduled Burghley coverage. 

Five Points (NC) — Five points is located at the beautiful Carolina Horse Park, known for good footing, nice wash racks, and not enough camper hook-ups.  The CHP is hosting a novice through advanced horse trials.  Notable attendees include Marilyn Little-Meredith, who is moving up to advanced, and Nina Ligon with multiple horses including her new ride Butts Leon.  Coren will be on scene riding and has promised to bring us photos of every ride.  The event starts on Saturday.  [Ride Times PDF, Live Scores]

Feather Creek Horse Trials (OK) — The Feather Creek Horse Trials in Norman, Oklahoma got underway on Friday.  The event is hosting starter through an intermediate/preliminary division, which Angela Grzywinski and Novelle lead after the dressage.  Fresh off a busy last week of USEF selecting, Mike Huber is leading the open training division on Cash and Roses.  [Times/Scores] 

South Farm HT (OH) — [Website, Ride Times]

Aspen Farm Horse Trials (WA) — Jonathan and Suzy Elliott are hosting a beginner novice through intermediate horse trials at their Aspen Farms this weekend.  As you might remember from Chelan’s interview with Jonathan earlier this year, the 240 acre farm is preparing to host an advanced event next year.  [Times/Scores]

Stony Brook Farm YEH, FEH, and NEH (NH) — Stony Brook Farm in Peterborough, New Hampshire is running their FEH, NEH, and YEH competition tomorrow. Only young horses allowed. [Times/Scores]

KY Classique (KY) — After a year off due tot he WEGs, the Kentucky Classique is back and better than ever at the Kentucky Horse Park, now sporting an Advanced/Intermediate division.  Is it just me or did the KY Classique used to be spelled “Classic.”  [Ride Times]

Silverwood Farm Fall HT (WI) — [Website]

Seneca Valley HT (MD) — Seneca is a destination Area II event and many of the usual suspects are out in force this weekend.  Sharon White has a million and eight horses minus a million entered.  Sally Cousins is also entered on her intermediate arsenal, along with a great group of Area I and II riders.  [Ride Times, Results]

Town Hill Farm HT (CT) — [Website]

Steepleview Labor Day Horse Trials (MN) — Don’t be deceived by the name, Steepleview runs all weekend long, starting on Saturday.  Jim from FLAIR will be there with his wife Michelle all weekend.  Michelle is helping with the organizing and Jim will be the finish time keeper.  Dr. Jen Johnson will be applying free FLAIR strips to those who sign up before the XC while supplies last, so be sure to sign up early. [Live Scores, Website, XC Course, Live Scores]

Speaking of Canada, the OHTA Championships are being held this weekend at Wits End in Canada.  Kim Crawford and Chocco de Pomme lead the intermediate division after the dressage on Friday.  [Live Scores]

Northern Colorado H.T. & Area IX Championships — Last, but not least, the Area IX Championships are being held at the Northern Colorado horse trials this weekend.  [Website]

That’s all for now and I am already 30 minutes late for dinner.  Good luck to all of the eventers out and about this weekend and of course to the riders over at Burghley.  Stay safe, stay classy, and go eventing.

Simone Dietermann and Free Easy NRW

After an exciting two days of dressage at Burghley, Germany’s Simone Deitermann has the lead going into the cross-country with Free Easy NRW.  Free Easy NRW has a history of impressive dressage performances and scored a 36 in the dressage at the WEGs, although they were eliminated on the XC.  Five time Burghley champion William Fox-Pitt is in second, just 0.4 penalties back from Deitermann.  Mary King and this year’s Rolex champion Kings Temptress are in third.  Andrew Nicholson impressively has two horses in the top 5–WEG bronze medalist Nereo in 4th and Avebury in 5th.  New Zealand also has a rider in 6th with last year’s Burghley champion Lenamore and Caroline Powell.  The only other rider with two horses in the top 10 is Mary King, who also has Apache Sauce in 8th. 

The USA had a great morning of dressage, with superb rides from Sinead Halpin and Michael Pollard.  The afternoon rides bumped both of them out of the top 10, but they are in great position in 12th and 16th respectively.  Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos will go into the cross-country in 24th place and I have to think Boyd is feeling good about that position with how tough the course looks.  Jules Stiller and Chapel Amble are in 32nd with a 52.0 after their ride this morning.  3 points separate the Team Canada riders–Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice (58.5), Jessie Phoenix and Exponential (59.5), and Kyle Carter and Madison Park (61.5).  Colleen Rutledge rounds out the North American contingent with a 63.7.

[Scores, Video Replays, Interviews]

Burghley Dressage Scores:

1. Simone Deitermann and Free Easy NRW (GER)  39.3
2. William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk (GBR)  39.7
3. Mary King and Kings Temptress (GBR)  42.2
4. Andrew Nicholson and Nereo (NZL)  42.3
5. Andrew Nicholson and Avebury (NZL)  42.8
6. Elizaboth Power and Kilpatrick River (IRL)  43.3
7. Mary King and Apache Sauce (GBR)  44.8
…
12. Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville (USA)  46.0
16T. Michael Pollard and Icarus (USA)  46.7
24. Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos (USA)  49.7
32. Jules Stiller and Chapel Amble (USA)  52.0
53. Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice (CAN)  58.5
59. Jessica Phoenix and Exponential (CAN)  59.5
67T. Kyle Carter and Madison Park (CAN)  61.5
73. Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz (USA)  63.7

The good news for North America is that we haven’t sent a bunch of combined test horses over to Burghley.  These horses can run and jump and every single one is capable of a performance tomorrow that will rocket them up the leader board.  The top 20 riders at Burghley are separated by less than 10 points.  Go Burghley.

Click below for a live blog of the Burghley competition from our friends at the Horse and Hound and click here for the Horse and Hound’s complete Burghley coverage.  Eastern Time is Burghley time -5 hours.

[Scores, Video, Ride Times]

If the live blog does not work in your browser click here.

Go eventing.

  
Sinead and Manoir De Carneville, Michael and Icarus, Samantha Clark photos

The United States rose to the occasion Friday morning at Burghley with dressage performances from Sinead Halpin and Michael Pollard that moved each of them into the top 10.  Sinead scored a 46.0 with the French wonder horse Manoir De Carneville, which was 2.7 points better than the dressage test that started their great weekend at Rolex earlier this year.  They sit in 8th place.  Michael Pollard and the off the track Thoroughbred Icarus scored an impressive 46.7 for 10th at lunchtime.  You would be hard pressed to find a nicer moving OTTB than Icarus on the planet.  At the lunch break, Sinead and Michael are in perfect striking distance of the lead–far enough back not to feel a ton of leader board pressure but close enough to make up the ground.  However, there are some great names still to ride Friday afternoon and you can expect the leader board to change considerable as a result.  For now though the US has two riders in the top 10.  Great Britain is the only other country with more than one pair in the top 10 currently.  Michael’s ride is availible on the video replays already: 

[Scores, Video, Ride Times]

Simone

Unsurprisingly, just one of two Germans competing at Burghley has taken the dressage lead at the end of the Friday morning session.  Simone Deitermann and Free Easy NRW scored a 39.3 to take a 0.4 point lead from William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk.  After destroying the field at the European Championships last weekend Germany didn’t have a lot of horses to send to Burghley, but it seems that how the Germans get around the cross-country after a big dressage performance is going to be a big factor once again at Burghley.

[Simone audio interview]

Several other North American riders also had nice tests this morning.  Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble started their Burghley quest off the right way with a 52.0 for 24th at the break.  The three Canadian riders are within 3 points of each other after the dressage.  Jessie rode Exponential this morning to a 59.5, Kyle Carter and Madison Park scored a 61.5, and Hawley leads the way for Canada with her 58.5 from yesterday with Gin ‘N Juice.  Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos rode yesterday and they are in 17th place with the afternoon sessions to come. 

It’s all Brits and Kiwis in the two remaining afternoon dressage sessions at Burghley.  Some big names are still to come including Nereo, Neuf Des Coeurs, last year’s Burghley champ Lenamore, and Rolex champ Kings Temptress.  Go eventing.

Go Burghley.