Classic Eventing Nation

Tim Price and Vitali soar into the lead on Friday morning. Photo by Libby Law.

When a rather gammy-kneed Sarah Bullimore posted a 22.5 with her tiny homebred Corouet yesterday afternoon, she threw down a gauntlet that could well have been unsurpassable — but today’s dressage got started with a serious bang as Tim Price, the first rider of the day, stormed straight into the lead with his Tokyo mount, Vitali. Their score of 21.3 becomes the third test this week to go into the top five all-time tests at this venue — but although the elegant gelding is always a serious contender on the flat, a great performance in an atmosphere as close and intense as Burghley’s isn’t always guaranteed with this horse. Today, though, he met the crowds confidently, delivering some of the best work we’ve seen from him, and earning Tim his best-ever five-star score in the process.

“He was great — he was very rideable in there,” says Tim. “To be fair to him, he’s a funny horse: when he goes into black horse mode, which is when he sort of loses focus, it’s there right through the session with him, and right through the warm-up. But normally, when he warms up like [he did today], he goes in and delivers, so I’m glad he did that here with such a big stage to put him off his game, but it didn’t. He stayed with me and was on his game, and it was good fun.”

Oliver Townend’s Tregilder rewards his owners’ dedication. Photo by Libby Law.

Much of the top ten remained unchanged this morning, with second, third, and fourth places currently held by yesterday’s one-two-three of Sarah, Piggy March and Vanir Kamira, and Pippa Funnell and Billy Walk On, respectively. But a sweet test from Oliver Townend‘s first ride, the twelve-year-old Tregilder, earned them a 27.5 that allowed them to slide into provisional fifth place. For Oliver, who debuted Tregilder at the level in last year’s Bicton replacement for Burghley, it’s a particularly good pay-off for the horse’s owners, who have been among his most stalwart supporters.

“I’m very proud to have him here,” says Oliver. “He’s been with us since he was four years old, so we’ve been through a lot together, and I’m happy to have him here for the Hazeldene family, who’ve been with me for over fifteen years. It’s been a long road of very loyal support by them to get the horse to this level, so it’s special.”

Oliver, who has previously won Burghley on two occasions, has always been a vocal supporter of Kentucky’s CCI5* and its designer, Derek di Grazia, who takes the reins here for the first time with a new-look, technical track — and one that Oliver himself is excited to get stuck into with his two rides.

“It’s obviously still got the undulations, and I’m a huge fan of Derek di Grazia — I’ve had plenty of nice experience around his courses in Kentucky,” he says. “I have 100% trust in him as a designer; there’s no tricks or hidden agendas, it’s there to be jumped. It’s a very fair course, but it is huge, and it’s a seriously technical test — plus the undulations, plus you’re against the clock. It’s going to be tough.”

Bubby Upton learns to embrace the heat with Cola. Photo by Libby Law.

23-year-old Bubby Upton has had a few real ‘nearly’ moments at this level this year, including leading the dressage at Luhmühlen with Cannavaro, but her first Burghley with Cola — and her second CCI5* since graduating from Edinburgh University — has got off to an exciting start, with a 28.3 on the board and a provisional sixth-place standing.

“I wanted to be sub-30, and he was, so I’m really pleased with him,” says Bubby. “There’s still so much more to come, which is so exciting. Like, the right to left flying change is still iffy, but he’s got so much potential. That sounds strange to say about a twelve-year-old, that there’s more to come, but hopefully next year, we’ll see the best of him!”

We last saw Cola, with whom Bubby twice rode at the Young Rider European Championships, at this level back in May, when he contested Badminton — but there, he went flat in the ring, scoring an uncharacteristically high 36 as a result. Today, Bubby opted to shave her warm-up right down, hoping that a soupçon of freshness might solve the issue.

“I think we hit the nail on the head [today], to be honest. He did a really good test at the start of the year at Oasby, and I haven’t been able to get that since; I overworked him at Badminton, because I thought he’d go in and the crowds would lift him, but he couldn’t give a flying monkey’s about the crowds. So today, I said to my trainer, Amy Woodhead, that we were going to have to risk it. We did fifteen minutes in here and then went in, and he was spot on.”

It’s partly due to dressage rider Amy’s influence that Bubby has been able to revolutionise her approach to this phase, particularly after logging some serious miles in the saddle of several of the rider’s upper-level dressage horses.

“Amy’s been great and has really taken me under her wing and let me ride some amazing horses,” says Bubby. “It just makes a huge difference riding those dressage horses, because it makes you realise how much work you’ve got to do to get [the eventers] to that place. I’ve been able to play around with four, three, and two-time changes, and her horses are just so sharp off  your aids that you then get on your own horse and expect the same.”

That’s paid dividends, particularly with Cola, who isn’t necessarily built to find this phase easy.

“It’s helped me to get him way more in front of the leg, because actually, he can only really give a maximum of like, twenty minutes,” says Bubby. “He gets really tired, because he’s actually a really long horse — although he doesn’t really look it because most people only see him when he looks pretty in the ring! But he does find it hard to stay short and compact, so it’s made me get him way more fired up. I’ve learned not to be afraid of them being hot. I’m learning to like that.”

Ireland’s Susie Berry demonstrates why she’s the next Piggy March with Ringwood LB. Photo by Libby Law.

It’s been a good day to be a young up-and-coming superstar, and Bubby was joined in the top ten by Ireland’s excellent Susie Berry, who posted a 29.3 for eighth with the former Jonty Evans ride Ringwood LB.

“I’m over the moon with him, to be honest,” she says. “There’s way more to come; he’s a really flash horse and so naturally, out of any of my string, he’d be the one that would find dressage the easiest, but sometimes it takes a bit of persuasion.”

That mixture of a tendency towards laziness and the occasional bolt of sharpness makes ‘Alby’ much less straightforward to ride than he might appear from the outset — but he comes into his own in long-format events, particularly when there’s a buzz about the place.

“He was actually spooking a bit at the clapping and everything, but as soon as I have him into canter and concentrating he really does [cope well]. He’s done a lot of four-stars, so he’s seen a lot of atmosphere, and I do think he grows with the atmosphere. Doing one-day events with him is sometimes a bit of a pain, to be honest — I have to do a lot of kicking and flapping to stay on track! But a little bit of a crowd and atmosphere brings him to life.”

Susie, who made her five-star debut at Badminton this year with John the Bull, and who’ll ride Monbeg by Design at next month’s World Championships, has found her first experiences of Burghley slightly daunting so far.

“The first time I walked [the course] I was like, ‘no, I’m just going to go home; this is ridiculous!’ But when I walked it yesterday with a clear mind, I thought we could give it a good go. But it’s definitely very different than any course I’ve done before,” she says.

We’ve got one session of dressage left to go, with thirteen combinations lined up to try to usurp those at the top end of the board from 13.45 p.m. BST/8.45 a.m. EST. Want to try to catch the highlights? Here are our picks of the bunch:

• Kitty King and Vendredi Biats – 14.25 p.m. BST/9.25 a.m. EST
• Ros Canter and Pencos Crown Jewel – 15.05 p.m. BST/10.05 a.m. EST
• Tom McEwen and CHF Cooliser – 15.29 p.m. BST/10.29 a.m. EST
• Tim Price and Polystar I – 15.37 p.m. BST/10.37 a.m. EST
• Oliver Townend and Swallow Springs – 15.45 p.m. BST/10.45 a.m. EST

We’ll be back with a full end-of-day report — plus, an in-depth look at tomorrow’s cross-country challenge. Until then: Go Eventing!

The top ten at the midway point of day two at Burghley.

Burghley 2022: Website|Live Scores|Burghley TV|Form Guide|EN’s Coverage|EN’s Twitter|EN’s Instagram

Sarah Bullimore’s 15.2hh homebred Corouet swaps cockiness for responsibility in a stellar test. Photo by Libby Law.

This morning’s first session of dressage brought us plenty to get excited about, with three tests sneaking below the 30 barrier and a barrage of talent to come — but it’s been the afternoon session that’s really kicked Burghley up a notch. Most thrillingly of all, we were treated to two tests that made it into the top five all-time best Burghley tests — and though they initially tied for top spot, a slight revision in the scores pushed Sarah Bullimore and her diminutive homebred Corouet into the top spot on a 22.5, just a tenth of a penalty ahead of Piggy March and her 2019 Badminton champion Vanir Kamira.

“He was amazing — he actually really listened to me and was on side,” says Sarah, who is battling through a period of unsoundness herself after a fall at Wellington Horse Trials earlier in the week saw her take a stud to the knee. “He actually looked after me. I’ve not come here in the best state to perform, but he was great in there — that’s probably the best test we’ve performed all year. Last year our confidence was on a high and he was pulling it out of the bag, but this year, he came out very cocky and arrogant, and he’s just felt like he thought I was a hindrance to him. And perhaps I was enough of a hindrance to him that he felt he ought to carry me today because I was injured — I don’t know.”

Sarah Bullimore and Corouet. Photo by Libby Law.

Last year’s season of highs saw Corouet, who Sarah bred from her 2015 European Championships ride Lilly Corinne, go sub-20 in a CCI4*-S at Burgham and, most notably, take individual bronze at the Europeans, but this year, he’s had rather more of an educational season. That was compounded in his five-star debut at Kentucky earlier this year, where he sat second going into cross-country but began to go into orbit over the solid fences, eventually picking up a 20 after running out of room in a combination. The precocious gelding has no shortage of talent, though, and it’s not hard to imagine that the experience may have helped to temper and shape his unique case of Small Man Syndrome. For Sarah, who has a wealth of mileage at this level, most prolifically accrued with Reve du Rouet — who shares a sire with Corouet — it’s particularly special to have her homebred at an event like this, particularly because he is so different to his half-brother.

“He knows he’s special, and he just goes in there and says, ‘watch me, everybody!’ He loves the crowd, and he doesn’t actually want to come back out of the main arena — he’s so laid back in there, which is very different from his big brother, who does his test and can’t wait to get out! Corouet has such belief in himself, but he’s always right,” she says. “It’s amazing — I’ve known him since he was born, and that makes it so special. He’s such a huge, massive character, and he doesn’t realise he’s quite small, so he doesn’t feel small when you ride him. He has a huge stride, and so you forget [he’s small] until you leap off and hit the ground sooner than you expect to!”

Now, Sarah is planning to spend her Friday nursing her injured knee, which is getting incrementally better by the hour despite being packed full of iodine-soaked dressing to mitigate any risk of infection.

“Yesterday I couldn’t walk up and down stairs or do rising trot — but fortunately, you don’t have to do that in this test,” she laughs. “It wasn’t the best preparation, but to be fair, I’ve been quite lucky as to where it is — I could easily have fractured something, but there’s luck and then there’s luck, isn’t there? It’s quite stiff and sore at the moment, and very bruised; it looks quite a pretty picture, but it is getting better daily, and we’re just going to keep on icing it and seeing the physio.”

Piggy March and Vanir Kamira hit the first of their goals for the week with a five-star personal best. Photo by Libby Law.

Piggy March came to Burghley with every intention of delivering a big test with her Badminton winner, seventeen-year-old Vanir Kamira, but a five-star personal best of 22.6 was probably beyond the realm of even her own imagination.

“As we came out of the arena I gave her a big hug and a kiss — I just couldn’t really believe it, bless her little heart,” says Piggy. “There’s plenty of pressure that I put on myself for this week, and I was hoping and praying that she’d get a PB because she’s felt great this year. Badminton was one of our best tests and she’s just felt good; she looks amazing, she’s strong, and she’s been working so well that I thought she really deserved it.”

Although ‘Tillybean’ is looking at her very best this season, much rides on the strength of the warm-up — and her preparation for her test today didn’t fill Piggy with confidence.

“Just before I went in, I felt that I hadn’t got her totally where I wanted to,” she says. “She felt quite hot, and she was sneezing quite a lot. She suddenly gets in quite a sweat, even though everyone from the outside would think she looked very calm and nice. But she’s been in these main arenas now a few times for laps of on our and things like that, and it doesn’t take much for them to know it’s an occasion.”

Piggy March and Vanir Kamira. Photo by Libby Law.

After the first movement in the test, though, Piggy and Tillybean rallied — though Piggy confesses that producing the goods today took some seriously hard graft.

“I didn’t love my first centreline; it was straight, but she just went to pull herself up and halt early. That’s something I’ve struggled with all her life, because she’s a mare that half-halts herself and goes a bit swishy and croup-high in every transition, and it takes a lot of attention to detail to stop her doing it. So I thought, ‘oh, balls, I’ve not got her on the button today.’ There’s always such a fine line with her, and I thought I was on the wrong side of that. But then I just thought, ‘get on with it and believe — ears up, sit down, hands together, breathe, ride it, just go through it.’ And she kept on the right side of the line — but for me, personally, it felt like the hardest test I’ve ever ridden on her, because it felt like I was on the edge. Whether that was just a mental thing, because I was so desperate for it to go as well as it can today… I’m not one that normally minds pressure, but she’s getting to the end of her days, so I really was desperate for it to be good.”

Piggy often fondly describes the mare as ‘a pain in the ass 362 days of the year’ or ‘a scopeless yak’, variously, but the gutsy mare is a classic long-format horse: when it really counts, she’s able to overcome her physical hindrances and get the job done, with a little help from her friend.

“She’s got a neck and a backside on her, and as a six-year-old, she couldn’t go on the bit for more than two minutes because of how she’s built. So trying to get her to lift her ears and come up in front, well, you can only manufacture that for so long. It’s just taken that much time and consistent training, but it’s bloody hard. They start to go on their head, and then you start to hold them, and then they’re like, ‘hold me more!’ and then you hold more — my brain’s going overtime the whole time; I felt like I was about to explode, and then I was like, ‘thank fuck that’s over!’ She felt hot enough, but that probably made the changes a bit more expressive, and she kept her rhythm in the medium trots, and it was just good. For Tillybean, a 22 at this level! That could easily be even better, but I don’t care — I’m just so proud.”

Zara Tindall’s Class Affair becomes a man in Burghley’s main arena. Photo by Libby Law.

Zara Tindall‘s sometimes tempestuous Class Affair stepped up to the plate in a major way today, delivering a five-star personal best of 28.4 to take overnight fourth, 2.2 penalties behind third-placed Pippa Funnell and Billy Walk On.

“He’s always had the potential, but sometimes his brain takes over a bit — and it did, a little bit, in a couple of the movements [today], but he came back and was much calmer than he’s ever been in there,” she says. “I’m just delighted to be under 30!”

Class Affair comes forward for his third crack at five-star this week after debuting here in 2019 — but ending his day at the Leaf Pit — and then travelling to Maryland last year, where he completed with 20 penalties. There have been hints throughout his career that a very good test might be simmering away under the surface, and it’s now, as a thirteen-year-old, that he seems to be coming into his zenith.

“The last time I came here he was a ten-year-old, so he was very green. We’ve spent a long time with him — he’s pretty crazy in the brain, so he’s quite tricky. He can be really towing you and then just suddenly drop behind your leg, so that’s quite difficult, but he’s been going really well. We’ve just been truing to keep him comfortable, because he gets quite tense, and trying to be consistent with him.”

Zara credits dressage riders Carl Hester and Amy Woodhead with helping her to get the best out of the gelding: “I actually send my horses to Amy in the winter like, ‘please can you get them on the bit?!’,” she laughs. “Amy’s been based with Carl, so she trains how he would, and she’s brilliant. Both of them just make it fun, so it’s not like, ‘oh god, I’ve got to go for dressage lessons.’ They also understand the difference between their horses and event horses — they know that our horses might not be quite as capable, but actually, they can do what they want us to do.”

Meghan O’Donoghue and Palm Crescent fly the flag for ex-racehorses with a sparkling personal best. Photo by Libby Law.

There are few horses who so wholly represent the classic American Thoroughbred as well as gutsy, tenacious Palm Crescent, who raced on the flat more than 20 times before starting his second career with the USA’s Meghan O’Donoghue – but his undeniable reliability across the country hasn’t always been matched by a natural inclination to perform on the flat. That all changed today, though, when the pair slipped sub-30 for the first time at this level, producing a sweet, smart test that earned them a 29.6 and put them into fifth place overnight.

“I’m ecstatic with him,” says Meghan. “He was absolutely phenomenal. He’s a performer, so he knows when we’re at a big competition, and we’ve been ticking away at this phase because this would be the hardest bit for him.”

Like many Thoroughbreds, with their busy, clever brains and endless well of effort to give, Palmer is at his best when he’s able to set up shop at a competition for the week, rather than chasing the quick thrills of a short-format: “I think that he’s at a point in his career where he really thrives from the set-up of a big three-day — he comes here, he has his groom, he’s all she thinks about, and he gets all of his things and rises to the occasion.”

Meghan O’Donoghue and Palm Crescent. Photo by Libby Law.

Meghan, who made her team debut — and enjoyed her first experience of eventing abroad since her travels with old friend Pirate back in 2013 and 2014 — at CHIO Aachen in July, has stayed put in the UK since in order to prepare for her second crack at Burghley (she started the event in 2014 with Pirate but ended her weekend early on cross country).

“We’ve had an amazing support crew over here; after Aachen, I was able to stay over here at Rebecca Howard’s place near Marlborough [Wiltshire],” she says. While she’s been there, she’s focused on the marginal gains that would steer her sixteen-year-old partner to his best-ever performance on the flat.

“It’s mostly been about the suppleness and where he is in his head, and that would kind of be the case for Thoroughbred horses that have had a relentless beginning. You can’t really blame him for it, because he’s not really built to do it, either,” she explains. Now, with an excellent starting score on the board, she can focus completely on Saturday’s tough cross-country course, on which she hopes to replicate the speedy clears they’ve delivered in all three of their previous five-star runs. This time, she’ll have the added challenge of Burghley’s unique, relentless terrain — but there’s nothing she’d rather be sitting on than a Thoroughbred full of gumption.

“I got to have a run at Hartpury in the four short as his last prep for this, and so I’ve had a little taste of the terrain over here,” she says. “He went super well there, and I have no reason to doubt him — he’s showed up for me every day that I’ve asked him to, so I’ll just do the best piloting job that I can and look after him.”

Tom Rowland’s ‘cobby’ Possible Mission delivers his best to sit in the top ten. Photo by Libby Law.

Tests from this morning’s competitors make up much of the lower half of the top ten: pathfinders Tim Price and Bango and the USA’s Woods Baughman and C’est la Vie 135 sit in equal sixth on 29.8, while France’s Rodolphe Scherer and Song du Magay hold eighth on 30.4. 25-year-old Harry Mutch and HD Bronze are ninth overnight on 30.8, while Great Britain’s Tom Rowland rounds out the top ten after delivering a five-star personal best of 31.2 with his longtime partner Possible Mission, who’s the sort of horse who wouldn’t look out of place in the hunting field — but nevertheless has jumped clear around both Badminton and Burghley previously. His experience, and his workmanlike nature, meant that he was able to make the best of Burghley’s curious, close atmosphere today.

“He’s fifteen now, and he’s a bit stuck in his ways, but I think we might have got a few more of the flying changes this time than we normally do,” laughs Tom. “But he’s nice to ride in there, because you sort of forget how it goes from being really loud to suddenly really, really quiet. You think, ‘oh, god!’ but actually, he rises to that occasion.”

There’s an old saying in the theatre world that a bad dress rehearsal ensures a good opening night, and that adage certainly proved true for Tom, who took Possible Mission out for a final test earlier in the week that didn’t go wholly to plan.

“I took him to Wellington on Monday to do the Advanced and he did the most horrendous dressage test. He’s a bit of a head shaker, and the arena is down by the trees there,” he explains. “He wasn’t even on the bit — he just threw his head around everywhere, but I thought, ‘no, this is a good thing. He’s got it out of the way.’ And actually, he’s felt really good this week, so I haven’t given him very much work.”

Emily Hamel and Corvett survive some exuberant moments in their test. Photo by Libby Law.

“I wish he’d have been a little more submissive in the ring, but at least we had pretty good trot work,” laughs US representative Emily Hamel, whose test aboard Corvett upped the comedy ante when the expressive gelding turned one of the flying changes into a colossal series of bucks. They’ll head into Saturday’s cross-country on a score of 37.3, which puts them in 21st overnight. “I always want a little bit better, but overall, I’m really happy with him. He’s going to eat up the course here — I just have to make sure I keep myself in the tack!”

Emily has been busy training with Angela Tucker for this phase — “I’m kind of sad I couldn’t show off our dressage a bit more,” she says — and New Zealand’s Grant Wilson in the showjumping, and comes to Burghley feeling on top form after tackling Badminton this spring just weeks after a serious knee injury.

“I feel more prepared than I did for Badminton, so hopefully that’ll show,” she says. “It’s been a busy summer, and I’ve had a good time, just seeing different events and taking lessons. It’s a cool atmosphere over here.”

To check out the full scores, and times for tomorrow’s test, click here — or, if you want to try to catch the highlights of the day tomorrow, here are some of the biggest tests yet to come:

• Tim Price and Vitali — 10.00 a.m. BST/5.00 a.m. EST
• Susie Berry and Ringwood LB – 10.40 a.m. BST/5.40 a.m. EST
• William Fox-Pitt and Oratorio – 11.31 a.m. BST/6.31 a.m. EST
• Bubby Upton and Cola III – 11.39 a.m. BST/6.39 a.m. EST
• Kitty King and Vendredi Biats – 14.25 p.m. BST/9.25 a.m. EST
• Ros Canter and Pencos Crown Jewel – 15.05 p.m. BST/10.05 a.m. EST
• Tom McEwen and CHF Cooliser – 15.29 p.m. BST/10.29 a.m. EST
• Tim Price and Polystar I – 15.37 p.m. BST/10.37 a.m. EST
• Oliver Townend and Swallow Springs – 15.45 p.m. BST/10.45 a.m. EST

The top ten at the end of day one of dressage.

Burghley 2022: Website|Live Scores|Burghley TV|Form Guide|EN’s Coverage|EN’s Twitter|EN’s Instagram

2019 champion Pippa Funnell takes an early lead with the first of her two rides, Billy Walk On. Photo by Libby Law.

Oh, what a beautiful morning; oh, what a beautiful day – and is there anywhere in the world we’d rather be right now than ringside at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials? We think not, particularly after an exciting morning of dressage action.

Reigning champion Pippa Funnell, who won here in 2019 aboard MGH Grafton Street, sits atop the leaderboard at this early juncture after a smart test aboard Billy Walk On. The lanky thirteen-year-old gelding, who led the first phase at last year’s Bicton ‘pop-up’ CCI5*, didn’t quite catch that week’s exceptional 23.9, but his 26.2 today does better this spring’s Badminton mark of 28.5. But for Pippa, the final score wasn’t reflective of the quality of his work in the ring.

“I was delighted with him, but if I’m honest, I’m gutted by one of the judge’s marks being five or six percent out from the other two,” she says, referring to Judy Hancock at E, who awarded her with 70.56%, in contrast to Andrew Bennie’s 76.48% at C and Katrin Eichinger-Kniely’s 74.44% at M. “That, to me, was very disappointing, because I’ve done a lot of tests over the years and I thought it was as nice a test as he’s done at this level. I think I nailed the clear round and yes, he might not be the most elegant of movers, but I absolutely felt he deserved the marks the other judges gave him.”

Coming back to Burghley to defend a title could be something of a stressful situation for a less experienced competitor, but Pippa — who became the first-ever winner of the Rolex Grand Slam when she took the final leg here in 2003 aboard Primmore’s Pride – is wholly pragmatic about the prospect.

“I don’t really feel the pressure, because it’s still got to be jumped,” she says sagely. “I’ve been in the position of going back to Badminton after winning, and when you’ve been in the game as long as I have, you realise that yes, while both horses are scopey and have plenty of ability, it’s also not been the easiest of summers. The ground’s been hard, and it’s been about trying to keep them fresh coming into here while minimising their runs. It’s a balancing act to try to get here in the best shape possible, with the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed.”

Pippa is taking on double duty this week, not just as a two-horse competitor in her own right, but as a coach and mentor: two of the riders who are currently part of the Wesko Equestrian Foundation programme that she leads are tackling their first Burghley this week and one of them, Harry Mutch, also finds himself in the top five at the halfway point of day one. That division of interests, too, is a balancing act.

“I’ve got three riders who I help here, but really, it’s not that tough, because I’ve told them all that actually, this week has to be about me, with having two horses. I’ve got to concentrate on that,” she says.

Tim Price and the experienced Bango sit equal second at the halfway point of day one. Photo by Libby Law.

First in the ring today was New Zealand’s Tim Price, who is the busiest rider of the week with three horses in this year’s field. He set an excellent standard from the get-go, though, putting a 29.8 on the board with the experienced sixteen-year-old Bango, which sees the pair sit equal second at the lunch break. Bango, who has previously finished fifth here in 2019 and tenth in 2018, is perhaps Tim’s most under-the-radar upper-level horse – but he represents part of a strong three-way bid for another crack at the Burghley title, which Tim won in 2018 with the great Ringwood Sky Boy.

Woods Baughman and C’est La Vie 135 overcome a tough journey to England to take an early second place on the leaderboard. Photo by Libby Law.

To call Woods Baughman‘s journey from the USA stressful might be the understatement of the century – “[C’est La Vie 135‘s] flight was cancelled five times, and mine was cancelled twice,” he says with a faintly traumatised laugh – but there’s no doubt that the high he’s riding right now will be working wonders to ease his pain. He sits in equal second with Tim and Bango on a 29.8 after delivering a sparkling, expressive test with his fourteen-year-old Contendro I son in their second CCI5* — and already, they’re blowing their Kentucky debut this spring out of the water.

“We did our first five-star this spring, and he got very wound up with all the atmosphere,” says Woods, who scored a 39.5 that day. “So I was a little worried about today, and it’s probably lucky that I had a morning draw for him [when it’s quieter]. He’s such a fantastic horse in the first phase that it’s a shame when he does get worked up, because he can pull in really high marks — but when he’s gone tight, he’s lucky to stay in the ring.”

Unlike Kentucky and even Badminton, where the dressage arena can feel like an oasis in an amphitheatre, Burghley’s arena is situated much closer to the grandstand, giving a fishbowl effect that can cow even the boldest of horses. But although a touch of flamboyance crept in and nearly led to a mistake, Woods was able to nurture the horse to a clear round performance.

“He was very, very good the whole way around, but I got a little excited — I started the strike off for the extended trot, and it was really good, so I asked for a bit more and he took one little step and almost broke to canter before I thought, ‘whoops, too much!’ and reined it back in,” explains the Virginia-based rider, who trains with Sharon White. “The rest was clean and good, and definitely much better than our last five-star test.”

Any moments of additional sparkle, though, were welcomed by Woods, who had to carefully manage ‘Contendro’s’ energy levels after his gruelling journey.

“He got here four days later than he was supposed to, because our flights are a little messed up right now. He’s on good form now, but it was a little bit iffy, because he was so flat — he’d travelled for three days, and I felt really bad for him. I couldn’t do much with him at all and it was like, ‘well, great — he’s not working and he’s got to compete next week!’ So I just hacked him twice a day and stretched him out and made sure he felt good while I waited for the energy to come back. And then on Sunday afternoon I let him have a little jump and he bolted with me! After that, he didn’t want to hack anymore.”

France’s Rodolphe Scherer strides into the top five with Song du Magay. Photo by Libby Law.

France’s Rodolphe Scherer got off to an exciting start in his first CCI5* since 2016, when he finished sixteenth here with former championship mount Makara de Montiege. This time around, his ride is the oversized Song du Magay, who competed up to five-star with Rodolphe’s student, South African Olympian Victoria Scott-Legendre, before Rodolphe took the reins in late 2020.

Their 30.4, which puts them in provisional fourth, doesn’t come as a huge surprise after the gelding posted a sub-30 score in his final prep run, but what was particularly interesting was his warm-up: rather than schooling any of the movements in the test or riding in a competition outline, Rodolphe instead trotted the gelding around the outside of the warm-up arena with one hand on the buckle of the reins, letting him stretch his nose down to the ground and stretch over his back. That focus on relaxation was evident as the pair entered the competition arena.

“He’s a good horse with a nice head — he’s very relaxed,” says Rodolphe, who was recently appointed as cross-country trainer for the German team. “It was a little bit of a disappointing intro, though, because I think in the second 10m circle he just touched himself for a moment, and then he had one or two irregular strides, so I lost some points there — but then he did very, very well in the canter.”

A 30.4 puts him in an excellent position to plan for a climb on Saturday, though, and Rodolphe thinks Derek di Grazia’s new look Burghley track will play to his horse’s strengths.

“He’s a cross-country machine,” he says, “and this is a tough course. The beginning is twisty, with many combinations. It’s very tough; the rest of the course is tough, too, but in the beginning, there are so many combinations manifesting so closely that it’s almost like a short-format in its intensity. After that, if you don’t lose too much energy there, you can go into sixth gear.”

Harry Mutch and HD Bronze deliver the personal best in the ring at Burghley. Photo by Libby Law.

25-year-old Harry Mutch rounds out the top five at the lunch break after delivering one of his best-ever tests — and his five-star personal best — with stalwart partner HD Bronze, earning a 30.8. Their recent ascent into the business end of the leaderboard in this phase comes as the result of months spent training with Pippa Funnell as part of the Wesko Equestrian Foundation — a mentorship that’s gone so well that Harry has temporarily relocated from Newcastle to the Funnells’ Surrey base.

“The canter work is probably the best he’s ever given me,” says Harry, who used to lose marks in his canter centrelines when the previously weak, lanky gelding would throw in lead changes — an issue that’s been well and truly nixed after rebuilding the foundations with Pippa. “The trot work got a little bit stuck, so I was a bit like, ‘come on, please pick up again!’, but he just kept it together and was fantastic. I’m thrilled with him.”

Though two pandemic seasons were hardly ideal for horses at this level, Harry, who only began riding at the age of thirteen and made it to Badminton at 21, used the situation to his advantage.

“That sort of put us on hold for two years, but he’s actually matured so much in that time,” he says. “So for me, it wasn’t all that bad! He’s come out of it a much better horse.”

Cornelia Dorr delivers a masterclass in tactful riding with Daytona Beach 8. Photo by Libby Law.

Our second US competitor of the morning, Cornelia Dorr, knew she’d have a job on her hands in this phase: her expressive mare Daytona Beach 8, who, like her rider, makes her five-star debut this week, is notoriously hot and tricky between the boards, despite her abundance of talent. But although their final score of 39 keeps them out of the hunt for now, the work that the former Sandra Auffarth mount delivered in the ring was actually peppered with some of her nicest moments so far this season.

“I’m really happy with her — she tried really hard to stay with me and listen to me,” says Cornelia, who temporarily relocated to England in January to base with Australia’s Kevin and Emma McNab. “Kevin’s helped me get her so much better in the contact, and I can actually put my leg on and ride her now, and she finds comfort in it. That’s been a really big step. It’s pretty ballsy, but I actually just get on her like, ten minutes before my tests and saunter in, because we’ve learned that she has a time limit — after that, she’s like a cat on hot bricks! But today, she kept a lid on it until the crowd clapped at the end, so I couldn’t really ask much more from her. She runs on adrenaline, but she did a really good job.”

For Cornelia, even just riding into the main arena here is a huge milestone. “It’s pretty surreal, and I think I got a little emotional for a second when they rang the bell,” she laughs. “I was like, ‘wow, this is pretty cool!’ I’m just so happy to be here — and with this horse, what makes her difficult in the dressage ring is what makes her amazing out on cross-country.”

We’ll be back this afternoon with a full report from the second session of dressage. Until then: Go Eventing!

The top five at the Thursday lunch break at Burghley.

Burghley 2022: Website|Live Scores|Burghley TV|Form Guide|EN’s Coverage|EN’s Twitter|EN’s Instagram