Classic Eventing Nation

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Could it be argued that today’s Defender Burghley showjumping track was built on the softer side? Absolutely – it certainly walked as a much different type of track than the enormously influential one we saw at Badminton this spring, and the word on the street is that the course designer made his final plans for it factoring in the heavy rainfall we experienced overnight and into this morning. A fair call, and the right call, considering the major challenge horses faced yesterday over Burghley’s hills and dales – but when the sun decided to make an appearance mid-morning, it did so with surprising ferocity, and the impact of all that water on the ground ultimately ended up marginal.

But could it also be argued that even with a much tougher showjumping track, or a bog of an arena to jump in, Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo would still have triumphed. Also yes, and emphatically so. They did just that at Badminton last year, after all, and we’ve yet to find the kind of conditions that put rangy ‘Walter’ off – and as the reigning European Champion, an Olympic team gold medallist, and a Badminton champion, he was already tipped as the ultimate event horse long before his name even appeared on this entry list.

And now, frankly, it’s confirmed. It’s been a long time since we started referring to eventing as being a two-prong sport – these days, there are championship horses and championship tracks, with their own unique pathways that look quite different to those for ‘traditional’ horses over ‘traditional’ five-star tracks. For many horses, it’s one or the other. When you find a horse who can do both, and make it all look laughably easy, you know you’ve found one that’ll be talked about long after his final run.

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

For our newly-crowned Defender Burghley champions, that final run looks a very long way away indeed: despite all his extraordinary accolades, ‘Walter’ is still just twelve years old, and Ros, at 38, isn’t even a decade into her five-star career. It was here, in 2015, that she made her debut at the level, finishing 37^th with Allstar B and fulfilling a lifelong dream of riding around her most local major event – an event she and her friends in the South Wold Hunt North Pony Club would come to spectate at every year, and a venue at which she, in those heady Pony Club days, would come to compete in rallies held in the back fields. She’s been back several times since, coming close to, but never cracking, the top ten. This week, she and Michele and Archie Saul’s horse of a lifetime came with one mission in mind: to finally tick the box. They did so, delivering a clear round with just 1.6 penalties, despite having a much broader margin of 7.5 penalties – a rail and time – to play with. In adding that 1.6 time penalties to their faultless cross-country round and their 22 dressage score, they not only won, but also set a new record low finishing score for the event.

“It’s just amazing, really, I think. I’ve just had a text message from my two best friends from my Pony Club days saying, ‘I can’t believe you just won the event that we came to every year together as children,’” says Ros. “And that sums it up, really – it’s something that we’ve worked on for years, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever tick the Burghley box. You know, the last few performances, they’ve been all right, but I’ve not quite made it. So just turns out you need a horse like Walter, don’t you?”

It’s Walter’s world. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

“I grew up coming here pretty much every year,” she continues. “And then, my riding career started in Burghley Pony Club show jumping. I moved on to the Young Event Horse classes, which I did for many years, and I actually thought [that] might be my pinnacle for a bit. And then it was my first five-star. So it’s been  quite a journey at Burghley. If I wasn’t competing, I would still come: I love the place, and I haven’t had much of a chance to kind of wander around much this week, but on Thursday morning, I wanted to go up to the dressage and just have a look at the arena and make sure I knew where I was going. And I wandered up through the trade stands before everything opened up, and I thought, ‘there’s just something magical about this place’. It’s got this kind of calm feeling about it, but it has the buzz and the excitement as well. There’s nowhere else like it.”

There’s no horse quite like Walter, either. Their 2024 was framed wholly around the Paris Olympics, which ran early enough – in late July – to allow for some time to recover and go again in this early autumn season, and as they were held as a ten-minute four-star on flat ground, Walter came home feeling particularly well in himself.

“It was just such an amazing opportunity, with Paris being quite early, to be able to bring Walter here,” says Ros. “If there was ever an event horse and an event that could match each other, I think this is it with Walter and Burghley. It definitely it was a box I felt I hadn’t really got quite right yet — I’ve had a few runs around here on a couple of different horses, the first two with Allstar B, when I hadn’t quite found my way and hadn’t quite found my system. And he was amazing, and I gained lots of experience, but I never really got the opportunity to have another go on him and show what he could do. So it was just fantastic to be able to bring a horse that I had such faith in, and to really let rip on the Burghley terrain.”

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

In that interim period between Paris and Burghley, Ros had a few lightbulb moments while sharpening up the areas in her performance that she felt could improve. Key among those? Marginal improvements to the gelding’s straightness, which led to major gains in the ring.

“With only a couple of weeks preparation, I suppose, after Paris, I was really happy with everything I achieved in a couple of weeks running up to Burghley,” she says. “I felt like I made a few key changes to the way I was riding Walter, and it made quite a big difference to the way he was going. So I came in here quite excited to be able to put that into practice and see how it made a difference to his dressage — and I was really delighted with how the week started. And then it just continued from there, really. I was quite determined to be really positive this week. I wanted to enjoy it as well. I’ve got my family here and things like that, and I wanted to be really focused when I needed to be and have a bit of downtime too. Sometimes I can get a little bit — I struggle to enjoy things, because I feel like I ought to be working harder than everybody else and thinking more than everyone else. And this week, I felt like I got the balance right.”

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

In taking this exceptional win, atop the best Burghley field we’ve seen perhaps ever, Ros also closed the book on a couple of tough ‘nearly’ moments that affected her more than she’d expected, including that contentious 15 penalties for a flag at the Olympics, and the shock loss of Luhmühlen in the final phase in June.

“It means an awful lot. And I think when I went to Luhmühlen this year [with Izilot DHI], I went from being fairly comfortably in the lead to finishing fourth, and it really struck me then that actually it did mean a lot to me,” she says. “I was bitterly disappointed with that, and I maybe hadn’t realized quite how much it all still meant to me. And so doing Paris – Paris was amazing, and I feel so grateful to have won the gold medal, but obviously it came with its ups and downs. There were lots of challenges to overcome, so whilst I was there, it wasn’t all ‘this is great’ and positive, positive. So to be able to come here, I feel like what happened at Luhmühlen, what happened in Paris, it’s just kind of built up for me to be able to learn from those things and to bring my best performance here, and then, of course, to be able to do it with Lordships Graffalo makes my job a whole lot easier.”

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

One of the banner moments of the day was the very nearly foot perfect showjumping round delivered by Tim Price and Vitali, who lost the win here last year when tipping three rails, and who, in five previous five-stars and the Tokyo Olympics, had never had fewer rails than that on the final day.

But today, after so much patience, and so much tact, and so much commitment to a horse who wants to do everything right, it just about came off, and Tim and Vitali tipped just one rail to retain their runner-up place.

“He just was with me, and I think it’s physical and mental with him, and I know he’s got the ability,” says Tim. “So I just had him in a nice way where he was listening to me, and it’s always that [you’ve] just got to keep tweaking and fiddling and have 100 attempts, like I’ve had, to finally get somewhere close to a clear round. So I’m really happy.”

One of the most promising moments in the round came when Vitali kept his confidence after a bit of a change of plan mid-course.

“I was happy because I hooked and changed my mind a little bit down to number seven after the four stride line. And I thought, ‘shit, if I have a rail now, then we’ve got quite a lot more jumps to jump, and it’s kind of my fault that then he’ll throw his cards to one side and march out of the room’,” says Tim. “It’s so hard because he’s a trivial horse, and it’s my job just to try and ride him like a normal horse and have him behave like a normal horse. So that was my task today: have him relax, him with me, and jump each fence as it came along.”

One of the things that’s probably been the most frustrating about Vitali is his evident talent for this phase – and in one-day events, he’s a frequent clear-round flyer.

“He’s actually jumped clear rounds all year, except for Badminton. So he is actually a good jumper, which is probably a weird thing to say for a horse that’s had probably 48 rails in the last couple of years! It’s just when you switch the cross country [to the day before], and the atmosphere, I think are the two big things,” says Tim. “So it’s just been a matter of trying to have him with me and a little bit more think of dressage – like, I probably did six flying changes in there when I went in today, which is a bit weird. It’s like you’re showing off, but it’s just to check he’s on the aids, because he cocks his jaw, looks at the crowd, and then I ask for a change, and he’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I do those.’ And then he looks over there, and I do a wee change. And it just keeps him a little bit more the way that he can do what he does on the dressage. It’s just, I think, to keep him with me, and then for me to try to not ride him in some crazy, random way to the magical clear round. I just try to ride him really normal.”

And, he continues, it’s also about forgetting the disappointments of the past and trying to hope again each time.

“You’ve got to put all that to one side and just stick to trying to reinvent the wheel each time and figure out, because I believe in the horse, and he’s an athlete, he’s a great jumper. But to actually find the key to his long format show jumping issues has been a long and enduring task, and so I’m just thrilled that I think I’m on a page with him now that I think not only was great for today to keep me in the mix, but also for the future with this horse. It’s one thing putting a great score on the board in the phase A, but you need to be able to go and do what he does cross country, which maybe is shadowed by his great performances in the dressage and not-so-great performances in the show jumping. I’m looking forward to hopefully being in the mix in the future a few more times, and hopefully sitting where Ros is sitting a couple of times, maybe. But I’m just so super happy today, for him, his connections, his owner, and we’ve all tried so hard —  today was a good day that I think will go down in my books as one of my greatest days in the sport.”

Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Split as it is into two halves, the final day at Burghley is often actually one that affords a bit of time to relax and process it all. Not so for Harry Meade, though, who had three horses here this week, and piloted all three of them to competitive placings yesterday, which meant that – in order to give him enough time to adequately prepare each of them – he had to jump his fifteenth-placed Superstition out of order in this morning’s session.

But what a walk in the park he made it all look: they delivered one of the three clears inside the time in that section to move the smart gelding up into an eventual twelfth place, and when he returned to pilot his two top-ten rides, Cavalier Crystal and Annaghmore Valoner, this afternoon, he did so again with the former. The latter, making her debut at five-star after winning Bramham CCI4*-L this summer, tipped just one rail, giving the two mares a swap-around in the rankings, and ultimately putting Cavalier Crystal into third place and Annaghmore Valoner into fourth.

Harry Meade and Annaghmore Valoner. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

“For me, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind week, just trying to stay at the moment the whole time, and give every horse the best opportunity in every phase, and do them justice,” says Harry, who was one of just two riders to finish on his dressage score today, with Cavalier Crystal. “And I hopefully did that. I think with all three horses, it was a great outcome. They’ll all go home better horses than they arrived here, and [I’m] really happy. Cavalier Crystal’s hopefully cemented her place as not just a sort of anomaly, but Annaghmore Valoner was my wildcard coming here, and for her to pull out that kind of performance was really exciting. Hopefully she’s got bigger things in her.”

There is, of course, nothing that’s an anomaly about Harry’s extraordinary efforts this week with three very different horses.

“I grew up as a little boy wanting to do the sport, and it’s really simple: I wanted to ride at the big events, and that includes Burghley. It’s been a long, long project to try and produce horses that are happy and confident and resilient and able to not just flourish, but really flourish when the conditions at their absolute worst. [Martyn Johnson, Burghley director] said it was perfect weather, and I thought it was totally imperfect weather,” he laughs. “I was hoping we were going to have really heavy rain and make everything even tougher, but to produce horses that can come to the fore around a cause like Burghley is what I’ve tried to dedicate my life doing, and in a way, I’ve got a wonderful team behind me that we’ve now got multiple horses at that level. It’s what keeps me going every day of the year, and I just really hope to one day be sitting where Ros is sitting.”

Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Fifth place was well-earned by 2022 runners-up Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift, who jumped an effective clear inside the time to move up three places in the final standings.

“I mean, I keep saying it all week, but he just delivers every single time, doesn’t he?” says Tom. “[It] probably wasn’t my most perfect round, but he just jumped his socks off in there, and just tries so hard in every single phase. I couldn’t be prouder of him. Another five-star, another top ten result with him, so what more can I ask for? He definitely deserves a holiday, and then we’ll make a plan [for what comes next] after that.”

Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

France’s strong initial line-up of four competitors thinned to just two yesterday, but the two still in the hunt made sure to give the tricolore its share of the glory: British-based Gaspard Maksud completed his Burghley debut with a one-rail round aboard his World and European Championships mount Zaragoza, earning them a final sixth place, and championship stalwarts Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold HDC finished seventh in their own debut after adding nothing in the ring.

“I just added to come to the first fence, and I lost the power – and then that will happen. It’s totally my fault,” says Gaspard, who finished sixth with the then-nine-year-old mare at the 2022 World Championships, but hadn’t ticked the five-star box yet. They made their debut at the level at Pau last year, but a fall in the water on cross-country meant the week would be an educational one, rather than a competitive one. This week, though, they’ve made up for that abortive start – and proved themselves as fierce competitors after being left off the French Olympic team – with a very competitive first-phase score of 26.8, just 3.6 time penalties across the country yesterday, and today’s one-rail final round.

“I had a fence down, but it’s totally my fault. I’m really happy with the horse; it’s another day we are both learning, it’s a first five star completion for the both of us, and we finish on a score of 34,” says Gaspard. “I mean, we’d have signed for that before coming here! So, you know, I’m very chuffed with her. This one’s on me – I let her down [with the rail], but she was class.”

Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold HDC. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Nicolas Touzaint’s Absolut Gold HDC has been such a mainstay of the French team at championships in recent years, including as part of the bronze medal-winning line-ups at the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s European Championships, and so it’s almost hard to believe that the fourteen-year-old hadn’t yet done a five-star before this week. It was even harder to believe when watching his prowess across the country yesterday on Derek di Grazia’s tough track, and today, his fluid, fresh, and faultless showjumping round sealed the deal that he’s a horse who can do it all.

“This is an extraordinary horse, and everything went very well today,” says Nicolas, who’s produced the gelding from two-star up. “I know him by heart. He jumped very well outside and then in the arena, he was really focused. I had the feeling that if I didn’t make any mistakes, he wouldn’t either. Everything was with us — the horse was calm, was concentrated. I’m over the moon.”

Alex Bragg and Quindiva. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Alex Bragg combines being a top-level event rider with farriery, and so it was a cruel irony that his showjumping preparation with the smart Quindiva was very nearly wholly derailed by a last-minute issue with the mare’s shoes.

“The ground in the warm-up is a bit deeper than in the ring, and I was panicking because I have these aluminum front shoes on her, and the stud holes went and we couldn’t get studs in,” he says. “So all this was going on the last few minutes before we go in. Nobody sees that in the stands, but it’s quite stressful outside, and going in knowing that your horse’s front feet are going to move when she goes to plant in the ground to take off.  I felt like I supported in the rein when I wanted to, but [was] desperately just trying to control her front end. With some horses, that will upset the jump and close the back end down — but she’s so phenomenal and she just pushed and tried. And it just shows how talented she is that even a bit under the [pressure] there, she did fantastic. She’s been great all weekend.”

“[The aluminum shoes are] something we’ve done with her at five-star because of the distance, to try and make life a little easier for her,” he continues. “So she only goes into those for this moment. The rest of the time she’s in steel shoes, because aluminum is much softer. It’s not so great for their feet to live in those, so you want them in them for a purpose, and that’s the purpose really — just because it’s less weight on the end of the leg, which you hope is going to cause less fatigue and also less risk of the leg swinging and injury. But obviously to every pro, there’s always a con, and this sometimes arises. It’s not what you want, but it happens, and it was pretty stressful. [It’s] tough for the team, because everybody’s panicking a little bit, and then you just have to make this decision — like, it is what it is, you’ve just got to go in and cover it up. It’d be so awful if you felt the horse slip and have a rail because of that, but she didn’t. She did that so we can all breathe a sigh relief and, you know, thank God for her, eh?”

The pair delivered a clear round inside the time, allowing them to finish on their first-phase score of 35.1 – the only combination other than Harry and Cavalier Crystal to do so.

“Not many people have ever done that around Burghley, so I’m so proud that we can add ourselves to that list,” says Alex, who took eighth place – an accolade that follows the pair’s third-place finish at Badminton.

Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Gemma Stevens was one of our most joyous finishers on cross-country yesterday, when she whooped her way through the flags after a speedy clear aboard Bicton CCI5* winner Chilli Knight – and today, she was more quietly pleased with her final round, which saw the pair add just one rail and drop from sixth to ninth.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with the horse, not cross with him at all. He just made one mistake, annoyingly,” says Gemma, who also showjumps at top level. “He just came down too early on an oxer and actually touched it in front, which is a weird mistake for him to make, and actually unusual for him, but it is what it is — they’re horses, at the end of the day, and he galloped beautifully around across country yesterday.”

“The ground,” she continues, “was actually pretty soft in there. And actually just a little bit, I think he was just a little bit feeling the softness of the ground. He probably wouldn’t love that – jumping in that in there – but he tried his little heart out, and I’m thrilled with him. Yes, I’m gutted, for me, because it means I’ve lost out on a top five placing, but still — top ten and a sound horse, a happy horse, and his owners are really happy. We’re all really proud of the horse.”

Alice Casburn and Topspin. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

22-year-old Alice Casburn rounded out the top ten with her sixteen-year-old homebred Topspin, whose dam and granddam were evented by Alice’s mother, Caroline. Since partnering with the rangy gelding in her teens, Alice has logged plenty of mileage in the jumping ring – including the odd puissance class for fun – as well as in eventing, and so they can ordinarily be counted upon to deliver the goods on the final day.

And deliver they did: their clear inside the time, and their scant 1.6 time penalties yesterday, were combined with their first-phase score of 36.6 to give them their third Burghley top-ten finish, and a three-phase climb from 48^th place.

“He’s absolutely incredible. I sort of came out today, and I thought, all three, clear rounds in a row, that’s a rather big ask,” laughs Alice. “And actually, he never jumps very well in the warm-up. So it’s always quite frightening for me, because every single time I jump in the warm-up and he goes, ‘tap, tap, tap, tap, tap,’ and I think, ‘oh, here we go.’ And every single time he goes in there, he absolutely lights up. He loves his job, and he was phenomenal today.”

It’s a brilliant return to form for the pair, who’ve been exceptional at this top level but had a couple of surprise 20 penalties on their form sheet earlier this year at both Burnham Market CCI4*-S and Badminton. For Alice, this year has been about re-finding their mojo.

“I think it’s different things for him and I. So for me, it was finding another goal to keep myself motivated. I said to mum, it’d be really easy to go home and say, ‘Oh, well, you know, Badminton didn’t happen, so I’ll wait till Burghley,’ but obviously Burghley is such a long way away,” says Alice. “So even if I create a goal with a younger horse, just to keep myself productive and stuff like that. And for him, I think it’s just because he came out so excited at Badminton, like he was [yesterday], and I wasn’t really used to it, and we just sort of went back to basics at home. I did a lot of show jumping, anything to sort of build confidence, really. It was never a matter of, did he love it? But, you know, I think it’s very difficult, because when he reached 16 this year, I thought, ‘Oh, is this his sign that actually it’s a little bit too much for him?’ And then I thought, ‘No, it’s not. He just got overexcited.’ And I think sometimes you can get really destructive [in your thinking], so I think it’s a matter of also, you know, looking at a record and looking at your horse and making sure that actually you’re making decisions, not just based on how you feel, but factually.”

Cosby Green and Copper Beach finished their week as the highest-placed of our US contingent, knocking just one rail in an otherwise classy round to take 16^th and complete their three-phase climb from 26^th.

“I’m really happy with that. It’s a bit of an improvement from last time, and he really was trying for me out there. So I’m really, really pleased with him,” says Cosby, who finished 31^st at Badminton after a tough day saw them add 28 penalties in the final phase.

Of her Burghley campaign, Cosby admits that she wasn’t sure that it would actually happen.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to be here a couple months ago, and he just proved me wrong. So I’m really happy. I think it was the Sunday of Badminton, Jonelle [Price] said we’re going to Burghley. And I was pretty convinced he was going to retire after that. So Jonelle has been having me prepare him for Burghley this whole time. And I’d say I’ve just been in denial about it, because in what world would an 18 year old do a third consecutive five-star? I thought, ‘we’ll see when we get there’. And I was preparing him, but myself mentally, I was not completely prepared to be here. But he’s been steady Eddie on the prep, and it’s gone according to plan. About a week ago, when I had my last jump on him, and I was like, ‘wow, he’s ready.’”

A new addition to their tack locker also played a role in the great result.

“This was my third time jumping him in [a hackamore] ever in having him four years,” says Cosby. “And it worked out! I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but he seemed to like it, so I think we might do that again next time. He just wasn’t responding positively enough in the bit, and he just kind of kept coming inverted, and especially at Badminton, I kept pulling and nothing was happening. So just tried a bit of a different approach, and especially after a hard day of cross country, it worked out.”

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle finished in 23^rd place after tipping a frustrating two rails, while Andrew McConnon and Wakita 54 took 27^th place, also knocking two in their round. Mia Farley and Phelps took four down in the ring, giving them a final placing of 32^nd and plenty of insights to take away for their next campaigns.

“We know Sunday’s not his strongest day, but I’m happy with how he came out of the barn this morning, and he’s happy and healthy. So we’ve done our Burghley completion. We’ve worked really hard all week, and I’ve always wanted to come here, so it’s been an accomplishment, and to be here with some great riders is really special,” says Mia.

Mia Farley and Phelps. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

“I think what we took away from this weekend is that we both know that we have the will to be the best,” says Mia, who had a tricky day across the country yesterday with an uncharacteristic runout at the second of the influential Rolex Corners at 16AB. “So like, especially with the mistake yesterday, I didn’t know that I could want it even more. I had no idea. And Phelps just proved that he loves what he does, and he loves cross country. He is an amazing cross country horse. The corners were my fault. That was at fence two, because I took about six strides out to fence two and then never got him back. So yeah, I think I can take away that we just cannot wait to come back. I’ve got a whole year to manifest!”

Jesse Campbell and Cooley Lafitte. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

A nod, to, must go to the most popular finisher of the day, with one of the rounds of the day. That was New Zealand’s Jesse Campbell, whose spicy Cooley Lafitte began his Burghley debut this week with a tricky test that earned the pair a 41.1 and sent them nearly to the bottom of the pack. But their clear round with 15.2 time penalties gave them a serious boost yesterday, and today, they nailed down the clear inside the time to secure 21^st place in an arena packed full of folks rooting harder for them than anyone else.

“It’s been a big week, with lots of learnings and I’m just delighted with my horse. He tried really hard today. He’s been fairly troublesome all week, but today made up for it, definitely,” says Jesse, who rode with the purple and white colours of his late wife, Georgie, pinned to his coat. “It’s always this sort of chicken-egg situation. You know, do you want a really good dressage score? Do you want to jump double clear? And, yeah, it is always nice to finish the week on a positive. This year’s had a lot of challenges, and getting here has been one of them, but the horses do give me a purpose.”

And so we come to the close of another brilliant Defender Burghley – a week that’s given us an exciting spread of influence while remaining refreshingly horse-friendly. We’ll have plenty more thoughts and musings to bring you on how the week played out soon – but for now, it’s goodbye from us from a suddenly rather sleepy Stamford. Go Eventing.

Our coverage of Burghley is brought to you by our incredible supporters, Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for science-backed nutritional products to keep your horse feeling their best at all times. They’ll even get on the phone with you to help you formulate a solid supplementation plan for your horse’s individual needs! We’d really appreciate your support of KPP, as they’re champions for our sport and beyond and are wonderful people to boot. Check them out here.

Defender Burghley: [Website] [Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Burghley TV] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]

On track to finish on their dressage, Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo head into the finale at the head of the pack on a score of 22. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

And so we find ourselves on the edge of our seats, chomping at the bit to discover who will take home the Burghley trophy, but there’s much more than the glory, impressive purse and gorgeous piece of silverware at stake this year, for the winner will also be awarded with their weight in beer courtesy of Hawkestone. It’s not clear whether they’ve committed to the rider’s weight, the horse’s, or both, but there’s for sure an argument that eventing is very much a whole team effort and therefore horse, rider, owners, grooms, sponsors, breeders, and the entire team at home are all winners. (Can we go as far as sire and dam?) Just saying.

But before we go about inviting ourselves to the champion’s celebrations to share the spoils, there’s the small matter of keeping the poles in the cups and the top 20 are waiting in the wings to have a go at doing just that.

Things are due to kick off at 2:15pm local time / 3:15pm CET / 9:15am ET with Britain’s Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal getting things underway in this afternoon’s session, jumping out of order as Harry has no fewer than three rides in the top 15; they come into the final phase in 5th place. The rest of the competitors are due to come forward in reverse order, although Harry had his round with 15th placed Superstition this morning, jumping clear inside the time and finishing on a score of 42.9.

Fighting for their weight in beer at the top of the table as things stand are:

1️⃣ Britain’s Ros Canter with Lordships Graffalo on a, frankly, ridiculous score of 22 are looking to do the double with a win at both the big Bs after coming out on top at Badminton last year.
2️⃣ 3.5 points behind is New Zealand’s – Tim Price with Vitali on 25.5.
3️⃣ And 2.3 points behind them is Britain’s Harry Meade with Annaghmore Valoner on a score of 27.8.

Basically, Ros doesn’t have a fence in hand over Tim, who doesn’t have a fence in hand over Harry, who doesn’t have a fence in hand over Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza in 4th, or himself with Cavalier Crystal in 5th. It’s tight at the top and we’re in for an exciting finale to Defender Burghley!

🇺🇲 If you’re rooting for the US, this is what you need to know:

📍 Mia Farley and Phelps were in 34th place overnight on a score of 77.3 after picking up 20 jumping and 23 time penalties out on cross country. They jumped this morning and had four fences and 1.2 time, putting them on a Burghley completion score of 94.5.

📍Andrew McConnon and Wakita 54 – were in 29th place overnight on a score of 60 after picking up 19.6 time yesterday. They also jumped this morning and had two fences and 2 time, putting them on an overall score of 70.

📍Hannah Sue Hollberg and Capitol H I M parted ways out on the cross country which brought their competition to an early end.

Jumping in the top 20 are:

📍Cosby Green and Copper Beach – currently in 15th place on a score of 44.4 .

📍 Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle – currently in 18th place on a score of 49.9.

Click here to see how this morning’s competitors got on and how things look for the rest of the combinations coming forward this afternoon.

If you’ve missed out on our coverage thus far, don’t fret, catch up here:

▶️ Dressage Day One: [Test-by-test reports] [Morning round-up report] [Afternoon round-up report]

▶️ Dressage Day Two: [Test-by-test reports] [Morning round-up report] [Afternoon round-up report]

▶️ Cross Country: [Live blog of all the action] [Round-up report]

Here at EN we’ve been beavering (chinchilla-ing, if you will) away to bring you all manner of cool content, so whilst we await the bell, get stuck in to all things Burghley and mosey on along to our IG account for even more @goeventing.

Remember the rule from yesterday’s pop quiz? The first rule of live updates: refresh, refresh, refresh if you want to keep up with live updates.

There’s (potentially, a lot) of beer at stake ENers, let’s go eventing!

Defender Burghley: [Website] [Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Burghley TV] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]

EN’s coverage of Defender Burghley is proudly presented by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for science-backed nutritional support for every horse. Click here to learn more about KPP.

________________________________________________________________________________

10:12am ET

And that’s it. Burghley is over for another year and the Burghley champions have been crowned (and are on their way to collect on that beer).

Click here for the full scoreboard.

If you’re not ready for it all to end (join the club), keep it locked on to EN for our round-up report of all that went down to culminate in glory and beer for Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo – coming right up.

And if you need even more, like, right now, click here for all of EN’s Burghley content.

What a competition. What a sport. Go eventing!

________________________________________________________________________________

10:07am ET

We really are all living in Walter’s world and it’s pretty dang good.

Here’s the top 3:

1️⃣ Winners of the whole dang thang are Britain’s Ros Canter and Lorships Graffalo on a score of 23.6 – a record Burghley finishing score.

2️⃣ The 2024 runners-up, 5.9 points behind, are New Zealand’s Tim Price and Vitali on 29.5.

3️⃣ And taking the final podium spot are Britain’s Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal who have finished on their dressage score of 31.3.

Harry’s also in 4th with Annaghmore Valoner and has finished up with all three of his rides in the top 12.

________________________________________________________________________________

10:05am ET

ROS CANTER AND LORDSHIPS GRAFFALO WIN DEFENDER BURGHLEY 2024!

________________________________________________________________________________

10:02am ET

🇬🇧 Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 22
Cross Country Penalties: 0+0
Overall: 22 – 1st

OK, this is it. Are we watching our Burghley champions?

Easy over the first, careful over the second. Balanced round the turn and right over the third. He doesn’t even notice the fourth and there’s no question over 5 or 6, or 7. They come round to the treble at 8 and tap the middle part but it stays. The Mars oxer’s no bother at 9 and the black and white rails at 10 are perfect. Over the double and clear of the Defender Finale and HERE ARE YOUR BURGHLEY WINNERS!!! Just 1.6 time to add.

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo finish on a score of 23.6.

It’s a record Burghley finishing score!

________________________________________________________________________________

10am ET

🇳🇿 Tim Price and Vitali

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 22.3
Cross Country Penalties: 0+3.2
Overall: 25.5 – 2nd

OK, hold your breath. The crowd has been asked not to clap as he comes into the ring. Vitali really does get hyped up, as we see very clearly at the horse inspections. It’s silent in there but for Vitali’s breathing. His head’s in the air over the first couple of fences but so far so good. Vitali’s really being careful and jumping out of his skin. He’s clear through fence 7. The treble comes up and Tim’s riding brilliantly. He touches the Mars oxer at 9 and is still clear. He’s clear over 10 but then, oh, he has the second part of the double at 11. One to go. Clear over the Defender Finale. Good job Vitali, and Tim, of course. Just one fence down and holding on to second place.

Tim Price and Vitali finish on a score of 29.5.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:57am ET

🇬🇧 Harry Meade and Annaghmore Valoner

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 27.8
Cross Country Penalties: 0+0
Overall: 27.8 – 3rd

This mare may not have the most experience but she sure looks class as she clears the first two fences, she’s jumping her socks off. They get in deep to the third and the crowd gasps. They tap the oxer with the watertray at 5 but it stays. Their luck runs out at the black and white rails at 10 and that comes down. They put that behind them though and finish up with no further problems. One down for them.

Harry Meade and Annaghmore Valoner finish on a score of 31.8.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:55am ET

🇫🇷 Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza II

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 26.8
Cross Country Penalties: 0+3.6
Overall: 30.4 – 4th

This mare is usually careful but she just doesn’t get up high enough over the first and has it down. There’s a tap at the oxer at 3 but it stays and then they rub 6, but that also stays. There’s a big rattle at the first part of the treble at 8 but their luck holds. Gaspard says “Woah” as he makes his way through there with the mare getting quite keen. They finish up clear. One down for them.

Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza II finish on a score of 34.4.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:52am ET

🇬🇧 Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 29.7
Cross Country Penalties: 0+2.4
Overall: 32.1 – 6th

Chilli Knight’s a bit squirrelly before the first and the second but Gemma keeps things together and there’s no question of the poles staying up. They quickly settle into their round and easily clear the next few fences. There’s a tap at the treble at 8 but then the Mars oxer at 9 just doesn’t come up for them and they have that down. They’re clear the rest of the way round. One fence down for them.

Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight finish on a score of 36.1.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:50am ET

🇳🇿 Monica Spencer and Artist

Photo by Sally Spickard.

Dressage Score: 24.4
Cross Country Penalties: 0+8.4
Overall: 32.8 – 7th

This pair have a bit of a rub at the first and then tap the second. Both stay up. They get up higher over the oxer at 3 and then easily clear the Rolex fence at 4. They have another tap at 5 – the oxer with the watertray – and then their luck runs out at 7 and they have that down. They tap all the poles at both elements of the double at 11 but their luck’s back and everything stays up. One fence down for them and 2 time penalties.

Monica Spencer and Artist finish on a score of 38.8.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:47am ET

🇬🇧 Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 28.6
Cross Country Penalties: 0+5.6
Overall: 34.2 – 8th

This horse has already proved what a good jumper he is and he’s only proving that once again as he flies over the fences with buckets of room to spare. There’s a tiny tap at 6 but absolutely no worries. It’s a bit of a rattle in the middle part of the treble combination at 8 but it stays. They jump very neatly through the double at 11 and then over the Defender Finale for a clear round. No worse than 8th for them.

Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift finish on a score of 34.2.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:45am ET

🇫🇷 Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold HDZ

Photo by Eventing Nation.

Dressage Score: 26.1
Cross Country Penalties: 0+8.8
Overall: 34.9 – 9th

Absolut Gold shows his class over the first few fences and nothing seems to be a problem for them so far. This big horse has to really shorten in the treble combination at 8 and taps the vertical on the way out but it stays. They have a rattle at the b element of the double at 11 but that also stays. They continue on and finish up clear. Nicolas gives a yell and is clearly thrilled.

Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold HDZ finish on a score of 44.9.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:42am ET

🇬🇧 Alexander Bragg and Quindiva

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 35.1
Cross Country Penalties: 0+0
Overall: 35.1 – 10th

Alex is looking to join the elite club of finishing on his dressage at Burghley. He comes quietly into the first fence and then really has a beautiful jump over the second. ‘Diva’ is such a good show jumper and she’s really showing that off. She’s not even breathing on these fences. This round must feel really good for Alex. Not a problem for this pair. Alex punches the air and gallops along to share his celebrations with the crowd. Clear and guaranteed top 10 for them.

Alexander Bragg and Quindiva finish on a score of 35.1.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:40am ET

🇬🇧 Alice Casburn and Topspin

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 36.6
Cross Country Penalties: 0+1.6
Overall: 38.2 – 11th

Alice takes a breath before turning towards the first fence. She sets Topspin up for the Lion Bridge at 2 and they give the Rolex Grand Slam fence at 4 plenty of room. This is a really confident round so far. Alice reminds Topspin to shorten up through the treble with a ‘Woah’ and he’s right with her. The whole shebang looks sweet and easy and they finish with a clear round. Easy and class.
Alice Casburn and Topspin finish on a score of 38.2.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:37am ET

🇮🇪 Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue

Photo by Sally Spickard.

Dressage Score: 33.9
Cross Country Penalties: 0+4.8
Overall: 38.7 – 12th

This pair are neat over the first and leave nothing to chance at the Lion Bridge at 2, clearing it easily. ‘Salty’ is really jumping his socks off. Oh, he jumps up too high over the oxer with the watertray at 5 and comes down on the back rail. They put it behind them but there’s an uncomfortable looking jump at the vertical at 10 but they’re clear. The oxer out of the double at 11 is a similar story to the one they had at 5 and that goes. Two fences for them.

Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue finish on a score of 46.7.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:35am ET

🇨🇭 Felix Vogg and Cartania

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 28.8
Cross Country Penalties: 0+12
Overall: 40.8 – 13th

This mare is jumping really nicely at the start of the course and gives the big oxer at 3 lots of air. The round looks careful and steady but he’s taking very tight lines. They pay the price for that at the upright at 7 and have it down. Cartania continues on carefully and doesn’t even breathe on any of the poles. One down for them.

Felix Vogg and Cartania finish on a score of 44.8.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:32am ET

🇺🇸 Cosby Green and Copper Beach

Cosby Green and Copper Beach. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 31.6
Cross Country Penalties: 0+12.8
Overall: 44.4 – 15th

Cosby brings her experienced campaigner in and he jumps the first well. He’s a little hollow over the second and he’s got his own technique over the fences that’s for sure. It doesn’t look easy but Cosby’s doing a great job and all the fences have stayed up. He taps the first part of the treble at 8 and gives not an inch over the two verticals coming out, but all the poles stay put. They take out the second part of the double at 11 and then clear the final fence. One fence and 1.2 time.

Cosby Green and Copper Beach finish on a score of 49.6.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:30am ET

🇯🇵 Ryuzo Kitajima and Feroza Nieuwmoed

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 33
Cross Country Penalties: 0+15.2
Overall: 48.2 – 16th

They come quietly into the third and climb up over it. Wow, they were lucky that stayed up. But Feroza picks up better over the next couple of fences and really stretches over the oxer with the watertray at 5. They tap their way through the treble combination at 8 but all the poles stay put. They’re careful through the double at 11 and finish up with a great jump over the Defender Finale. Clear with 1.2 time.

Ryuzo Kitajima and Feroza Nieuwmoed finish on a score of 49.4.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:27am ET

🇬🇧 Libby Seed and Heartbreaker Star Quality

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 36.1
Cross Country Penalties: 0+12.4
Overall: 48.5 – 17th

This pair have a real problem at fence 2 and really run into it. But then the horse is very neat over fence 3 and is really jumping well as she continues round the course. She stretches right out over the Mars oxer at 9 and is really giving all the fences buckets of height. Wow, she leaps right up into the air over the last. One fence down and one second over.

Libby Seed and Heartbreaker Star Quality finish on a score of 52.9.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:25am ET

🇺🇸 Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle

Photo by Sally Spickard.

Dressage Score: 34.7
Cross Country Penalties: 0+15.2
Overall: 49.9 – 18th

‘Foxy’ looks up for it as he comes round to the vertical at 1 and he makes nothing of the Lion Bridge at 2. There’s a tiny rattle at 3 but no question it’s staying up. He shows his scope over the oxer with the watertray at 5 but then takes the upright at 7, he just didn’t quite get up high enough. Jennie’s really helping Foxy out as they continue on clear up to the double but then unfortunately take the second part. They finish with two fences down.

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle finish on a score of 57.9.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:22am ET

🇬🇧 Wills Oakden and A Class Cooley

Dressage Score: 30.6
Cross Country Penalties: 0+19.6
Overall: 50.2 – 19th

Unfortunately we miss the start of Wills’ round while Nadja’s being interviewed but he clears the Rolex Grand Slam fence at 4 looking very classy. He really pushes off the ground and stretches over the wide oxers. He’s neat and tidy over all the fences and is clear all the way. Just two seconds over.

Wills Oakden and A Class Cooley finish on a score of 51.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:20am ET

🇬🇧 Max Warburton and Deerpairc Revelry

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Dressage Score: 28.9
Cross Country Penalties: 0+22
Overall: 50.9 – 20th

This combination look very relaxed as they start their round. The first three fences pose no problem and the horse shows his scope over the wide oxer at 5. He’s got his ears pricked and is jumping out of his skin. He rattles the final part of the combination at 8 but it stays up. What an exciting prospect this horse is for the future. They rattle the last but it stays up and they’re clear. Just a second over.

Max Warburton and Deerpairc Revelry finish on a score of 51.3.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:17am ET

🇨🇭 Nadja Minder and Toblerone

Photo by Eventing Nation.

Dressage Score: 31
Cross Country Penalties: 0+21.2
Overall: 52.2 – 21st

The clear the upright at 1 and then the Lion Bridge. The come round to the oxer at 3 and stretch right over. 4 is no trouble and they come back round to 5, tap the back rail but it stays. Toblerone’s jumping his socks off. He’s really careful through the treble combination at 8 and really stretches over the Mars oxer at 9. They roll back to the double at 11 and take a tap but it stays. Clear with 0.8 time for them and a superb Burghley finish.

Nadja Minder and Toblerone finish on a score of 53.

________________________________________________________________________________

9:15am ET

🇬🇧 Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal

Photo by Eventing Nation.

Dressage Score: 31.3
Cross Country Penalties: 0+0
Overall: 31.3 – 5th

Cavalier Crystal looks keen for the job and clears the first. The Lion Bridge at 2 is no problem. They stretch over the oxer at 3 and clear the Rolex Grand Slam fence. The watertray at 5 is no trouble and the next to the same. They tap the first part of the treble combination at 8 but it stays. They continue on clear and the horse really is showing off her superb jumping ability. They clear the Defender Finale and there’s a cheer.

Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal finish on a score of 31.3.

________________________________________________________________________________

Defender Burghley: [Website] [Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Burghley TV] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]

EN’s coverage of Defender Burghley is proudly presented by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for science-backed nutritional support for every horse. Click here to learn more about KPP.

Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold present at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The field of competitors at the Defender Burghley CCI5* has thinned from 43 to 39 after this morning’s final horse inspection, which took place after a night of heavy rain on site.

Three of those losses to the start list occurred before the inspection even began: we saw early-morning withdrawals logged by Pippa Funnell and Majas Hope, who had been sitting 31^st after a cross-country round in which they’d picked up a flag penalty and 19.6 time penalties; Holly Richardson and Bally Louis, who’d been 36^th after adding a 20 and 30 time penalties; and Tom McEwen and CHF Cooliser, who’d delivered one of the rounds of the day to sit 14^th.

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

But when the remaining 40 horses came forward to present to Christina Klingspor (SWE), serving as president, Robert Stevenson (USA) and Nick Burton (GBR), the drama wasn’t wholly behind them.

Three horses were sent to the holding box throughout the course of proceedings: US representative Jennie Brannigan’s FE Lifestyle, 19th, British five-star debutant Lizzie Baugh’s B Exclusive, 37th, and French Olympian Nicolas Touzaint’s Absolut Gold HDC, ninth overnight. Both Jennie and Nicolas would ultimately get the nod to continue their competition – but sadly, Lizzie would not.

Lizzie Baugh and B Exclusive. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Today’s showjumping finale will be split into two halves: our first nineteen pairs will jump from 10.30 a.m. (5.30 a.m. EST), while the top twenty will take to the ring from 14.15 (9.15 a.m. EST). We’ll be back with a full report from the final phase at the end of the day, but in the meantime, keep it locked on EN for live updates and analysis from Cheg throughout each round. In the meantime, you can catch up on all yesterday’s action with our full report and live updates, and tune in to Burghley TV to get yourself front row centre for the action that’s about to start. As always: Go Eventing!

Overnight leaders Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo go into today’s showjumping without a rail, but with time, in hand. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The top ten going into showjumping at the 2024 Defender Burghley Horse Trials.

Our coverage of Burghley is brought to you by our incredible supporters, Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for science-backed nutritional products to keep your horse feeling their best at all times. They’ll even get on the phone with you to help you formulate a solid supplementation plan for your horse’s individual needs! We’d really appreciate your support of KPP, as they’re champions for our sport and beyond and are wonderful people to boot. Check them out here.

Defender Burghley: [Website] [Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Burghley TV] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Collectively, there probably hasn’t been many hours of sleep logged amongst the competitors at Defender Burghley ahead of today’s cross-country day; what little that was, no doubt, was plagued with night sweats and prolonged horror stories featuring the brush arrowheads at the Leaf Pit (7ABCDE), which nearly every rider had referred to, grim-faced, as the biggest fences they’d ever seen. And big, they most certainly were: made of stiff brush, they towered over the heads of any rider foolish enough to stand on the landing side and try to peer over the top.

By any estimation, after two days spent talking to the riders, and a mizzly morning early today spent walking the lines and finding many of them down there doing the same thing, any one of us would have put money on this extraordinarily tough-looking question being the most influential of the day.

Until, of course, in fine five-star style, it wasn’t. But that, as I’ve found over so many years of reporting on this sport, is so often the way – the line that walks the hardest, and looks as though it’ll have no margin for error whatsoever, and keeps us all awake wondering what on earth we’re doing this all for, ends up being, well, a bit of a puppy dog of a thing. Is it because all the panic engenders a deeper level of respect to the approach? Is it because these rider frighteners that are actually surprisingly readable are a marker of quite remarkably canny course designing, in this case by Derek di Grazia? Or is it, probably, some alchemical combination of the two things?

I’d love to tell you we have the answer, but all we really have for you is this – the fact that, at the close of the day, just one rider out of 65 faulted at the Leaf Pit. That was a late-in-the-day rider fall for Jonelle Price, who set out of the start box meaning business on the 2022 Pau champion Grappa Nera, who twisted in the air over the first of those colossal skinny brushes and gave her pilot an unwanted flying lesson, putting paid to their bid for a leaderboard climb.

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Sorry, sorry, did you think that this meant that the course ultimately ended up being a bit of a breeze? Let’s not be silly.

This year, Derek built us a track that was packed with intensity, and serious five-star questions, in the first quarter, and that first quarter absolutely wrought its influence. 17 of our field of competitors ultimately picked up jumping faults of some description between the start and fence 11ABC, the latter part of the Trout Hatchery water, and ten of those finished their rounds within those fences, whether through tumbles – dramatic dunkings in the Trout Hatchery water for top-ten-placed Gireg le Coz as well as Padraig McCarthy, plus that Leaf Pit whoopsy for Jonelle – or run-outs and retirements, as for, among others, France’s Luc Chateau and Lithuania’s Aistis Vitkauskas at the first pass through Defender Valley, which also caught out overnight leaders Ros Canter and Izilot DHI, who skimmed out the side of the angled brush final element after the ditch, and Ros, as she did at Badminton this spring, opted to put her hand up and, presumably, plan a reroute.

So that was our leader out of contention, as just the second round of a day packed with drama. Pathfinders Harry Meade and Superstition had logged the early clear, though with 10.8 time penalties, and then our next two starters after Ros, Matt Heath and Golden Recipe and Pippa Funnell and her 2022 Pau winner MCS Maverick, both retired on course after running into trouble at various points of the track.

It would have been easy, then, to assume that the tone was set for the day, until the next two riders, Ireland’s Susie Berry on Irene Leva and British rider Aaron Millar on Friendship VDL, both navigated their five-star debutants to classy, steady clears on 20-odd time penalties.

So what was it to be, really? Ultimately, with the crystal clarity of hindsight, a day of classic Burghley action, basically. We look at this – the biggest, boldest of five-stars – as being a true eventing challenge, in which dressage plays its part but doesn’t play the whole part, and in which heroic efforts can pull deserving horses and riders thirty, forty, or fifty places up the leaderboard and give them a fighting chance of a competitive finish, and that’s exactly what today did.

The problems, when they came – and boy, did they come – were dispersed far and wide across the course, with Defender Valley at 5 giving it plenty of welly and the achingly wide Rolex Corners at 16AB offering up no shortage of sway, too, with their tough related distance. And two-thirds of the way through the day, that meant that of the dressage top-ten who’d left the start box – five, at that point – not a single one had completed.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Defender Burghley Horse Trials (@burghleyhorsetrials)

Let’s, before we go any further, run through who those were, because their absence from the competition going forward is just as key as the addition of those who took their spots. We’ve discussed Ros, who might not come as a wild surprise, as she’d been nearly as vocal this week as she was at Badminton about potentially pulling up quirky, spooky Izilot DHI. But Emily King and Valmy Biats, fourth after dressage and hotly tipped for a first five-star win, called it a day on course too, having picked up a drive-by at the second angled hedge at 11BC, which caught out plenty through the day. They retired after that; a less dramatic finish than that of fifth-placed Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent, this year’s Kentucky winners, who had a slightly wiggly (though clear) jump through the final skinny brush at the Maltings at 15ABC, and then had the wheels fall of the bus entirely at the Rolex corners at 16AB. After jumping the first corner, the mare stumbled slightly after the first stride, and from that moment, it felt like a foregone conclusion: the line was lost, the angle was too severe, and though Oliver got his elbows out and tried to direct the mare’s considerable athletic ability between the flags, there was nothing that could be done. The clever mare picked up and quickly saw the fruitlessness of it all, put back down again, and collapsed the frangible fence while skirting her way around the side of it, sending Oliver tumbling into the wreckage but staying upright herself.

France’s Gireg le Coz and Aisprit de la Loge, seventh overnight, got their aforementioned dunking at the Trout Hatchery after a big jump in and a peck on landing, and Badminton winners Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier, eighth after dressage, retired at the first of the Rolex Corners after a frustrating run-out marred a til-then excellent round.

Phew. Okay. Did we mention that four of those falls, inclusive of a tumble for Hannah Sue Hollberg late in the course from Capitol H I M after leaving a leg at the Dairy Mound at 23ABC, came back-to-back without breaks?

For all the moments that left us gasping and – in the case of Burghley Radio interviewer Ben Way, accidentally punching everyone in close proximity in the boobs – though, there were so many truly exceptional bits of derring-do and some seriously thrilling moments of guts and gumption that pulled many of our seemingly out-of-the-hunt pairs right back into things today.

We’ll get into those shortly, but first: a moment for our overnight leaders, who certainly weren’t out of the hunt after dressage, but gave us one of the most fluid showcases of cross-country navigation we’ve ever seen as one of the last pairs to leave the startbox today.

That, of course, was Ros Canter, who swaps one leading horse for another and now helms the competition on her Badminton winner and European Champion Lordships Graffalo (Grafenstolz – Cornish Queen, by Rock King). It’s no small feat to tackle the Burghley course even in the freshest of headspaces, but doing so with a chance to win the whole thing, and just hours after a very early finish on your other competitive ride, is an extraordinary show of compartmentalisation.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Defender Burghley Horse Trials (@burghleyhorsetrials)

But, says Ros, who made the whole thing look a bit like a schooling exercise en route to finishing one second inside the time, “I watched Tom Jackson, I watched Harry Meade, I watched a few of the really good ones and then I pulled myself away and had a bit of cereal and paced a bit — paced a lot.”

Then, she got to work forgetting about her morning in exchange for focusing on her afternoon, and her extraordinarily reliable longtime partner making his Burghley debut.

“I think we always thought Burghley might be another great event for him, and I’m just relieved. I’m quite relieved, to be honest,” she laughs. “I’ve been around Burghley a few times — not loads, but a few times — and I didn’t feel like I’d really cracked it until this afternoon, so when this morning went kind of fairly categorically wrong very early, it’s been a long wait, to be honest.”

When they left the box, though, nothing about their ride looked like it might have come after hours of waiting and, probably, worrying. They were so balanced and considered throughout that it would have been easy to start worrying, from the ground, that they might be a touch too slow – but Walter’s capacious natural gallop stride is deceptive, and as they came to the Dairy Mound in the latter part of the course, they were the fastest of the day at that stage.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m taking too many waits, but because he’s just got such a scopey stride and he just gets his head down, doesn’t he? He’s made to gallop,” smiles Ros.

The pair retain their first-phase score of 22 overnight, giving them a 3.5 penalty margin – not a rail, but some time – in hand over second-placed Tim Price and Vitali, our last pair on course today and last year’s two-phase leaders.

Tim Price and Vitali Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

They didn’t quite manage the clear inside the time – their smooth ride saw them add 3.2 time penalties – but for Tim, too, it was a reassuring way to end the day after a slightly tricker earlier round on the relatively inexperienced Viscount Viktor, who picked up a run-out, a missed flag, and a broken safety device across the course.

“He’s too good, isn’t he?” grins Tim, who followed an interesting path set by Tom McEwen at the Leaf Pit, choosing the steep left-handed approach up to the bank rather than the more smoothly sloping ‘ordinary’ route.

For Tim, the highlight of the round was the talented gelding’s continued improvement in this phase.

“He felt better than last year; fitter, I think. It was just a really fun experience. The thing that’s always happening, even though there’s always highs and lows, is he’s gaining experience, and he’s really gotten the whole package. He really used to nap going into the start box. The whole thing is really building the arsenal of what he understands.”

“It’s not his first time around these big tracks, but this was definitely the best he’s felt,” he continues. “He was galloping and moving, still jumping. And he’s a real privilege to ride around there, because he can go fast across the ground, but then you can balance him up at the end. At the double corners [16ab], which have been causing a lot of trouble, I jumped in there on four strides all day, and it probably was, but then I got scared and fiddled a fifth stride. But you can just do that with him, and that’s at six or seven minutes. So you know, to be able to do that is impressive, for what he’s capable of.”

There haven’t been any doubts about Vitali’s ability to perform in the first two phases; he’s had five previous five-star runs, and in all of them, he’s been well-placed in the first phase – including setting the dressage record here last year with an 18.7 – and quick and capable in the second. It’s the third that’s the issue: in four of those runs, he’s had three rails, and in his last, at Badminton this spring, he had five.

But who’s dwelling on the past? They delivered a smart clear in their prep run in the British Open Championship at Hartpury last month, and all Tim wants to do is look ahead.

“I just feel like he’s come here in very good form, and it’s just nice to go out tomorrow and have a jump and hopefully do a good job, and that’s a good campaign,” he says. “Really, that’s what it’s about, and I know he’s often been in a winning position. But I’m really trying to compile three decent phases in him, and if that’s a good result, then that’s secondary to what I’m trying to achieve with this horse.”

Harry Meade and Annaghmore Valoner. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Ros and Tim are joined on the podium by the busiest man of the week, Harry Meade, who piloted three horses around the track for clear, competitive rounds: the pathfinder of the day, Superstition (Satisfaction FRH – unknown, by Cordalame), added 10.8 time penalties for overnight 15^th, despite only having run once in the past year, and he sits third and fifth, respectively, with final ride Annaghmore Valoner (Coroner – Annaghmore Lady Valier, by Black Walter) and second ride Crystal Cavalier (Jack of Diamonds – Cavalier Iris, by Cavalier Royale), both of whom added nothing to their first-phase scores, though Annaghmore Valoner was initially awarded 15 penalties for a late flag that the ground jury opted to remove without any appeal.

“I had five entered and probably left my two strongest cross country horses at home,” laughs Harry, who’ll take those two – Away Cruising and Et Hop du Matz – to Maryland next month.

Of third-placed Bramham CCI4*-L winner Annaghmore Valoner, who he inherited from Australia’s Sam Griffiths in early 2023, he says: “She’s a lovely horse. It’s her first five-star, and I’ve had to hold her hand so far around the two four-stars she’s done and build her confidence because she’s been a little unsure. She was a bonus [entry], so I thought I’d just crack on and not waste time, and she was comfortably inside.”

‘Comfortably’ is something of an understatement – though the mare always looked smooth as silk and totally comfortable within her cruising speed, she crossed the finish line as by far the fastest of the day, with thirteen seconds in hand.

“I tried to give her a quiet ride at speed,” says Harry. “I tried to set out really fast and steeplechase every straightforward fence, including fence one, but really hold her hand and give her confidence. She wouldn’t be that resilient – she’d get upset very easily even if she saw something in the crowd or caught a fence or something, she could just panic in her breathing. But she was wonderful from beginning to end. She grew and grew. She feels like she’s really come of age now. She was wonderfully professional and easily inside the time, and could have been even quicker.”

Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Riding three horses on a day like today – and three very different horses, at that – is a major mental game, but Harry took a measured approach to the task at hand.

“I sort of had a plan at the beginning of the day for each horse. I was quite happy going out first, and I would have been quite happy going out second and third,” he says. “I think they all went as planned, and they’re all different horses. I just tried to ride each one with a bit of sympathy, and giving them time. It’s not a sprint round somewhere like here. Superstition was amazing — really game, foot perfect everywhere. Cavalier Crystal was just on fire. And she’s a horse who, 18 months ago, I didn’t think she’d be a five-star horse, and she just was absolutely wonderful.”

Nothing, though, would happen without the village of extraordinary support he has around him, he continues.

“I think it is a real team effort for us. I’m pretty hopeless at a lot of things, but one thing we can do is produce confident, happy, resilient, five-star horses from young horses. It’s not how you produce them in the month leading up to this, it’s 10, 15 years. It’s a process which not everyone buys into, but I personally believe it’s about giving them that long term, slow confidence, and then when you get somewhere like this, they’re absolutely bulletproof.”

And, at the end of the day, it helps that Harry himself finds it, well, just plain fun.

“I just enjoy doing this,” he grins. “If there was no crowd here, if it wasn’t a competition, I’d love to come out here on my own and just have a good crack round a course like that. It’s what I do, it’s what we as a team do. And, you know, to get three bites of the cherry is even more fun. And long may that last — one day, I’ll miss being at these events.”

Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Like Harry on Annaghmore Valoner, British-based Frenchman Gaspard Maksud was initially awarded 15 penalties for a flag with Zaragoza (Cevin Z – Saracen’s Pride, by Saracen Hill xx), but after he dismounted at the finish and cooled his horse off, he went to appeal it – and before he even made it to the ground jury, he got news that they’d decided to remove it. That propelled him straight up the leaderboard thanks to the scant 3.6 time penalties he’d accrued, giving him a temporary lead that ultimately became overnight fourth.

The speedy round perhaps didn’t have the same polish as those of the leaders – there were some decidedly agricultural moments and some gutsy decisions made, but Gaspard took to heart plenty of sage advice from Andrew Nicholson, with whom he used to be based before setting up on his own a few years ago.

“I walked with Andrew, and there were a few things I was discussing with other people, a few routes, and I was never going to go straight through on the Leaf Pit, but everybody jumped it well. So I said, ‘you know what? Just let’s do that’,” says Gaspard. “She just keeps on giving. I put her in a rhythm, and once we jumped over those corners, I told her to move on a little bit more. And to be fair, she kept on galloping strongly into the end. So I’m very pleased with her.”

It’s easy to forget that gritty ‘Zoe’ is just eleven – in 2022, she and Gaspard were sixth in the World Championships, and there’s plenty more to come from the exciting mare.

“Give me another year or two, and I’m sure she could get that time,” says Gaspard. “But basically, it’s our first five-star completion, because we fell off in the water at Pau. So the sure thing I really wanted to make sure we stay on the four legs. She was very good; she tried hard for me and she was still feeling very well at the end.”

Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

The finish line was so often a place of gleeful celebration today, but nobody celebrated quite as ebulliently as Gemma Stevens, who punched the air and screamed like a frisky housewife front row centre at a Bon Jovi concert as she sailed through the timers with her 2021 Bicton five-star champion, Chilli Knight (Chilli Morning – Kings Gem, by Rock King). And rightly so, too: they had a blinder of a round, adding just 2.4 time penalties and putting the frustrations of Badminton this spring, where they’d have won but for a flag, well behind them. That puts them into sixth overnight, well up from first-phase eighteenth.

“I cannot tell you how nervous I was!” she says. “I felt horrendous today, because I just so badly wanted to do well. And yes, I did feel like we had a little bit of a point to prove after Badminton. It’s such a shame I lost a little bit of time but the jumping today, he was just incredible.”

The time, she says, came down to a couple of factors: “You could say I was just a little out of practice. The last few years I haven’t had the rides at that level and coming back to it, it’s scary. But now I’ve got some amazing ones coming through so hopefully I’ll be back. I’m really annoyed that we had a few time [penalties], but he did lose a shoe, so after Capability’s Cutting, I could feel him slipping the whole way down that hill for that big fence at the bottom there. So I was like, ‘Oh God, we’ve got to be careful we don’t fall down.’ And, yeah, just like, round the corners there, just after the water and stuff, I just had to be careful. But what an amazing little horse.”

The son of Badminton winner Chilli Morning is, says Gemma, “just a fantastic little horse. He’s such a trier. What he maybe lacks in scope, he makes far up for in heart and grit and determination. Coming to the Dairy Mounds, because I feel like that’s the last really difficult one, I was like, ‘Come on, little man, come on.’ And when I jumped that, I was like, ‘Come on, now we can get home!’”

Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

After so many tough rides through the Rolex Corners at 16AB, which looked as though they may have been the one less-than-perfect placement choice on Derek’s course, it was a joy to watch US-based Kiwi Monica Spencer and her gritty Thoroughbred Artist (Guillotine – Maxamore, by Satin Blush) sail down the line as though it was a straightforward question. That fluidity and partnership was the keystone of their round, and saw them gain a flurry of speed in the final run of the track to cross the line with 8.4 time penalties and take overnight seventh place, dropping just two places from fifth in their Burghley debut.

“It felt like a lot of big jumps and a lot of galloping, and I didn’t imagine feeling so, like, desperate to go fast,” says Monica. “But he was great. He just answered every question I asked of him — I just probably took a bit too much time in some places. It’s pretty awesome to build a partnership with a horse over many years; I think we’ve been together nine years now, and he’s only 13, but I feel like he gets better every year, so I don’t think he’s reached his peak yet.”

After dismounting and taking stock of her horse, Monica wasn’t quite able to process the magnitude of what had just happened, even with two seventh-place five-star finishes, at Kentucky and Maryland, under her belt already.

“I don’t know if it’s settled in yet, but yeah, I’m rapt. I mean, this morning, the course felt like a huge, huge challenge, and I was almost wondering how I was going to get through all those flags. But now that I’ve done it, I guess, there’s just more self-belief – and I’m just thanking my lucky  stars that I’ve got a horse like him.”

Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

One of the horses on everyone’s radar today – along with Austin O’Connor’s Colorado Blue (Jaguar Mail – Rock Me Baby, by Rock King), who was almost marginally too keen for 4.8 time penalties and overnight twelfth – was Capels Hollow Drift (Shannodale Sarco St. Ghyvan – Lucky Crest, by Lucky Gift xx), with whom Tom Jackson finished second here in 2022. Today, though, they looked the next level up even from that banner performance, and their 5.6 time penalties moves them from 13^th to eighth.

“That was one of the best rides I’ve had,” says Tom. “He stayed traveling for me the whole way. This is his fifth five-star, and he just delivers every single time. Whatever you ask of him, he just delivers. Here is definitely tougher to ride, the terrain just adds a whole new level to it but I’m really happy with the way he picked up and finished really strongly.”

At thirteen, ‘Walshy’ has amassed a wealth of experience – along with that Burghley finish, he’s also twice been fifth at Badminton, and sixteenth on his debut there, cementing him as one of the great cross-country athletes of our sport.

“It’s such a privileged position to be with him now, with how experienced he is and how good he’s been for his whole career, that actually some of the time, as crazy as it sounds, through the combinations, you just feel like you’re going through the motions. He’s so with you and on it. And as long as you get him vaguely in the right place, he’s going to do everything to do the right thing.”

With that in mind, “I just really wanted him to come here and enjoy it. He’s had a really tough last year, and even the spring with the wet weather and going into Badminton at the beginning of last year, I said, ‘his ground is not wet ground’. He hates it. And he came out with sort of average time penalties for most horses. We thought, ‘oh, maybe it’s not too bad’. And then hated it again at the Europeans [last year] in terms of the ground. He always wants to do his job and jump, and he’ll never stop trying to do that, but just in terms of traveling at the speed you need to at these things, [he found it harder]. But today, he absolutely loved it.”

Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold HDC. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

It was a day of two halves for the French, whose first two competitors – Gireg le Coz and Luc Chateau – didn’t complete, but whose second two are in the top ten overnight. The last of them to go was Olympian and national stalwart Nicolas Touzaint, who piloted his experienced team ride, but five-star debutant, Absolut Gold HDC (Grafenstolz – Belle Meralaise xx, by Verglas xx) to 8.8 time penalties. That’s enough to see them retain ninth place overnight.

“I was lucky to go on late on the course, so I had time to see how it went. And the thing is, I have the best horse I could ever have,” says 2008 Badminton champion Nicolas, who is also making his own Burghley debut this week. “He’s 14 years old, but he’s never ran [a course] as difficult as this, so I didn’t know what to expect. I just listened to my horse. We form a really super partnership, so I believe in him, and he believes in me. Now that I know him a little better on these long distances, we’re going to grow on that, and I think he can be more and more performant with the time. Now we have a good bond, and now I know he can do it. He knows we can do it together.”

Alex Bragg and Quindiva. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Alex Bragg rounds out the top ten with Badminton podium finisher Quindiva (Quintender – Ruby Roller, by High Roller), who gave us our first clear round inside the time of the four today and climbed 32 places after dressage.

“This is a jumping track, and a jumping horse,” he grins. “That was a brilliant ride, and I was going for the time and I was just about on it every minute. She just kept going, going, going. I nearly stopped to have a beer because I thought it was so easy! She just kept delivering.”

Alex was full of praise for the game, elegant mare, who’s had an exceptional season proving her mettle at this level – and is one of the best showjumpers in the field for tomorrow’s competition.

“We all know that she’s a great jumping mare. She’s been super genuine, and she’s really taken to this sport now,” says Alex. “It’s taken time to build that confidence, but honestly, when you leave that start box, she’s just like a demon. She grows horns, and there is nothing — I mean, nothing — that’s going to stop her. And I’m just the lucky person to be sat on board steering. You have to work with that much scope. She can always jump herself into trouble, so you have to take a breath and not let the adrenaline take over too much. And remember, those drops after the fences are punishing if you come in too big. You can imagine she lands so far out. But she just kept galloping. I just haven’t got enough words to describe how pleased and how thrilled I am with the horse, and how happy I am for all of the team and the owners that stick by you when there are some days which are not so great.”

Quindiva finished fifteenth here last year with 14.4 time penalties, and picked up 7.6 at Badminton this spring en route to third place, and today, Alex felt she’d gained enough experience to really go for the time.

“Last year here, she finished with so much fuel in the tank and then Badminton again, I just felt like I was always protecting her,” he says. “And I felt if I was just brave enough to let her go a little bit at the beginning, then we had a really good chance of finishing inside the time anywhere. I mean, she’s fast, she’s neat. She does spend a lot of time in the air, but we train a lot on the technicality stuff, and you mustn’t underestimate — when you say the mare’s polite, it’s all about discipline and training. And we work so hard with our team on all the technical side, with my show jumping coach, Jeremy Scott –everything is down to being disciplined, straight and accurate, and then the horses can do their job, and it looks neat. So if you stick to those rules, honestly, it makes the job so much easier for them and then so much easier for us. The thing is, as well, this is only her second season at this level. How exciting!”

A bevy of very good cross-country pairs follow closely behind Alex after big climbs today – Alice Casburn and her homebred Topspin (Zento – Capriati xx, by El Conquistador xx) are eleventh, up from 48^th, after finishing four seconds over the time, and Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue (Jaguar Mail – Rock Me Baby, by Rock King) climbed from 37^th to twelfth with their 4.8 penalties.

Cosby Green and Copper Beach. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

In sixteenth place overnight is the best-placed of the four US combinations, Cosby Green and the eighteen-year-old former Buck Davidson ride Copper Beach (Radolin – Cloverballen), who looked a picture on course to add 12.8 time penalties and climb ten places.

“It’s such a relief,” says Cosby, who’s in her second season based in the UK with Tim and Jonelle Price, and has previously completed Pau and Badminton before her Burghley debut this week. “You hope to finish through the flags but you never really know, so to be safe and especially clear, I can’t have wanted anything else. I’m very emotional. I just wanted to know my plan — I know I’ve walked it so many times and I knew it, so I actually had a lot of calm over me. It was nice to just get out there, and he was beyond my expectations amazing. [It rode] exactly to plan, which I was really surprised. There was no surprises out there, and I knew the plan inside and out, and we were able to execute it.”

‘Sean’, in his customary fashion, bowled along with his ginger tail windmilling around – a trademark of the sweet, stalwart competitor.

“The tail got us all the way home over those jumps, I’m pretty sure!” laughs Cosby.  “He’s got a twinkle in his eyes still, and he’s such a good old man. I’m really impressed with him.”

At eighteen, Sean is the oldest horse in the field – but Cosby, with help from her mentors, who’ve each had horses still competing at five-star at nineteen, has adjusted how she works with him to keep him feeling in his prime.

“I’ve learned that less is more, and that kind of trusting that the horse knows what he’s doing with his eyes closed,” she says. “And just being able to have enough confidence in myself to trust that he is trained, he knows his job, and it’s all about maintaining and improving in slight little ways, and body fitness and physio and all that kind of stuff.”

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

One of the few riders to express excitement about riding Derek’s beefy course was Jennie Brannigan, but as she sagely pointed out, “you’d be excited, too, if you were sitting on a horse like this!” And true to form, her out-and-out cross-country machine FE Lifestyle (Leo von Faelz – Berina A, by Brandenburger), who is owned by Jennie’s longtime supporters Tim and Nina Gardner, attacked every inch of the course, leaving just some time on the table to take home 15.2 time penalties and climb from 40^th to 19^th.

“I was told to lick a stamp and send it, and that’s what I did,” grins Jennie, who finished twelfth with the gelding here last year after a tie-up scare the Monday before the competition. “He’s a beautiful horse, and it was really nice to come back with him in 100% health, because I was like, ‘Oh, that was a lot harder last year’ when he wasn’t quite right. So that was really wonderful. You could see why I was like, ‘Oh, I’m excited to ride him tomorrow’ because he’s just a brilliant cross country horse. I  mean, he’s definitely the best one I’ve ever had.”

Andrew McConnon and Wakita 54. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Andrew McConnon made the trip over for his Burghley debut knowing that the first phase would be something to just quietly work his way through with Wakita 54 (Plot Blue – Werusa, by Padinus), because Saturday, he was sure, would be the day she’d shine. And shine she did: though he took some places steadier with the inexperienced eleven-year-old, they finished with a respectable 19.6 time penalties to move up from 57^th to 29^th.

“I’m very excited, and very happy with my mare,” says Andrew, who opted to take two long options – one at the Leaf Pit, where several riders made the same call. “I was 50/50 yesterday. Before riding, I was going to go direct. She was beautifully patient off the bank, which she can be a little gung-ho. So actually, I decided to go long there, and then the double of corners. I know that’s been the tricky fence, and I had a great shot in. Really nice jump. Second stride, she just pecked a little bit, and I knew that’s what was putting people on the second sjump. So I rerouted to the long option at B, and then she flew around the rest of the way. A bit slow and happy!”

“You never know on cross country,” he continues. “I mean, there’s always going to be things that don’t go to plan. I’m really proud of the decisions I made in the moment off of the Leaf Pit and then in between the two corners. I want to be competitive deep down, but I really love and trust my mare, and I knew that I was going to put her in a bad position to that second corner. So I’m thrilled that I went long. I’d of course like to go quicker, because I know she can, but I’m really happy. I’ve had her since a five year old, and I’ve been the only one to compete her. So I’ve produced her. I’m the only one that has to answer to time penalties, so I was happy to go a little slow.”

Mia Farley and Phelps. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

The time is always a tough catch at Burghley, but one pair with a great chance of catching it were Mia Farley and her full Thoroughbred Phelps (Tiznow – Boom Town Gal, by Cactus Ridge), who’ve gone inside the time at both their previous five-star starts in the US. They began their trip around the track looking absolutely on the money to do so again – despite a couple of serious long ones at fences two and three – but like so many of their fellow competitors, they had a skim-by at the second of the Rolex Corners, which allowed absolutely no margin for error. Theirs wasn’t, arguably, a real error, even: Mia opted to try a tighter inside line and a four-stride approach, and in the final stride, the line simply wasn’t there. With that behind them, she slowed the pace and let Phelps cruise home, taking 23.6 time penalties with their 20 jumping penalties but ultimately climbing two places to 34^th.

“I didn’t have the best shot in and I really should have gone the long route,” muses Mia. “ButI thought it was fun after like minute four when I had a little more brakes! He’s very enthusiastic out there. He wants to do it, he loves what he does. I think we just need to control the love for the sport a little bit next time! I think I learned a lot about the track here, and him too, this was really just a fitness run for him so I’m excited to come back and be better. The terrain’s crazy. It was the busiest beginning of the course I’ve ever had, but the terrain is the biggest thing.”

Our fourth US pair, Hannah Sue Hollberg and Capitol H I M, unfortunately didn’t complete the course after an enormously frustrating late mistake at the Dairy Mound, where ‘Chito’ left a leg and popped Hannah Sue straight out the side door. There was much to like about their earlier efforts, though, and we hope to see them back on this side of the pond soon.

Tomorrow sees us take 43 horses and riders into the final horse inspection at 9.00 a.m. BST/4.00 a.m. EST and then, hopefully, onward to the showjumping. That’s down from 65 starters, giving us a 66.2% completion rate with 32 clears, for a 49.2% clear rate.

We’ve seen horses finishing in brilliant form all day long, and the ground conditions here are among the best we’ve seen at any event, so we have high hopes for tomorrow morning – and we’ll be back bright and early to bring you all the news and updates from the inspection, and then from showjumping, which begins with the first group at 10.30 a.m. (5.30 a.m. EST), and follows on with the top twenty from 14.15 (9.15 a.m. EST). Until then: Go Eventing!

Our coverage of Burghley is brought to you by our incredible supporters, Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for science-backed nutritional products to keep your horse feeling their best at all times. They’ll even get on the phone with you to help you formulate a solid supplementation plan for your horse’s individual needs! We’d really appreciate your support of KPP, as they’re champions for our sport and beyond and are wonderful people to boot. Check them out here.

Defender Burghley: [Website] [Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Burghley TV] [Tickets] [EN’s Coverage]