Richard Jones and Alfies Clover. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
We’ve had another couple of withdrawals from the Defender Burghley entry list this morning as we look ahead to the official start of competition at this afternoon’s first horse inspection. One of those, Oliver Townend’s Cooley Rosalent, is one of four entries for the rider, who could only bring three to contest the event with, but the other, Richard Jones’s Alfies Clover, comes as more of a sad surprise.
“Absolutely gutted to say that we have withdrawn Alfies Clover from Burghley,” writes Richard in a post on his social media accounts. “He sustained a very minor skin injury a couple of days ago which we were hopeful would not prevent him from competing, but after a final assessment this morning, we have made the decision that in the interests of his welfare, which is, of course, paramount to everything, it would not be appropriate to run him this week. So very sorry for his owners, our team, and all his connections. He is super fit and well, and we were very much looking forward to giving it our best shot at making this another very competitive Burghley.”
Richard and 14-year-old Alfie (Tajraasi – Aoifes Clover, by Clover Hill), who he co-owns with Dinah Saunders and Sandra Martin, would have been contesting their tenth five-star and fifth Burghley; they were seventh on their last appearance in 2022 and finished in the same place in 2018.
Attendants for Richard’s course walk, set for Thursday, will be happy to hear that this is still going ahead: “Details of time and meeting place will be send out later to the successful applicants,” he confirms. “Finally, the very best of luck to all of this year’s competitors, we will be cheering you on.”
The starting field going into the first horse inspection now sits at 59 horses.
EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.
Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage
