Jock Paget and Clifton Promise hold their lead at Burghley. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Jock Paget has to like his odds heading into the Burghley show jumping tomorrow, as he’s sitting in first and second place after a banner cross-country day. He set the benchmark early on in the day by jumping one of three double clear rounds with Clifton Lush to move from fifth place up to second. He then came very close to a second double clear with overnight leader and this year’s Badminton winner Clifton Promise; they came home with just 0.4 time penalties to hold their lead. Andrew Nicholson put in a lighting fast round with last year’s Burghley winner Avebury to finish seven seconds inside the time and move up from seventh to third place. William Fox-Pitt sits in fourth place on Parklane Hawk with a clear trip and 0.8 time penalties, while Andrew rounds out the top five with Nereo, who dropped from third to fifth with two time penalties.
In total, 46 of 62 pairs made it around Capt. Mark Phillips’ grueling, highly technical cross-country course, with just three of those jumping double clear. Remarkably, but certainly not surprisingly, two of those double clears belong to Andrew Nicholson with top mounts Avebury and Calico Joe, and he came very close to making it three double clears. The Silver Fox now has three horses in the top eight going into the show jumping tomorrow — as Calico Joe moved up from 18th to eighth — which can only be defined as complete and total dominance. To ride three horses around Burghley is an incredible athletic feat; to bring two of them home clear and inside the time is just straight up beast mode.
But while Andrew’s day was stellar, the real man of the hour has to be rising star Jock Paget, who sits first and second with Clifton Promise and Clifton Lush. His double clear with Clifton Lush and fast trip with Promise — they had just 0.4 time penalties — is even more impressive when you consider that he was pulled up on course with both horses when the ground jury spotted blood, which was ultimately attributed to superficial cuts. It’s a huge blow to your concentration to be pulled up, and Jock must have been wondering if the universe had turned on him when it happened a second time with Promise. But he steeled his mind and got the job done. He now has a rail in hand over Andrew Nicholson going into the show jumping tomorrow.
Before I get into the nitty gritty of the day, I have to give a big shoutout to Canadian Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master, who jumped clear with 9.2 time penalties to move up from 28th to sit in 17th place overnight. Rupert is a fantastic show jumper, and I feel very confident that they can deliver a double clear trip tomorrow. Rebecca finished 12th at Badminton earlier this year, and they’re poised for another very good four-star finish. Unfortunately, our sole U.S. rider Buck Davidson parted ways with Park Trader at fence 20, Keepers Cottage. Buck’s ride seemed to be going well up until that point, and we’ll have to wait until Burghley TV posts the ride to see exactly what happened. Update: Burghley TV shows Kobe hung a leg and fell. We’re awaiting word to confirm that Kobe and Buck are OK; the video shows Kobe trotting away and Buck standing.
In total, 12 riders were eliminated on course, with 11 of those being rider falls. Piggy French and Westwood Mariner were the first to part ways when the horse left a hind leg in the ditch and Piggy slipped off to the side. You have to watch the video playback on Burghley TV; such a small mistake can unfortunately end your day very early on a course like this. Tom McEwen also had a very dramatic fall from Dry Old Party when the horse got caught up on The Planet. Tom desperately tried to hang on and pulled something of a stunt rider move as Dry Old Party galloped away. Poor Tom had bad luck last week at the Europeans when this horse was spun in the first trot up, and he certainly didn’t have any better luck here at Burghley today.
Kiwi Richard Jones fell from Highland Ford at Discovery Valley, which certainly proved to be the bogey complex on course, claiming more riders than any other element today. Jodie Amos fell at the big white oxer at the HSBC Maltings Branch; they had a stop at the first skinny hedge at the Discovery Valley Return earlier on course as well. There was a long hold after Jodie’s fall to repair the fence, which might have contributed to Astier Nicolas’s bad luck shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Astier and Quickly Du Buguet were held on course while the fence was repaired, and he fell at the Rolex Combinations almost immediately after restarting. Pascal Leroy and Minos De Petra fell soon thereafter at The Planet when the horse caught his front legs.
Lucy Jackson fell from Willy Do at the second cabin of the Trout Hatchery, which also caused numerous problems on course today. Wills Goodhew and Trefalin Quicksilver broke a frangible pin early on the course at fence 5, the Elephant Trap, and continued on before he fell at the alternate route at the Burghley Station. Benjamin Massie had some bad luck after he and Piano Star cleared the Trout Hatchery. Unfortunately, the horse slipped in the water on the way out, unseating Ben. Buck was the second to last rider on course and fell from Park Trader at fence 20, Keepers Cottage.
The final elimination on course occurred when Emily Llewellyn and Greenlawn Sky High missed a flag at the Trout Hatchery. They were originally scored as completing, but the officials yanked their score upon further review. Sam Griffiths and Happy Times were originally scored as eliminated after it appeared they also jumped outside a flag at the Trout Hatchery. But Sam must have taken up his case with the ground jury, as he’s now scored as finishing clear with 11.2 time penalties to sit in 12th place overnight. For more information on exactly what happened to the riders who had trouble on course, be sure to check out my cross-country open thread.
Five riders retired on course, with William Fox-Pitt and Neuf Des Coeurs being the most notable pair. According to Twitter reports, the horse pulled a shoe early on in the course and was slipping badly, leading to some very sticky take offs to jumps. He retired at Keepers Cottage. Wills Oakden and More Luck retired just before William at the Discovery Valley Outward after multiple problems there. Andrew James and Loch Sunart called it a day after two stops at the Trout Hatchery. Andreas Dibowski and FRH Butts Leon, who were sitting in equal fifth place overnight, also retired at the Trout Hatchery. Louise Lyons and Watership Down were the last pair to retire on course after two run outs at the skinny hedge at the Discovery Valley Return.
Of the riders who made it home, just five had jumping penalties, with Oliver Townend and Armada most notably having a runout at the Land Rover Dairy Farm. Beanie Sturgis and Lebowski had a runout at the Trout Hatchery, while Sophie Jenman and Geronimo had a stop just after at the first element of the Discovery Valley Return. Simon Grieve and Cornacrew also picked up 20 jumping there. Dee Hankey and Chequers Playboy were the only pair to pick up two refusals and still make it home; they had their trouble at the HSBC Maltings Branch and Cottesmore Leap. The final horse inspection is tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. EST, and show jumping kicks off at 5:30 a.m. EST in reverse order of standing. Stay tuned for much more Burghley!
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