David Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
You’d be forgiven if you’d glanced over the day one line-up for the Defender Burghley Horse Trials and thought to yourself that perhaps it wasn’t stacked with first-phase heavy hitters – but despite a flurry of rain showers, a buzzy, fishbowl atmosphere in the ring, and a collective shift towards the 30s, this morning’s competition gave us plenty to get excited about.
Chief among that list of thrills? The return of David Doel and the stalwart Galileo Nieuwmoed, who have taken the early lead on a score of 29.6 – their best-ever score at the level.
“That was absolutely mega,” beams David – perhaps the happiest man in the world to be getting gently drizzled on in a tailcoat. “It was really cool. Definitely, this is the best he’s ever gone in the ring. He was really settled, really rideable, and just nailed everything, really, for me. That’s probably about the best he’s ever going to be able to do: he’s not built to do dressage, so I’m absolutely stoked about it.”
David Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Getting the gelding to this point hasn’t been about a sea change in the training, but rather, David explains, about making sure he’s at his happiest and most relaxed and then trusting that he knows what he’s doing.
“It’s nothing major. Look, he’s 14 years old now, and he knows how to go sideways; he knows how to do his flying changes. It’s just really been getting him settled in the ring. We just changed his warm-up a little bit in how we did it. He actually went for quite a long, loose lunge this morning — we let him get all the bucks and excitement out of him without working his body too hard. He’s not built for dressage, and so I think in the past we’ve probably made him a little bit tired in his body, and he got a bit cranky about that. So yeah, we’ve just changed his warm-up pattern a little bit.”
For David and ‘Nobby’ – “he’s called that for a reason, because he’s a big knob,” grins David, reminiscing on yesterday’s kite-flying experience at the trot-up – their five-star trajectory so far has largely been about climbing, and climbing very, very well. They’ve previously finished third at Maryland, ninth at Luhmühlen, eighth at Kentucky, fourth at Pau, and an achingly close second here in 2023 by less than a penalty, and almost all of those occasions have seen them start firmly in the mid-30s.
Now, David can focus his attentions on Saturday’s tough track, knowing he’s sitting on a horse who can make great strides up the leaderboard – but this time, he might not have to.
“It’s the joy of having a jumping horse; we’re looking forward to going cross country on Saturday,” he says.
It’ll be a welcome chance for redemption after an uncharacteristic fall for both horse and rider late on course this spring at Badminton, but neither are any worse for wear for the experience: “We gave him plenty of time off to recover, because we both hit the ground hard, and we didn’t want to rush him back. If he’d come here on one prep run, he’d have been fine, but he had a great run at Dauntsey in the Open Intermediate, and a great run around the British Open at Hartpury, too, and he’s on great form.”
Joseph Murphy and Belline Fighting Spirit. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Ireland’s Joseph Murphy held onto the lead for much of the morning after putting a 30.9 on the board with the smart ten-year-old Belline Fighting Spirit, but settling for second at this early juncture won’t be a dampener on his spirits: that score represents a significant international personal best at any level for the gelding, who’s been prone to a mid-to-high 30s score throughout his career.
“I’m really pleased,” he says. “This certainly wouldn’t be his strongest phase, but he’s a beautiful horse, and now he’s more on side and I’m a bit more confident with him. This has been the goal since the springtime, really, to come here.”
This will be the young horse’s third five-star: he made his debut last season at Pau, where he delivered a 34.8 and a steady clear, and then came to Badminton in the spring. There, the buzz of the first phase cast a light on the cracks in the foundations, and the pair started their week on a 39.2, ultimately completing with a 20 on cross-country, too, and chalking it up to an educational and formative week in the office.
Since then, Joseph has honed in on the building blocks he felt were missing that week, all the while planning for a Burghley campaign.
“I’ve put a nice bit of mileage into him at four-shorts since Badminton – the reason for that, for me, was that I needed to get to know him a little bit better in the atmosphere and in the environment,” he explains. “In one way, he didn’t really need the mileage of the runs, but in another way, mentally, he needed to learn that this is the way.
“Of course, I’ve made mistakes on the way to here, because I was trying different things, but I had a very solid system for him today. It wasn’t perfect in there — he’s still just a 10-year-old — but I wasn’t perfect either. I think over time, going away with that sort of confidence, it’s going to be very good.”
Today’s performance isn’t a coincidence, and it isn’t an outlier. At 48, and with a decade and a half of five-star mileage behind him already, the Olympian could be set in his ways and his system – but over the last couple of seasons, he’s been committing himself to reimagining how he tackles the sport.
“I hold my hands up: I haven’t been riding good enough,” says Joseph. “I haven’t been preparing good enough. I haven’t probably been disciplined. The riding, in one way, came quite naturally to me. But that’s not a great thing either, because then you tend to ride a little bit off the seat of your pants – and that’s what I was doing until I really now started knuckling down.”
Though Joseph has long had a reputation as an efficient, capable cross-country rider, the first phase has been something of a nemesis to him – and so, in order to counterbalance his natural instincts, he decided to go straight to the source: his foundations. He’s long trained with Tracie Robinson, Team Ireland’s dressage coach, but he’s also turned to old friend Michael Jung for help. Perhaps even more importantly? He’s made his continuing education his priority even in his rare moments of quiet time.
“Tracy has spent a few years now really trying to get the basics into my riding. But she can’t do it all on her own. I’m responsible for a lot of it as well,” he says. “So I’ve got feedback from judges. I’ve watched videos. I’ve been more disciplined in my preparation and training with the horses every day. And I think that’s the thing that’s now starting to show. As a rider, I feel like I can do it, but I need to put it together now. In a way, I’m probably my own worst critic, but that’s how it has to be now.
“And I’ve spent a bit of time over in Germany with Michael Jung,” he continues. “When you see his system about how he wants the horses to behave in the environment, and how he goes about that—it’s something I’m learning more now. And this horse really has taken to it.”
“Of course, we’re at a three-day event, so there are two more phases. But again, the whole weekend is all about learning and being competitive as well. I’m not just here to make up the numbers either. I want to do it in a nice way, but I’m looking forward to Saturday and seeing what it brings, and seeing how the horse handles the terrain and the massive jumps that are out there.”
Grace Taylor and Game Changer. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Grace Taylor made waves on her five-star debut here two years ago with Game Changer when the pair went sub-30 for the first time in their international career, and though their 32.4 didn’t quite cross that barrier, the British-born and -based US representative was pleased to shave three whole marks off their last two five-star scores. That was a solid enough effort to see them take third place going into the lunch break.
“It’s an amazing atmosphere, an amazing arena to be in, and it’s a pleasure and a privilege to be there – and he loves it,” says Grace. “The dressage was fine – he was a good boy, just a few mistakes. My trainer [Lisa White] and I have just been working on having him much more strong, supple, and in front of the leg, and he’s enjoying his dressage more. He was always more of a jumping horse, but I always knew he could do really good dressage, so I was frustrated with myself that I wasn’t getting the marks. But it’s getting there.”
“At Badminton,” she continues, “he actually did a really nice test and was trending well, and did one change early and got ones for that movement, and the movement was double-marked. That was a shame because he was trending about 70%. So maybe we’ve just had a few big mistakes and the odd bad day. But this, to me, is the bare minimum of what he deserves, and I think it’s my responsibility to get that for him.”
It’s not hard to see how the pair might well find themselves back under the 30 barrier before too long: their respectable 32.4 comes even after two tricky flying changes and a near break in the extended trot, but such was the consistency of the rest of their work that they kept the final number down.
This will be Grace and Game Changer’s first Burghley since that 2023 debut, and this time, they return with the experience gained not just in that week, but in two Badmintons and a Maryland run, too.
“I suppose I came with more knowledge this year. I’m very confident I’ve got him fit enough, and obviously anything can happen on the day — they can come out and have not such a good day, not firing on all cylinders, and there’s not always a lot you can do about that. However, I’m not quite so naïve anymore — I’m probably still very naïve, but less so! I still think the course is very tough. I’d say it was a monster when I walked it last time. It’s a monster again. But it’s Burghley.”
Keen fans of the sport might have been disappointed yesterday to see Grace trot up her own horse: at Badminton, her father Nigel, British team selector, head honcho of Aston-le-Walls Eventing Centre, and notably hobble-y jogger, deputised for her on the final day, to huge cheers.
“Big Nige wasn’t allowed to trot up for me this time, because he didn’t train hard enough,” she says dryly. “I don’t want him to pull a hamstring. I thought he was going to curl up and die after trotting the horse last year. I thought that might be the end of him — I was digging a hole on Badminton Lawn for him.”
Still, she says, rolling her eyes, “he did have a suit in the car ready!”
Harry Meade and Et Hop du Matz. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
World Number One Harry Meade has three horses in the race for the third year in a row here, and the first of them, the eleven-year-old Et Hop du Matz, got his considerable efforts off to a flying start with a 32.7 – the best international score of his partnership with the British rider. That sees them take a provisional fourth place so far, with one more of Harry’s rides – the smart Cavalier Crystal – to come today.
“There was one little mistake in the flying change, but he’s very much a horse still in his first year at five-star, and I was pleased with him,” says Harry, who finished third at Kentucky this spring with the Selle Français, adding nothing to his dressage score of 34.2 on that occasion. “There’s lots more to come. He’s a big, gangly spider of a horse and he will get better and better with age.”
Austin O’Connor and Sixmilewater. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Ireland’s Austin O’Connor rounds out the Thursday morning top five with the first of his two rides, the five-star debutant Sixmilewater. They posted a 33 – not an upper-level personal best, which came at Blenheim CCI4*-L last year with a 28.8, but a score that certainly sits in the better end of their usual margins.
“I’m delighted with the horse,” says Austin. “It’s his first five-star, and he kept his head and didn’t do a lot wrong. I think it was probably as good, if not better, than we expected at this stage.”
Burghley might feel like a bold choice for a five-star debut, but, says Austin, “we may as well be finding out now as opposed to postponing it for another couple of years! He’s jumped some big tracks. He’s jumped Blenheim, he’s jumped Bramham. I’m hoping it will suit him here. It’s going into the unknown to a degree, but we’ll find out early on. And if he’s coping, he’s coping and if not, there’s always another day.”
Austin will return to the main arena tomorrow with a horse hotly-tipped to take a podium place here in the ineffable Colorado Blue, previously third (twice!) and eighth at Badminton, a winner at Maryland, and twice an Olympian. Burghley is, in theory, the sort of event a horse like ‘Salty’ – quick, bold, and with a heart the size of the colossal fences – is born to win, but so far, their campaigns here have been plagued with little bits of bad luck. Now, the Irishman is determined to set the record straight – something he opted for over an arguably set in stone selection for the Irish team at this month’s European Championships.
“You’re always on a mission, aren’t you? But, you know, Salty owes us nothing. It’s sport, and we’ve got to get the rub of the green. But he’s on great form, but it’s great to have him here,” says Austin. “The decision was sort of between myself, management, and the owners, to be fair. It’s obviously a shame not to be going to Blenheim, but on the other hand, you don’t get many five-star horses like him in a lifetime, so it’s chicken and egg isn’t it?”
Cassie Sanger and Redfield Fyre. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Our second US representatives, 20-year-old Cassie Sanger and Redfield Fyre, round out this morning’s top ten with a 37.4, over a penalty better than their five-star debut score at Kentucky this spring. But either which way, Cassie isn’t here to try to change the world on the flat: this week, and, arguably, her whole season thus far, is about foundational education.
“I’m really happy with him,” she says. “Dressage isn’t his easiest phase, and we’ve been working really hard training with Ros [Canter] and Ian Woodhead. His changes are what they are right now, and we’re really going to try and figure them out this winter, because I think that’ll push us into a different place once we get those — especially in the five-star test when there are four of them, which makes it hard to do. But I really thought his trot work was just so much better and stronger for him.”
Cassie came to the UK a week after Badminton to base herself with reigning European champion, former World Champion, and Badminton and Burghley winner Ros – an experience that she says has been transformative so far.
“For the last couple of years, I’ve really been watching her and studying her, and thinking that if I could ride like anyone, I’d want to ride like Ros,” says Cassie, who’s in her Junior year of a Journalism degree. “So last fall, we asked her if I could base with her, and she said yes. It’s been amazing. I think it came at totally the right time for me; I was really looking for someone to bring me into their program and just be such a supportive person, and she’s exactly that. Honestly, when people ask me what it’s been like, I say it’s exceeded all my expectations.”
Cassie Sanger and Redfield Fyre. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
The initial plan was to head home in December to help balance riding with her university studies – but now, she says, “I’m going to stay for as long as she’ll have me! This autumn I’m doing online school, and a lot of my friends are actually all abroad in Europe, so that’s fun. It’s worked out well; my school let me do online instead of being at a base program somewhere else. I’ll have to go home for a little bit this winter, and skip out on the English winter, which everyone tells me is a good time to leave, and then I’ll be back full-time. I’m just trying to make it work, get through it. I’m committed to seeing it all through, which is a little bit crazy, but it’s worth it.
“I kind of went in not having a ton of confidence. Kentucky went well, but I just felt like I wasn’t riding as well as I could be,” she continues. “She’s just great on every aspect — the mental side, and also just the training at home. That’s where I think our focus lies. Then when you get to the show, it’s really no different, because what you’ve done at home, you just try and carry it through. Honestly, it’s a bit easier when you get to the show, because you’re not trying to push and do this and that. She’s kind of taught me a lot about the training at home.”
Dressage will resume at 14.00 local time (that’s 9.00 a.m. EST), with local competitor Emma Hyslop-Webb getting us back underway with Jeweetwel. The day’s competition will close out around 16.00 (11.00 a.m. EST), with France’s Gaspard Maksud coming forward on his 2022 World Championships mount Zaragoza, with whom he recorded a sixth place finish here last year. We’ll be back after the close of play with another full report on the afternoon’s action – plus, keep it locked on EN throughout the day for plenty more stories and insights from beyond the top five.
Many thanks to Kentucky Performance Products for their support of our Defender Burghley coverage! Click here to learn all about their science-backed and time-tested nutritional support products for horses.
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