Dom Schramm and Bolytair B notch up a near-clear at Burghley. Photo by William Carey.
We couldn’t be more proud of Aussie/honorary American Dom Schramm after his absolute class performance at Burghley last week. He and Bolytair B, a 13-year-old Dutch gelding (Polytair x Nobelle, by Glennridge) owned by the Naked Horse Eventing Syndicate, pieced their way through Captain Mark Phillips’ epic gauntlet with bravery and tact in equal measure, delivering one of the most positive, rhythmical rounds we saw all day despite it only being their second five-star outing.
The pair found the finish line with 11 jumping and 37.2 time penalties, no thanks to one unlucky (if not downright annoying) pin at the Trout Hatchery — and only the one side down, to add insult to injury. Boly barely tapped it but such is life, and such was life for several competitors as the rail fell like a show jump all day.
The Burghley live stream didn’t show near enough of Dom and Boly, who finished 28th overall and won the admiration of an international audience in the process. But, lucky for us, our friends at Australian eventing news outlet An Eventful Life have shared a video showing his entire round. Enjoy, and take notes!
My entire round from Burghley! The best I’ve ever ridden! So lucky to be sitting on a horse like Bolytair B!
Posted by Dominic Schramm on Thursday, September 12, 2019
“I’m happy to be home in one piece,” he told EN after his round. “I was surprised how backed off he was by the crowds at the beginning, and I couldn’t really get his head down. But what a horse! I came here for redemption – I rode like an idiot at Kentucky. It’s amazing what an outstanding horse can make an average rider look like!”
Editor’s note: NOT average.
“It’s unbelievable, and it kind of feels like I’ve paid my bit back to all the people who support me,” said Dom, who was astonished by the scale and difficulty of the challenge set. “I kept looking at my watch and thinking, ‘how the hell does anyone make the time here?!’ Mark Phillips is a genius course designer, and it’s a privilege to ride around here.”
Cheers, Dom.
Relive all of EN’s 2019 Land Rover Burghley coverage here. Go Eventing.
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