Burghley cross-country course claims top names’ scalps as riders come a cropper

The leaderboard has had a big shake-up through the Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country phase, with a handful of falls from top names in a dramatic spell.

Oliver Townend lay in fifth on 24.4 overnight on his Kentucky CCI5* winner Cooley Rosalent, but this young mare didn’t looked to be going with her customary zest. Oliver was quick-thinking to switch to the long route at the Leaf Pit after not jumping the first arrowhead sweetly. He then had to push to get the two strides through the Trout Hatchery corner and hedge. Four fences later at Joules at the Maltings, the grey had to make a huge stretch over the final brush, knocking a flag, on a tight serpentine line. 

The Valent mare just seemed to go a bit green after the accumulation of efforts and made a huge effort over the first of the Rolex corners, and stretched for the four strides to the second corner. She bravely tried to tackle it, but didn’t get high enough, breaking the frangible device and pitching Oliver out of the saddle.

Another of the seven former five-star winners in the field, Jonelle Price’s Grappa Nera, also came a cropper. The Leaf Pit was the most talked-about fence before the competition, but had not produced any penalties until Jonelle. She came off the drop well, but stood off at the first arrowhead, which makes it a huge obstacle as it’s on top of a hillock. The mare had to stretch, straddled it and Jonelle rolled off the top. She, too, was quickly up on her feet, smiling ruefully, as the mare trotted off as if looking for the next fence.

US rider Hannah Sue Hollberg’s hopes for a first Burghley completion came to an end at the Dairy Mound, eight fences from home. The horse was looking a little weary, and when he twisted over the corner, Hannah Sue came out the side door.

Gireg de la Coz was desperately unlucky not to be able to capitalise on his seventh-placed dressage of 25.3 for France. He was copybook through the Leaf Pit and both ways through the Defender Valley. But he stumbled on landing after a bold jump over the roll-top in the Trout Hatchery at fence 11a, and both horse and rider had a dunking, but were quickly back on their feet.

Burghley Horse Trials cross-country: “I want to go round again!”

One combination who did make the course look straightforward was Sophia Hill and Humble Glory. Unfortunately he was over-bold at the start, and paid the price for his early enthusiasm. He came blasting down the slope into the Defender Valley at fence 5a, activating the frangible device at the rail when he dropped his legs on seeing the ditch. But with those 11pen on their record, this former racehorse settled down to show how extraordinarily catlike he really is, skipping round these enormous fences to gallop home for only 8.4 time-faults, easing down as one of the fastest of the day.

“My horse just ran through me,” said Sophia, 27, about the penalties at Defender Valley. “He was really fresh and full of running. I wanted to slow down but he didn’t come back. He was way too fast there, and so luckily we had the frangible. I eased up a little bit after that but we completed.”

Sophia heads back to her native Australia next week after five months based in Yorkshire with Nicola Wilson, but isn’t ruling out a return.

“I want to go round again straightaway,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to come back, but it’s a huge trip from Australia.”

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