Will Coleman and Very Dignified. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Before the first horse inspection at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials even got underway, two hugely surprising things happened: David Doel withdrew, and it rained. Quite a lot, actually.
Okay, okay, so over the last few days England and its scorched earth have actually seen a bit of the wet stuff, but still: it’s incredible how a summer of intense heatwaves and drought conditions rendered so many of us totally unprepared for the reality of weather. Mostly those of us who work at EN. Mostly me, really, who had to blow-dry my hair in the media centre (thank you to Yesterday Tilly, who was too lazy to unpack the car) and unearth a rain coat from… where, really? I didn’t even know I owned any anymore.
Serious boots for serious business: Emma Thomas presents Icarus. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
So yes, ultimately the bigger shock wasn’t my entry into a wet t-shirt contest (default win; no other entries; still counts) but that French exit by David. We found out, in fact, once the trot-up had begun; suddenly it was his turn, and there he wasn’t. In this wide-open field, which could see the win go in one of many directions, David and the evergreen Galileo Nieuwmoed were certainly a firm feature in many fans’ dream podiums and Eventing Manager teams (we know this because we heard them all gasp like they’d just been punched) – and now, it feels very odd to have a Burghley without them. We’re sending them both all the best possible vibes for a quick bounce back to top form and, perhaps, a retributive victory at Pau.
Jack Pinkney and Claragh Olala. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
That withdrawal took our compact but very strong field down to 48 starters, which feels rather European but is, as I keep telling anyone who will listen, the perfect amount of five-star entries. There is no dressage fatigue when you have 24 tests a day! There is only joy and novelty and time for gin breaks! Perfect. Splendid. Still want David back in the mix, though.
Sarah Bullimore’s Corimiro – the favourite for the win by a slim margin in this year’s wide-open field – watches the action unfold on the big screen. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Fortunately, there was no further shortening of the list as we drip-drip-dripped our way through the inspection, which was presided over by Xavier le Sauce of France and fellow ground jury members Joanne Jarden of Ireland and Sandy Phillips of Great Britain.
Just two horses were sent to the holding box: New Zealand’s Tayla Mason and Centennial paid a short visit for further inspection, as did Switzerland’s Nadja Minder and Toblerone, who is our sole 19-year-old horse in this year’s field – but both, happily, were readily accepted into the competition upon re-presentation.
Clarke Johnstone and Domasco. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The best-dressed awards both went to New Zealand: Clarke Johnstone, who presented the thirteen-year-old Domasco for the Thoroughbred’s five-star debut, and Jonelle Price, who pilots Chilli’s Midnight Star in his third five-star start this week, each began their week in the prizes.
Jonelle Price and Chilli’s Midnight Star. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Tomorrow sees the start of the first phase from 10.00 a.m. local time (5.00 a.m. EST). Our pathfinder for the week, and first in the ring, will be the USA’s Caroline Martin, who steps into the role after the late withdrawal of Harry Meade’s Superstition, who was intended to be the first of his three rides this week. Caroline, for her part, is double-handed for Burghley: we’ll see her tomorrow with HSH Tolan King, 14th at Kentucky this spring and 11th on his level debut at Maryland last year, and on Friday with HSH Blake, who reroutes here from the World Championships at Aachen, where Caroline took a surprise early tumble.
Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Tolan King. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Thursday’s competition is studded with highlights: Tim Price will be second in the ring (10.08/5.08 a.m. EST) with the first of his two horses, the former Georgie Campbell ride Global Quest; Gemma Stevens will bring forward her Bicton ‘pop-up’ CCI5* winner Chilli Knight at 11.34 (6.34 a.m. EST); crowd favourite Simon Grieve and Autograf, top twenty here twelve months ago, will enter at A at 14.40 (9.40 a.m. EST); Harry Meade will begin his fight for a first five-star victory at 15.34 (10.34 a.m. EST) with Et Hop du Matz; and former World Champion Yasmin Ingham will begin her Burghley debut at 15.42 (10.42 a.m.) with Goliath du Loir. We’ll also see our second US representative tomorrow, before a proliferation of stars and stripes on Friday – that’ll be Cassie Sanger and Redfield Fyre, who come forward at 11.10 a.m. (6.10. a.m. EST).
Burghley debutante Yasmin Ingham and Goliath du Loir. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
We’ll be back tomorrow with two jam-packed reports – one at the lunch break, and one at the close of play – so you don’t miss a single story you need to know from Burghley. In the meantime, you can also get to know the field in full with Cheg’s form guide; Cheg will also be handling EN’s live updates again this week, so you can count on in-depth play-by-plays for each ride. You can also watch along via the excellent Burghley TV. Until next time: Go Eventing!
Defender Burghley: [Website] [Tickets] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [CrossCountry App XC Preview] [EN’s Burghley Field Wiki] [EN’s Ultimate Guide] [Burghley TV] [EN’s Coverage]
