Chris Bartle with Tina Cook heading to the Start Box as the first rider on course at Burghley
Oliver Townend’s victory at the 2017 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials was the first British win at the prestigious CCI4* event since 2011 when William Fox-Pitt won on board Parklane Hawk. Not only did Oliver win but he headed a British sweep of the top four places with Piggy French, Gemma Tattersall and Tom McEwen close behind him, much to the joy of the local crowd
Britain’s eventing record has been given a huge boost in recent times with their team winning gold at the European Championships in Strzegom and Nicola Wilson taking home the individual bronze; this has now been followed by success at Burghley
“Let’s hope it keeps going!” says Chris Bartle, who is now at the helm of the British eventing team along with Richard (Dickie) Waygood
“We have to keep looking for the next horses, the next generation of riders. We know that in this sport things can happen so having plenty of reserves is a good thing but, at the same time, we’ve got to keep trying to improve every little element because the opposition don’t stand still either” says Chris
Chris Bartle
