An Eventful Life filmed all competitors on cross country at
Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials - order your full XCVideo here
As always, any final horse inspection is a tense affair but when it comes down to the final day at Burghley, there is an added frisson after such a massive day of cross country
It started with the withdrawal of the number one drawn horse at this year’s Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, Oliver Townend’s MHS King Joules, who apparently has a small injury after knocking himself on cross country
“I’m disappointed for the horse, who deserves a Burghley completion, and also for his owner Tom Joule who has been so supportive” said Oliver on his social media, adding “But I don’t want to jump him if he’s not 100%”
That left Oliver with Ballaghmor Class in second place and Cooley SRS in 13th place, both who passed comfortably.
In all there were six withdrawals including a couple of potential title contenders – Andrew Nicholson’s ride Jet Set IV (8th), Oliver Townend’s ride MHS King Joules (10th), Dynasty, ridden by Hector Payne (29th), New Zealand’s Star Nouveau ridden by Ginny Thompson (40th), Rebecca Gibbs’ ride De Beers Dilletante (30th) and Julie Tew’s Simply Sox (27th).
Only one horse was sent to the Holding Box and it was a real crowd favourite. There was a huge round of applause for Tina Cook’s Star Witness when he was passed on re-presenting and we were left with thirty-nine of the forty-five horses who completed yesterday ready for the final phase
13 horses competed in the morning session of show jumping and none of them produced a clear round but Australia’s Warren Lamperd and Silvia came up with the best round of the first session with just four penalties. They tipped a pole in the middle of the treble towards the end of the course but Warren was still delighted
“It’s the best show jumping round she’s had in a long format competition” he told us and Silvia was certainly as bright as a button when we caught up with them - that full video interview coming soon …….
Warren, who has is a British Show Jumping ExcelCoach UKCC L4, thought the course designed by Richard Jeffery in the grass arena renowned for its undulating terrain and big atmosphere was “a really nice track”
“I wouldn’t say it’s overly technical but it keeps flowing and lets the horses jump. There are some really good fences in there and if you let a horse move up to the fence then sit it on its bum, then it will jump it well. It’s a good track”
Camille Lejeune and Tahina Des Isles
But Sunday at Burghley is really all about the afternoon show jumping when the top 20 riders jump in reverse order. The tension literally mounts as each rider gets on their horse to warm up then head into the main arena. Their aim is to add nothing to their score from the day before; sometimes they are elated by the result and sometimes they are not
France’s Camille Lejeune was the first to produce a clear round, leaving the French rider and his talented mare Tahina Des Isles in 16th place at their Burghley debut
Camille Lejeune
Like buses, clear rounds rarely come alone and Britain’s Michael Owen also jumped a fault free round. Michael and Bradeley Law made the biggest jump up the leader board into the top 20 over the past few days, starting in equal 65th place after dressage, adding just 7.2 time penalties on cross country to finish in 15th place with a clear round and score of 47.3
There was then a spate of faults, starting with four faults for Oliver Townend jumping out of order on Cooley SRS, eight faults for Buck Davidson on Park Trader, and four faults for Tina Cook, Pippa Funnell and Ireland’s Ciaran Glyn who could not have been happier with his debut at Burghley, finishing in 14th place on November Night as the top placed first timer
"We've had the best time here" said the charismatic Irishman "What a way to top off the week! The weather has been good, lots of Pimms has been drunk and we're very happy!"
Willa Newton on Chance Remark
Willa Newton and Richard Jones both posted clear rounds for eighth and seventh places, great results for these two young British riders and Ireland’s Esib Power had a personal best CCI4* result in ninth place riding Soladoun.
Andrew moved up and Piggy moved down - but still all smiles
But as we came to the top six, there were cheers for Sarah Bullimore and Reve Du Rouet who jumped clear into fourth place and groans for Harry Meade and Piggy French as they dropped a rail apiece to finish in sixth and fifth places.
Andrew Nicholson and Swallow Springs (above) and Oliver Townend on Ballaghmor Class (below)
Five-time Burghley winner Andrew Nicholson had already put the pressure on the top four with his clear round aboard the very promising Swallow Springs, guaranteeing him a place on the podium and, although Oliver Townend riding the 2017 Burghley champion Ballaghmor Class, had one rail down, he still secured second place on 31.9
Tim Price and Ringwood Sky Boy
It was all down to Tim and, despite his warnings yesterday that Ringwood Sky Boy was not the best show jumper, they jumped the round of their life to win the 2018 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.
It is Tim’s second CCI4* victory (the current world number four ranked rider won Luhmuhlen in Germany aboard Wesko in 2014) but he has been on the podium in prestigious 4* events at Badminton, Burghley, Kentucky and Pau. It is the third 4* trophy to head to the Price household this season with wife Jonelle winning Badminton and Luhmuhlen.
Tim, 'the missus' Jonelle, Otis and Varenna Allen
To win meant “absolutely everything” to the Rio Olympian who also paid tribute to Ringwood Sky Boy’s long-standing owner Verenna Allen “Burghley is the place you want to come to and put your best foot forward. You have got to bring your best game – from a riding point of view, this is where you want to be your best. This is very special – I will always carry it with me.”
“I am just so so thrilled,” said Tim “Ringwood Sky Boy has always been putting his best hoof forward with everything. I’m really just trying to stay up with ‘the missus’! She is a great driving force for both of us – we are lucky to have each other. I am sure we will look back on this in years to come – 2018 has been a very special year.”
We caught up with Jonelle and son Otis (who loved the furry microphone cover and my ear piece) as the celebrations started
"He's always been one of the most phenomenally talented riders out there, he’s fine tuned his craft over the last ten years and he’s just truly world class”
Watch the winner's press conference video here
