Chris Burton and Nobilis 18
Chris Burton and Nobilis 18 were the last combination on the CIC3* course at the Belton International Horse Trials and they gave the crowd something worth waiting for. It had been a long day of eventing with the last of the riders completing their dressage in the morning and the show jumping phase taking place before approximately 130 combinations headed out on the sunny cross country course.
Chris Burton led with a clear show jumping round on Nobilis 18 moving him ahead of Germany’s Bettina Hoy on Seigneur Medicott and France’s Thomas Carlile on Upsilon and it came right down to the wire, with Chris the very last rider out on cross country.
The question was, could he beat Thomas Carlile (who had jumped earlier out of order as he had a ferry to catch back to France) who had held the top spot for most of the day thanks to a very good round on Quiro Hoy, incurring just 0.8 time penalties. Bettina Hoy too had put in a great round on Seigneur Medicott with 4.4 time penalties to be just behind Thomas but Chris and Nobilis 18 cruised home under time to take the win.
Chris may not have felt that it was a fast round when we spoke to him but only he and Oliver Townend made the time on the Captain Mark Phillips course
Chris Burton
Chris with his wife Bek and owners Carolyn and Anthony Townsend
Nobilis 18, a horse previously ridden by Michael Jung that Chris found through Dirk Schrade, is owned by Carolyn and Anthony Townsend and Susan Lawson. Carolyn and Anthony are the parents of Alex Townsend, well known in Australian eventing circles as the mover and shaker behind Wallaby Hill Farm, a venue which has moved Australian eventing up a notch in recent times.
We’ll have a full report on all classes on Sunday at Belton, photo gallery and interviews with Bettina Hoy and Oliver Townend coming up soon so stay tuned ..............
Chris' win at Belton means that he also won the second leg of the Tri-Star Eventing Grand Slam; seen here presented with his prizes by Jeremy Lawton, Managing Director of Shearwater Insurance
