Equestrian News NI » burghley

Sam Griffiths leads the field after the first day of Dressage

News Desk — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 09:01:45 +0000

Sam Griffiths (AUS) and Happy Times have retained their place at the top of the leaderboard after the first day of dressage at The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials on a score of 40.2.

 Sam and the 15-year-old gelding, who he owns along with Steve and Dinah Posford and Juliet Donald, hold a narrow lead over Sam’s fellow countryman Andrew Hoy on Rutherglen, who slipped into second place just after lunch with an elegant, accurate test that earned them a mark of 40.8.

  “Happy Times is feeling as good as ever,” said Sam. “I felt very relaxed going into the test and I think that filtered through to him. The test felt very natural.”  

Andrew, meanwhile, credits Rutherglen’s performance to help from Olympic dressage team gold medallist Laura Tomlinson. 

 “At Luhmuhlen [in June] I overdid the warm-up and Rutherglen didn’t do a good test at all,” he explained. “He’s an anxious horse and if he makes a mistake it worries him. Laura told me to aim for a relaxed test today – something that I could build on in the future.”  

America’s Allison Springer slipped into third place with Arthur, the horse she partnered to sixth place here in 2012. The flamboyant chestnut produced a punchy, active test to score 41.2.  

“This was probably his best performance here to date,” said Alison. “We made an uncharacteristic mistake with our timing in the first flying change, but luckily one of the judges didn’t notice.”  

Piggy French lies fourth and is the best British rider with Westwood Mariner, while Marilyn Little (USA) and Izzy Taylor (KBIS Briarlands Matilda) complete the top six.  

Dressage resumes at 10am today when Tim Cheffings will be first into the arena with Alinero Van Het Scharenberg. William Fox-Pitt (Bay My Hero) and Andrew Nicholson (Avebury) – two of the bookies’ favourites for the title – will perform their tests tomorrow afternoon.

Burghley Begins Day 1 Round Up

News Desk — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 21:24:12 +0000

The 630 plus retailers are putting the finishing touches to their displays, ready to greet the first of the expected 160,000 visitors to the 2014 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. The trot up has taken place, and the most enthusiastic of the 64 riders have had their first opportunity to get out on to the cross country course and see what Captain Mark Phillips has in store for them on Saturday.

The good news is that the sun has been shining and the weather forecast for the next few days is set fair – cloudy but dry, perfect eventing weather.
This year’s entry is made up of riders from 13 nations, and includes 18 first timers. There are four past winners; Andrew Nicholson, William Fox-Pitt, Oliver Townend and Andrew Hoy. Not surprisingly the buzz is building here.
Can Andrew Nicholson and Avebury make it three in a row? Or will William Fox-Pitt win a record seventh title? You can never write off Oliver Townend and Armada, this year’s Badminton runners up, while Andrew Hoy’s Rutherglen looked impressive at the trot up. Tim Price and Ringwood Sky Boy could do well for New Zealand, as could Piggy French, one of only four competitors with two rides, Jakata and Westwood Mariner.
Just one horse failed to get through the first horse inspection, CP Qualified, the ride of Australia’s Shane Rose. Five, including the defending champion and 2014 favourite Avebury, were sent to the holding box but all passed on re-inspection.
Dressage starts Thursday at 10am, with Sarah Bullimore and Valentino V first into the arena.

FEI Tribunal issues partial decision in Jock Paget case

News Desk — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 08:58:46 +0000

The FEI Tribunal has issued a partial decision in the Clifton Promise (Jonathan Paget) case. Clifton Promise tested positive to the banned substance reserpine at the Burghley CCI4* in September 2013.

Paget, the Person Responsible (PR), accepted that the banned substance had been found in the horse and requested that the FEI Tribunal, prior to a full hearing, rule separately on the automatic disqualification from Burghley.

The Tribunal has ruled that Clifton Promise and Paget are disqualified from their placing at Burghley and that all points and prize money won at the event by Clifton Promise must be forfeited.

As a result of this decision, the Burghley placings, rider rankings and FEI Classics™ standings have been amended.

The full hearing of the Clifton Promise case is scheduled for 3 June 2014, after which a final decision will be issued by the FEI Tribunal.

Landrover Burghley Horse Trials Video Round up

News Desk — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 07:09:54 +0000

Jock Paget and Clifton Promise were the winners of The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials 2013. Jock led both the dressage and cross country phase and then, with only a single penalty on the final fence of the show jumping, he made it a clean sweep on Clifton Promise. Re-live the action from all 3 phases in our highlights of the 2013 competition.

HSBC FEI Classics™ 2012/2013: Paget is supreme at Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials

News Desk — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 08:37:43 +0000

Jock Paget (NZL) and Clifton Promise win the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (GBR), the last leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™ series. (Photo: Kate Houghton/FEI)

Written By Kate Green FEI

Jock Paget kept an admirably cool head in the pressurised last few minutes of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, final leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™, and became the fifth New Zealander to lift the top prize here at this much-respected British CCI4*.

Kiwi riders have won 12 of the last 26 Burghleys, but it’s 14 years ago that a rider captured both Badminton and Burghley in the same season on the same horse (Great Britain’s Ginny Leng on Master Craftsman).

Paget’s dual-winning mount, Frances Stead and Russell Hall’s handsome New Zealand Thoroughbred Clifton Promise, an ex-racehorse, seemed to grow in confidence around Richard Jeffery’s Jumping track. He only hit the last fence, by which time the Land Rover Trophy, and third place in the HSBC FEI Classics™ series, was in the bag. “I was nervous because I wanted to win, but I knew I had two rails in hand and I had a lot of confidence in how Promise was jumping in the warm-up,” explained Paget. “I have altered a few little things with him this year, since my training with [European Champion] Michael Jung, and now give him a little more room in front of fences. “It’s really only just sinking in that I’ve won Badminton, let alone Burghley, but I know that it’s a very special achievement.”

Clifton Lush, the horse on which Paget was lying second after Cross Country, was unfortunately withdrawn overnight due to a bruised fetlock, but he should be back in action in time for Paget to contest the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing (winning Badminton, Burghley and Kentucky in succession) next spring.

One of Paget’s chief mentors, Andrew Nicholson, was second, third and eighth – another record – in a Kiwi whitewash. “I brought three horses and I still can’t beat him,” the 52-year-old Nicholson joked about his former protégé. “When Jock first came to me, in 2009, he may have looked like a monkey up a pole, but I still thought he had a lot of natural talent. What was most important was that he wanted to learn; he was always running around watching the top riders, like William Fox-Pitt and Pippa Funnell, and that’s how you become successful yourself, by looking and learning.”

No horse has ever won back-to-back Burghleys, but Andrew came very close to achieving that accolade with second place on the 2012 winner, Avebury (he was also first and second with Mr Smiffy in 2000 and 2001).

He also finished third on his 2012 Pau winner Nereo and eighth on Calico Joe and rounded off an extremely lucrative payday by scooping the $150,000 HSBC FEI Classics™ title for the first time. He has also extended his lead in the $50,000 HSBC Rankings, which he has led all year.

“It does feel like a great achievement to have been so consistent,” he said. “That’s really what staying at the top is all about.”

Although nine of the 19 horses jumping in the morning session went clear, there were none from the 24 in the afternoon. Nicholson had a fence down apiece on Avebury and Nereo and, with the latter horse, overtook William Fox-Pitt (GBR) and Parklane Hawk after they hit the second and third elements of the treble at fence 10.

“I think he was still in too much of a forward gear after Cross Country,” said Fox-Pitt, who finished second in the HSBC FEI Classics™. “But Jock’s achievement is fantastic and I hope he enjoys the moment. This has been a brilliant competition; it was a proper four-star and the Cross Country and the optimum time had exactly the right influence.”

Ingrid Klimke’s (GER) FRH Butts Abraxxas does not have the best of Jumping records, but he went clear on his last CIC3* run and Klimke said she had decided not to practise in between. The strategy seemed to work well, as they only hit the third fence to rise two places to fifth.

Jonelle Richards, sixth on The Deputy with 12 penalties, and Sir Mark Todd, seventh with four faults on the inexperienced Oloa, a horse the double Olympic gold medallist has mooted as a future championship ride, completed the New Zealand domination. European team silver medallist Ludwig Svennerstal (SWE) enjoyed his best CCI4* result so far when finishing ninth on King Bob and Kristina Cook (GBR) was 10^th on Do Novo News.

This is HSBC’s last year of sponsoring the Classics, after six highly successful years when the series has captured riders’ imaginations and led to sporting tussles of the highest calibre, most famously between Andrew Nicholson and William Fox-Pitt. “It’s definitely raised the profile of the four-star events,” commented Nicholson, who is the only rider ever to have won the HSBC FEI Classics™ with tree 4-star victories (Pau, Kentucky and Luhmühlen). “It has made me travel to Kentucky and spend time working out what horses to take to Pau and Luhmühlen.”

Britain’s “Summer of Sport” To Peak at The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials

News Desk — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 09:12:52 +0000

Wimbledon, the Ashes, the Tour de France… Can Britain’s second “summer of sport” climax with a Land Rover Burghley home win?

Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (5-8 September) has long been a major highlight of the British equestrian season. Set in the stunning grounds of Burghley House, one of Britain’s most historic houses, the Lincolnshire event marks the end of summer, and top riders from around the globe focus on it as their end-of-year aim.

This year, with 2014’s World Equestrian Games looming on the horizon, the entries are strong with 11 countries represented.

Land Rover Burghley will bring together five former winners – including the victorious horse-and-rider partnerships from the past two runnings, New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson and Avebury and British superstar William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk. They will face serious opposition from the 29-year-old Kiwi sensation, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton’s winner Jock Paget, joined by an army of top British event riders such as Pippa Funnell, Tina Cook and Oliver Townend.

As well as the majority of the world’s top event horses, Land Rover Burghley will showcase the equine stars of the future in Friday’s prestigious Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Final. And after a very successful debut in 2012, the SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse class, a qualifier for the Horse of the Year Show, takes place on Sunday following a Parade by National Hunt legends Kauto Star and Neptune Collonges.

But Land Rover Burghley isn’t just all about the horses. The event is world-famous for its shopping. Great care and thought goes into selecting a vast range of retailers offering stylish, original – and delicious – products.

New to the Event in 2013 is Hermès – the Paris-based luxury goods retailer. Many people will leave Land Rover Burghley this September dreaming of an exquisite, hand-made Hermès saddle!

The Food Walk will offer a superb range of mouth-watering treats to eat. A multitude of avenues and a total of seven specialist pavilions offer a wealth of variety; the Green Lifestyle Pavilion showcases the best in innovative, natural, organic and eco-friendly products, the Country Living Magazine Pavilion includes the very best on offer from Britain’s independent designers and artisans and not to be missed are the two Rural Crafts Marquees.

The Burghley LifeStyle Pavilion brings together over 40 companies selling unusual and stylish products for you and your home, many of which are exclusive to Burghley and at last, but not least there are two dedicated equestrian pavilions, World or the Horse and the Horse Village.

And that’s only a mention of the vast choice on offer to tempt the casual – or serious – shopper.

HSBC FEI Classics™ 2012/2013: Klimke makes stunning debut at Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials

News Desk — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 08:52:20 +0000

Ingrid Klimke (GER) and FRH Butts Abraxxas produce a superb test to take the lead after the first day of Dressage at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, final leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™. (Photo: Kate Houghton/FEI).

By Kate Green

Ingrid Klimke (GER) and FRH Butts Abraxxas thrilled the excited crowd at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, final leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™, and now holds the overnight lead after the first day of Dressage.

They scored 39 penalties and are three points clear of the two riders currently holding joint-second place: Andreas Dibowski (GER) on FRH Butts Leon and Jock Paget (NZL) on Clifton Lush.

Surprisingly, Klimke, the newly crowned European team gold and individual silver medallist, has never been to Burghley before. She explained that she is usually at the national championships in Germany, but as “Braxxy” is now 16, it was a case of “now or never”.

The son of Heraldik XX (also the sire of Michael Jung’s European Champion Halunke, FRH Butts Leon and Sam Griffiths’s Burghley ride, Happy Times) is so established, soft and “through” in the Dressage arena that the crowd knew they were watching something special. There was a gasp as Ground Jury President Nick Burton (GBR) awarded the only 10 of the day, for the halt in the middle of the test.

“He is so sweet and relaxed,” said Klimke of her six-time team horse. “When we come into the arena, he says: ‘What do you want me to do and I will do it’.”

Dibowski’s horse, FRH Butts Leon, another 16-year-old (both horses are bred by Friedrich Butt) has also been a great servant to the German team and won Luhmühlen in 2011, but was ridden at last year’s London Olympic Games by Thailand’s Nina Ligon.

“It’s an exciting story that we have been reunited,” said Dibowski, who has not competed at Burghley since the European Championships in 1987.

He said that the hot sunshine suits his horse. “He loved it in Hong Kong [at the 2008 Olympic Games]. He just gets better and better.”

Andrew Nicholson (NZL), the first rider to compete three horses at Burghley, is in fourth place on 42.3 with his 2012 winner, Avebury, and in eighth on Calico Joe. He still has his Pau 2012 winner Nereo to come tomorrow.

Sarah Cohen (GBR), who gave birth to her second child earlier this year, is best of the British riders in seventh place on Treason; six-time Burghley winner William Fox-Pitt (GBR) is ninth on the first of his two rides Neuf des Coeurs; and Piggy French (GBR), who is back riding at CCI4* level after a two-year gap, is 10th on new ride Westwood Mariner with 49.2.

“This was our first four-star test together so I am very pleased,” said French, a member of the British team in 2011. “I think it’s about as good as we could have achieved at the moment; we’re still very much on a learning curve. It’s nice to be back!”

Riders are impressed with Mark Phillips’s revamped Cross Country track, where the most demanding fences come in the first half. Ingrid Klimke says that three courses stick in her mind as being big and imposing: the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the 2010 Kentucky track (at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™) and this one at Burghley.

Andrew Nicholson added that he thought Captain Phillips had been “very clever”. He explained: “The new FEI rule that asks designers to use less jumping efforts within the same distance is quite a challenge for them, but Mark has managed to slow us down without making it twisty. I don’t think many riders will get the optimum time.”

The Dressage phase resumes tomorrow (Friday) with leading riders Kevin McNab (AUS), Bettina Hoy (GER) and Kristina Cook (GBR) to come, as well as William Fox-Pitt (GBR) and Jock Paget (NZL) on their second horses.

Nicholson is the runaway leader of the HSBC FEI Classics™, but Burghley placings will be significant in the fortunes of Fox-Pitt and Jock Paget, who are currently in second and third. And any other rider who can win this challenging contest on Sunday will spring into the five cash prizes.

Results after 1st day of Dressage
1 Ingrid Klimke/FRH Butts Abraxxas (GER) 39.0
2 eq Jock Paget/Clifton Lush (NZL) 42.0
2 eq Andreas Dibowski/FRH Butts Leon (GER) 42.0
4 Andrew Nicholson/Avebury (NZL) 42.3
5 Kai Rüder/Leprince des Bois (GER) 44.2
6 Paul Tapner/Kilronan (AUS) 47.5
7 Sarah Cohen/Treason (GBR) 48.0
8 Andrew Nicholson/Calico Joe (NZL) 48.3
9 William Fox-Pitt/Neuf des Coeurs (GBR) 49.0
10 Piggy French/Westwood Mariner (GBR) 49.2

Full results are available at: www.burghley-horse.co.uk