Burghley is so special’, says Sarah Bullimore
It is impossible not to detect the excitement in Sarah Bullimore's voice when she talks about her talented 10-year-old Corimiro and their flourishing partnership.
"He is just a pleasure, the reason why I am still going and getting out of bed in the morning," said Sarah, who first competed at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials 30 years ago.
"Whether it's a dressage test or going cross-country or showjumping, he just loves to work and wants to go and do a job."
Bedfordshire-based Great Britain international Sarah, an individual bronze medallist at the 2021 European Championships in Switzerland and an FEI Nations Cup regular, claimed two successive fourth-placed Burghley finishes with her prolific campaigner Reve Du Rouet.
Home-bred Corimiro now spearheads her string, and many astute eventing followers are enthused by the gelding's Burghley podium potential after finishing fifth on his five-star debut in Pau last year, then 10th at Badminton when their performance was highlighted by a brilliant cross-country round, one of only seven clear inside the time.
"He wouldn't be desperately high mileage, but he has just been one of those horses that everything he has done from a three-year-old he has just ticked the box," added Sarah, who also campaigned Corimiro's dam Lilly Corinne at five-star level.
"The lovely thing about him is that I don't think he has a weak phase. He is pretty cool, he can do everything and he thinks he is pretty awesome! He has got such a great brain. It is just keeping his exuberance and zest for life a little bit under control."
Sarah, one of the most consistent and experienced riders on the eventing circuit, knows her way around Burghley better than most, and her appetite to tackle its unique challenges is undiminished.
"It is a really special event." she said. "We are so lucky to be able to go to these beautiful venues, and I certainly have some fond memories of Burghley.
"I remember my first Burghley vividly with the wonderful Ballycotton. He was an amazing horse who made it feel so easy, and we finished in the top 10. But it is not always like that, of course, and it is a lot of hard work to get a horse to five-star level."