First time fortunes
Today's first timers at Defender Burghley, of which there were 10, experienced mixed fortunes.
Felix Vogg (pictured) (SUI) is the highest placed of the group at this stage. Cartania, a 13-year-old mare, produced a lovely test this morning, scoring 28.8 – just 0.2 behind previous Burghley runners up Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift. Felix and Cartania have five-star form, finishing 15th and 11th at Badminton in 2023 and 2024. The pair lies in fourth place.
A mere 0.1 behind Felix lies Max Warburton (GBR) riding Deerpairc Revelry. The 10-year-old Irish-bred Sports Horse only started eventing four years ago and finished second in the CCI4*L at Bramham this year. Max said: “It was a big ask for him to go into that arena and perform, but I couldn't have asked for any more.”
Ian Cassells (IRL) rode Master Point into the top 10 with a score of 32.4, having achieved two five-star completions, at Pau and Luhmuhlen, already. “It was a very solid first phase with no real mistakes,” said Ian after his test. “I was really pleased – he is built a bit on the forehand, which makes him tricky on the flat, but he stays all day long and so I am looking forward to Saturday.”
Nicole Mills (GBR) riding Fearless W was happy with her test, which earned her a mark of 32.6 for 10th place at the end of today. “He doesn't find dressage particularly easy,” she explained. “Because I live just down the road there were lots of people cheering me on – I was thinking 'please don't clap until the end', but he held it together.”
Mia Farley (USA) riding Phelps, who is owned by Mia’s trainer, the American eventing legend David O'Connor, sits in 13th place overnight on a score of 33.7. “He went in there and was such a professional,” said Mia. “All he really wanted to do was put his head down and graze!” Phelps, an ex-racehorse, was purchased for just $1, having come to David's yard as a four-year-old sales project. He has five-star form, having completed in the top 15 at both Maryland and Kentucky.
Riding for Ireland, Declan Cullen steered Seavaghan Ash to a score of 35.2 and 18th place overnight, saying of his striking skewbald gelding: “I've waited my whole life to challenge myself around a course like Burghley. It's even more special to ride this horse because I competed his sire, Glenhill Gold.” Declan made his international eventing debut in 2002, at the age of 34; he is now 56.
Lizzie Baugh (GBR) sits just 0.2 behind Declan riding her homebred B Exclusive, a 14-year-old by Bazaars Exclusive. Lizzie represented Great Britain at the young rider Europeans in both 2017 and 2018. “He's a real Burghley type, a lovely light horse to ride. He got a bit tense in his test but to get him here is very special – and to be surrounded by the people I grew up admiring, like Pippa Funnell, is pretty surreal.”
Bella Innes Ker (GBR) said of her 25th placed test on the 12-year-old Dutch-bred Highway, “I was really pleased with him. Yes there were bits I could have improved on but I'm looking at the bigger picture.” The duo finished a little way down the order on a score of 38.6. Highway has two previous CCI5* competitions to his name — Pau in 2023 and Luhmuhlen earlier this year.
France's Gaspard Maksud and Kan-Do 2, the first combination of the group into the arena, posted a score of 41.6 to lie in 30th place at the end of day one. Kan-Do 2 is just a 10-year-old, which is relatively young for this level of competition. Surrey-based Gaspard has spent time based with both Andrew Nicholson and Sam Griffiths, before setting up his own yard. He also rides Zaragoza II tomorrow.