The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is just around the corner (1-4 September). The cross-country course preview is live. And then there’s this.
The formidable Burghley track is one not to be taken lightly by horses and riders in just a little over two weeks’ time. It provisionally measures 6400m in length with a provisional optimum time of 11 minutes 15 seconds which riders must keep up a pace of 570mpm to achieve.
So see what happens when these extraordinary free runners, Mason O’Connor and Shameem Abbas, took to this year’s cross-country course, using nothing but their own two feet. Shameem is a British Gymnastics coach and Mason is one of his students. They are both based in Hayes in west London.
Here’s what they faced out on course:
Fence 1: Olympic Legacy
Fence 2: Lambert’s Sofa
Fence 3: Garden Table
Fence 4ab: Lion Bridge
Fence 5abc: Anniversary Splash
Fence 6abc: Lakeside Hedges
Fence 7: Collyweston Slate Mine
Fence 8 and 9: Capability’s Cutting
Fence 10: Rolex Grand Slam Vault
Fence 11: Winners’ Avenue Wood Pile
Fence 12 and 13: Cottesmore Leap
Fence 14abc: Land Rover Dairy Farm
Fence 15abc: Rolex Combination
Fence 16, 17ab and 18: Maltings Village Green
Fence 19: Captain’s Log
Fence 20 and 21abcd: Land Rover Trout Hatchery
Fence 22: Herbert’s Hollow
Fence 23: Thomson’s Wall
Fence 24abc: Discovery Valley
Fence 25: Cross Rails
Fence 26ab: FEI Classics Leaf Pit
Fence 27ab: Discovery Valley
Fences 28 and 29: Return From Rio
Fence 30: Picnic Table
Fence 31: Land Rover Finale
All of the Burghley action kicks off with the first trot-up on Wednesday 31 August which H&H will be covering live and then all the way through the two days of dressage on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 September. Then of course it’s cross-country day on the Saturday before we find out who will take home the first prize of £63,000 on the final day which concludes with the showjumping on Sunday 4 September.
