One withdrawal before Burghley cross-country: ‘I’m erring on the side of caution’
Find out why the rider decided to pull out before tomorrow’s key phase
There has been one withdrawal ahead of the Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country tomorrow (Saturday, 5 September) so far – Tayla Mason, with Centennial, who was home-bred by Tayla’s mother Sonya and belongs to his rider, Sonya, Tayla’s brother Kyle and Sue Rutter,
The 32-year-old New Zealand rider told H&H: “I felt that ‘Chase’ didn’t feel himself in the dressage and, erring on the side of caution, I’ve made the decision to withdraw him.
“There’s nothing obvious at the moment, but I consulted with my vets and decided the right decision is to save him for another day.”
Tayla and Centennial scored 36.2 in the dressage for 20th place after the first phase.
The withdrawal leaves 47 pairs to start the cross-country tomorrow at Burghley.
A strong cross-country pair
Tayla Mason, who has been based in Wiltshire since moving to the UK from New Zealand at the start of 2019, has a strong cross-country record with the 15-year-old Centennial, so many will be disappointed not to have the chance to see the pair tackling their first Burghley tomorrow.
After a couple of runs round Pau Horse Trials, the pair made their British five-star debut at Mars Badminton Horse Trials in 2025, clocking up 4.4 time-faults and finishing 19th.
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In the autumn last year they headed to the US for Maryland 5 Star and landed eighth place with 5.2 cross-country time-faults and a flag penalty.
They returned to Badminton in May this year, pulling off their best performance yet with a clear cross-country inside the time and sixth place.
The result earned them a reserve listing for the New Zealand squad for the eventing World Championships in Aachen, but as they were not required to start there, they came to Burghley for their debut at the British autumn classic.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.