‘Bits can always be better, but I am disappointed with the mark’: Burghley favourite slots into sixth as dressage progresses
The best dressage test on Friday morning at Burghley was from Sarah Bullimore and Corimiro, who currently sit sixth
Sarah Bullimore, the on-paper favourite to take the title at Defender Burghley Horse Trials this week, suffered a slightly disappointing start to her competition in her dressage test this morning.
She and 10-year-old home-bred Corimiro – owned by Sarah’s husband Brett, Christopher and Susan Gillespie and Bruce Saint – made a strong start to their test with some eights and 7.5s through the trotwork.
But the chestnut’s marks dropped down in the canter, with some fives creeping in.
Sarah Bullimore was obviously disappointed with her Burghley dressage mark of 33.6, which puts her sixth at this stage, and was slightly unsure why her scores weren’t higher. Her score is 4.5 marks below what might have been expected, according to data analytics company EquiRatings.
“I’m chuffed to bits with him,” said Sarah. “It’s a big atmosphere in there and he’s a young horse and he just copes effortlessly with that. He thinks everybody’s there for him and even coming out of the arena, he’s quite happy to walk out on a long rein. The final halt in the arena, he stands absolutely motionless and you can drop the reins and pat him.
“He’s such a good boy and did everything right with no mistakes. Yes, bits can always be better, but yes, I am a little bit disappointed with the marking. I think they could have been a little more generous, but it is what it is and it’s not a dressage competition.”
Despite Corimiro’s relative youth EquiRatings called him as the favourite for Burghley this year, with a 21% win chance pre-competition. His strong previous five-star performances – fifth at Pau Horse Trials last year and 10th at Mars Badminton Horse Trials in May – will have contributed to that ranking.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“Being favourite is probably an added pressure that I don’t really need and there’s been an awful lot of media hype,” said Sarah. “But we’ve been so busy day to day at home – we’ve been really short-staffed and we’ve had a girl off sick for several weeks – so it’s been a difficult build-up.
“So it’s been nice to get here, feeling quite exhausted, and relax. In a way that stress has taken away from all the media hype – it’s just been stressful in its own way. So it kind of balances out, doesn’t it?”
EquiRatings now give Sarah an 8% win chance, with six other riders ahead of her.
The second best test this morning came from Lucy Latta and the Crampton family’s RCA Patron Saint, but there was disappointment there too, as a mark off 36 for 12th at this stage was below par for what the Irish pair can achieve.
Lucy said: “He’s been doing really good tests all year, so I am a bit disappointed with the mark. He held his breath a little bit and was just not as soft as I would have needed him, but he did try. I would have liked to have done a slightly better mark, but he just got a bit anxious today on me, and that’s how it goes.”
Lucy and “Paddy” were runners-up at Badminton in 2024, but have never quite managed to consolidate that form. Lucy is currently on a year-long sabbatical from her full-time job in marketing, taking the time to enjoy her horse of a lifetime.
“It’s been so nice to have the time to dedicate to the training. It’s been a really fun summer. We’ve got a couple of youngsters as well now so I’m loving it,” she said.
“It’s certainly much easier in terms of not trying to juggle 10 different things in the run-up to a five-star. You just have more time to focus on whatever it is that you need to do and focus on to get there.
“It’s always a bit nerve wracking, the run-up to a five-star, especially the week before when you’ve done all your hard training and then you just want to get there now – it’s always a bit nerve-wracking whether you’re working or not.”
The dressage continues at 2pm, with 12 pairs still to come forward.
- To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout Defender Burghley Horse Trials, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website and enjoy our Burghley live news service throughout the event
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.