Jack Pinkney and Mary Edmundson are both making their Defender Burghley debuts this week – Jack posting a first-day dressage score of 38 aboard Claragh Olala, Mary a 41 aboard Lionel II. Their routes to this moment, though, could hardly look more different.
Jack, 33, came to eventing the long way round. “I wasn’t really eventing as a child – I didn’t have horses until I was 17,” he explained. “My sister did some Pony Club stuff, but it was never really something I wanted to get stuck into.
“I wanted to be a rugby player, but that failed, so I’d left school, and Mum was like, ‘Well, you need to go get a job.’”
He took work mucking out at a point-to-point and team-chasing yard – “a job that was offered in the newspaper at the time” – and it was watching Badminton on television that sealed it. “I thought that looked cool. So yeah, that was kind of my route in.”
His ride, Claragh Olala, a 12-year-old gelding (by Obos Quality 004 out of a mare by Master Imp) owned by Margaret and Simon Hope, came to him with plenty to work through. “He came to me as an eight-year-old and had a few issues,” Jack said. “We had to start again at BE90 and build him up.”
Jack wasn’t as confident in those early days, either. “I remember the first novice show I took him to – I’m not one who wears an air jacket, but I remember going around the lorry park asking if anyone had one, because I wasn’t so confident with him.”
Claragh Olala’s nerves took time and patience to work through. “He was very nervous – he just had to build his confidence and learn to enjoy it, basically. And then when he did, he just kept going.” A double clear at Bramham CCI4*-L and two top-five placings at advanced this season back up Jack’s own read: “He’s done three four-star longs now, and he’s been very good. So I think he’s ready.”
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He added that the nerves of walking into the main arena for the first time were there, but not overwhelming. “It’s amazing to be here,” said Jack, “but obviously you’re thinking, right, let’s try and nail this. But it is also just great to be here.”
Reflecting on the test itself afterwards, he was pragmatic: “I wanted it to be better, but to be fair, I think we went in there and did enough. There were a couple of big mistakes, which are costly at this level – but the positive is he wanted to do the right thing.”
A Burghley first timer following in her mother’s footsteps
It was Suffolk-based Mary’s first ride down Burghley's centre line, but at 34, she’s no stranger to the venue – her mother, Debbie, competed here 40 years ago.
“Burghley’s given to me so much already in my life,” she said. “I’ve been here as a child, as a spectator, doing Pony Club showjumping. So it’s kind of weird to be here, and to now be doing it – it’s always been a dream, and it’s a bit odd that it’s now happening.”
Mary Edmundson and Lionel II making their first Burghley appearance together
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
Her ride, Lionel II, is a 14-year-old gelding by Silver Baron out of a mare by Cavalier, and the only advanced horse in her string. The partnership goes back a decade: Lionel was bred by owner Joy Soar out of her own mare, by a stallion belonging to Mary’s parents. Joy and Mary backed him together. “We’ve known him his whole life,” Mary said. “He’s been my partner for 10 years now.”
The combination’s five-star debut came at Pau last year, where they completed on 20 penalties – their only cross-country jumping faults since 2019. Mary was candid about the journey to this point: “It’s never an easy road, is it? There’ve been a few bumps, but generally Lionel’s always been so willing, and he loves the job. So in the grand scheme of things, it has been fairly straightforward with him.”
On her ambitions for the week, she added: “My goal is to complete. I’m here to enjoy everything about it. Ideally, we’d love to get to Sunday afternoon and say we’ve done it, but we’ll take each day as it comes and try to enjoy it.”
Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).
