‘I’m doing it on her behalf’ – Tim Price on riding the late Georgie Campbell’s favourite horse at Burghley

Tim Price and Global Quest moved into second place at the lunch break on the first day of dressage at the 2026 Defender Burghley Horse Trials, posting a score of 32.1.

It’s the start of a big week for the New Zealander, who’s one of the favourites on his other ride, Falco – who will go down the centre line tomorrow (9 September), on what will potentially be the horse’s final five-star appearance.

Global Quest (by Metropole out of a mare by Big Sink Hope) produced a test built on consistency rather than fireworks – dipping below a 6.5 average just twice, for his stretch in canter on a 20m circle and his penultimate flying change – but for Tim, the number on the scoreboard mattered less than the legacy he was carrying forward.

The 13-year-old gelding, owned by Diana and Lance Morrish, was produced up to four-star by the late Georgie Campbell – and it’s her ambition Tim is now carrying out.

“He was her favourite horse,” Tim said. “I helped her a little bit with him back a few years ago, and she absolutely loved him. I have the privilege of riding him after her, so it’s been very much in her honour. She always wanted to get to five-star with him, so I’m doing that on her behalf.”

Tim took Global Quest to his five-star debut at Pau and then Kentucky this spring, and has spent the past couple of years taking the time to build a partnership rather than simply picking up where Georgie left off. He explained that the gelding’s sensitivity – something Georgie knew well – has taken time to understand.

“He has a level of anxiety,” Tim explained. “Georgie used to have inconsistency, and she used to get frustrated, and that’s something I always refer back to. Me being bigger and stronger, and perhaps more like, ‘It’s like this, mate,’ has not always been to the benefit of him and I.

“He just gets a little upset, and then he goes into his shell, and everything’s a bit forced. You lose the balance and the impulsion.

“I’ve got him a lot fitter, a lot lighter, his body stronger, with all the work behind the scenes. In terms of approaching the actual test, we had a solid session in the morning, but I don't come in and say, ‘It’s like this.’ I want him to show himself off – not me telling him what he should do – to try and achieve that little bit more softness and cadence.”

Tim was satisfied with how he held it together in the test. “He tried his hardest and didn’t get distracted,” he said. “The flowers and things sometimes pulled his eye, but he came back to me every time, and it was just a nice, smooth, flowing test. It probably doesn’t have the flamboyance of the ones that will be at the front of the pack at this stage, but I think it was a great baseline test to build from in the future.”

He was open about the trade-off behind those two dipped marks.

“Today I tried to run smoothly, and it comes at the cost of a few crisp changes and transitions – the changes are small, but they’re clean,” he said. “In the past, I’d really ask for the change, and he’d throw his head down and go, ‘Why did you do that?’ So I just want to show him the way, and over the next couple of seasons, show him that he could be much better.”

For now, the target for Global Quest is simple. “I’m hoping for just a good clean three phases with him,” Tim said.

The world number one currently sits second behind lunchtime leaders Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight.

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