Young British rider Richard Coney made a successful 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials debut this week to complete in 23rd place.
Riding Sophie White’s smart little 10-year-old Poetry In Motion II, Richard started off the week with a 35.2 dressage, followed by a clear cross-country jumping round, picking up 34.4 time-faults. They rounded the week off with one down in the showjumping.
“I’m really pleased to have come and delivered a result as I’ve not had this horse long and he’s only 10,” explained 24-year-old Richard Coney. “It’s been trial by fire for him, going to Blenheim eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S and then straight to Boekelo CCI4*-L in the second half of last year, and he’s now been to Bramham and Burghley this season, so he’s not had a chance to think about much.”
Richard took over the ride on Poetry In Motion II halfway through last year. He was previously competed by Florence White, who has spent the summer working in the Burghley Horse Trials office. Up to that point, Poetry In Motion had jumped clear around one CCI3*-L with Florence, so this gelding really has shot up the grades.
“He’s a very decent all-round horse. He struggles on the flat and he’s a bit keen on the cross-country, but he’s really bold and he’s always wants to go through the flags,” says Richard, who events full-time from his Lincolnshire base. “He gives me confidence going cross-country and it also means he has been able go up through the levels without too much worry.
“We’ve done a lot of flatwork training with him, which I think showed, because he scored a personal best here. He has only had two sub-40 scores at four-star level and his last was was 39.9, so to get down to a 35.2 here, we were really happy,” explains Richard, who trains with Tracy Woodhead on the flat. He also occasionally has help from Chris Bartle and Caroline Moore for the jumping. “We’ve been working a lot on his rideability at home too to try and make my life easier going cross-country too.”
Horse & Hound has a team of reporters covering all the Burghley action. To keep reading on our website after five articles, readers will need to buy a subscription. Visit horseandhound.co.uk/join to buy a Horse & Hound website unlimited subscription or, for great value, visit magazinesdirect.com for a combined magazine and website subscription. If you are already a magazine subscriber, the cost to upgrade your subscription to include full website access is minimal – call 0330 333 1113 to find out more.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Former web features editor, point-to-point editor and digital racing editor
Gemma is an experienced journalist, who was a member of H&H staff from 2014 to September 2025. She is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at Epsom in August 2018. Gemma’s has reported from numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.
