A number of horses who could have finished in the prize money are among the latest withdrawals from this week’s Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (30 August-2 September).

Britain’s Sarah Cohen has withdrawn Treason, who finished 12th at Burghley in 2016.

Euro Prince, the ride of Ireland’s Clare Abbott has also been pulled out of the event. He finished 13th at the event last year.

Tom McEwen has withdrawn both his rides, unsurprisingly — Strike Smartly started at Blair CCI3* last week instead, finishing second, and Toledo De Kerser has been selected for the British squad for the World Equestrian Games (WEG) two weeks after Burghley.

Chris Burton has also now withdrawn Cooley Lands, who he will ride on the Australian squad at WEG.

Another Cooley horse, Cooley Earl, has also come out of the draw as Georgie Strang has taken her ride out of contention.

Charlotte Bacon will have to wait for another year to make her Burghley debut after withdrawing Last Touch, while US competitor Boyd Martin will not bring forward Steady Eddie.

Fans will be sad not to see Becky Woolven’s characterful Charlton Down Riverdance, who was 17th here on their shared debut in 2016.

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Mark Todd has now withdrawn Leonidas II, so he will compete on Kiltubrid Rhapsody and NZB Campino.

His fellow New Zealander, Andrew Nicholson, still has three horses in the draw — Teseo, Swallow Springs and Jet Set IV — but he will only start on two of them.

Last year’s winner, Oliver Townend, still has five horses in the mix, but will only start on three, so he has to choose which ones out of Ballaghmor Class, Cooley SRS, Cooley Master Class, MHS King Joules and Ulises. He said last week that the horses would have a gallop on Monday (yesterday) and a jump today before he made his decision.

Full Burghley preview, including course walk with Blyth Tait and complete form guide, in the issue of H&H now on sale (dated 23 August).

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Oliver Townend took to the podium in the Event Rider Masters at Jardy this afternoon (16 July), finishing third with Angela Hislop’s Cooley Master Class.

The pair moved up from 10th after dressage with a rare clear showjumping in the time this morning and also stayed fault free this afternoon on the cross-country.

“He’s exceeded expectations all this weekend — we knew he’d be ring rusty as he’s come here with little preparation and it’s his first cross-country in four months, but he was very good,” said Oliver.

Oliver said the ERM series is “the biggest step forward in eventing ever”, adding that it changed his life for the better winning the series last year.

The class winner was Germany’s double Olympic champion Michael Jung, riding the relatively inexperienced nine-year-old Star Connection. After fifth place in the dressage and a showjumping clear, he could afford his seven seconds over the cross-country optimum.

“Sometimes he needed help and I changed my plan in a few places, but he answered every question,” said Michael.

The home side’s Karim Florent Laghouag took second on the stallion Entebbe De Hus, who had one down this morning but was clear in the time across country.

Gemma Tattersall finished fourth with Chris Stone’s Chico Bella P, whose two time-faults across country cost her the win.

The time proved surprisingly achievable on Pierre Michelet’s cross-country course and 13 riders beat the clock.

By contrast, the time was an extremely influential factor in the morning’s showjumping session and only three riders managed clears inside the optimum — France’s Donatien Schauly (Pivoine Des Touches, seventh), Oliver and Michael. Three other competitors from the 39 starters came home inside the 68-second target, but these all had at least one pole down.

Dressage leader Bettina Hoy had five time-faults with Seigneur Medicott and took the front rail off the oxer over the water tray at fence 10, dropping to seventh before cross-country. She pulled back up to fifth with 0.8 of a cross-country time-fault.

Andrew Hoy, second overnight, incurred five faults for knocking the first part of the treble at fence six and a single second over the time, which resulted in him slipping to sixth. He and Cheeky Calimbo then had a run-out at the final combination across-country, a double of angled brushes on two strides, after three strides downhill from a spread fence.

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For Britain, Sarah Cohen (Treason) and Gemma Tattersall (Chico Bella P) both had two time-faults showjumping, but jumped clear — Gemma rose from sixth to third and Sarah from 16th to 11th in this phase. Sarah finished ninth, adding useful points on the ERM series leaderboard after her win at Wiesbaden.

Will Furlong lost his top-10 place at this stage with Livingstone as they faulted at the planks at fence five and the spread at fence 10, as well as incurring two time-penalties. Will jumped clear across country, with 17.2 time-faults.

Full report of Jardy’s Event Rider Masters in H&H this Thursday (issue dated 20 July).

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Germany’s Bettina Hoy leads after the dressage at the first leg of the Event Rider Masters (ERM) to be held in France, taking place at Haras de Jardy.

Bettina and Seigneur Medicott are on a remarkable streak, having won four three-star competitions in a row and they are looking to make it five this weekend.

“He felt quite lively in the warm-up and reacted to the applause for the competitor before, but he’s so reliable in the arena and always gives 150%,” said Bettina, whose score of 31.4 was not quite enough to set a new ERM dressage record as Tom Carlile and Upsilon scored 30.8 last weekend at Barbury.

Bettina herself scored 26.3 at Luhmühlen with Gerd-Hermann Horst’s 11-year-old, but said she agreed with the judges that her test here was not quite as good.

Bettina’s ex-husband, Australia’s Andrew Hoy, holds second on 34.4 with his own and Christiane Classen’s Cheeky Calimbo.

“We’ve been together since one-star and had some interesting moments, but he’s very secure now,” said Andrew.

The crowd had the opportunity to contribute their thoughts on the judging through the spectator judging app, and perhaps unsurprisingly placed the home side’s Thibaut Vallette first. He actually finished the day in third with his Rio team gold medallist and European double bronze medallist Qing Du Briot ENE HN.

Replay the dressage

The high-quality of the field at this leg of the ERM — the high prize money series which started last year in Britain and has extended into Europe this season — was reflected in the fact 10 riders scored in the 30s. These included three Brits.

Gemma Tattersall holds sixth on Chico Bella P, who belongs to ERM chief executive Chris Stone.

“She’s a lovely horse to ride and moves beautifully — the highlights were her extended trot and canter,” said Gemma.

Will Furlong, who is in his first year in seniors after a successful under-21 career, holds seventh on his former young rider European champion Livingstone.

“This is a personal best at the level and to break the 40-barrier is fantastic,” said Will, whose mark was 38.6.

One mistake in the extended canter dropped Oliver Townend’s final marks down with Cooley Master Class and he sits 10th with 39.1.

Britain’s fourth rider, Sarah Cohen, also had an error in this movement when Wiesbaden ERM winner Treason changed legs, which was disappointing and left her 16th after the first phase.

“I didn’t quite have him where I wanted him coming in and then I must have shifted my weight or something in the extended canter as it’s not like him to make that mistake — we usually hope to get eight or nine for that movement,” she said.

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Another rider to be disappointed was Alex Hua Tian, the winner of last year’s Bramham leg of the ERM. Don Geniro, who was also in the top 10 at the Olympics, was not on his side today.

“I’m pretty mad, pretty cross and very disappointed,” he admitted. “He’s 10 years old now and and has been to enough shows — going in there and dropping me is not on.”

Tomorrow riders will tackle the showjumping and then the cross-country course, designed by Pierre Michelet, which is expected to be influential.

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Nineteen pairs have been long-listed for the British team for the eventing European Championships in Strzegom, Poland (17-20 August).

The list does not contain many surprises, with the pairs who have performed well at the spring three-day events such as Badminton, Bramham and Luhmühlen included. Thirteen riders are on the list, with Ros Canter, Tina Cook, Piggy French, Gemma Tattersall, Oliver Townend and Nicola Wilson listed with two horses.

Among those listed are four potential senior squad debutants — Alex Bragg, Ros Canter, Sarah Cohen and Willa Newton. Sarah was selected for the 2004 Olympics, but did not ride as The Wexford Lady suffered an injury once in Athens. Tom McEwen has also not made it beyond the trot-up at a senior championship as Diesel was spun at the first horse inspection at the Europeans in Malmö in 2013.

There are two surprising omissions from the list. Zara Tindall is not listed with High Kingdom, with whom she finished third at Kentucky CCI4* in April. The pair jumped a steady double clear in the advanced intermediate at Farley Hall last weekend and are entered for the Event Rider Masters at Barbury next month.

Sarah Bullimore also does not appear among those long-listed, despite finishing sixth at Luhmühlen this month on Lilly Corinne. The chestnut mare is entered for Aston-le-Walls (3) advanced in July.

The squad of six will be announced at the end of July.

The long-listed pairs are:

Alex Bragg with Sally Ellicot’s Zagreb

Ros Canter with Caroline Moore and her own Allstar B, and her own Zenshera

Sarah Cohen with Preci-Spark Ltd and Elizabeth Jones’s Treason

Laura Collett with Keith and Louise Scott, Nick and Lyn How and her own Mr Bass

Tina Cook with Elisabeth Murdoch and Keith Tyson’s Billy The Red, and Pip Wates, Ailsa Wates and Equine Aqua Training’s Calvino II

Pippa Funnell with Filippo Friedenberg’s and her own Billy The Biz

Piggy French with Jayne McGivern’s Quarrycrest Echo, and Trevor Dickens’ Vanir Kamira

Tom McEwen with Jane Inns, his mother Ali and his own Toledo De Kerser

Willa Newton with her father Joey and Lady Sarah McCorquodale’s Caja 20

Gemma Tattersall with The Soul Syndicate’s Arctic Soul, and The Pebbles Syndicate’s Quicklook V

Izzy Taylor with Dr Patricia Turner’s Trevidden

Oliver Townend with Karyn Shuter and Angela Hislop’s Ballaghmor Class, and Angela Hislop’s Cooley SRS

Nicola Wilson with James and Jo Lambert’s Bulana, and Gerry and Mary Kemp and Janine Shewan’s One Two Many

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The combinations are required to maintain their current form to remain on the list ahead of the championships.

Performance manager Richard Waygood said: “I’m very, very excited about this year’s championships; there is real quality and depth among the long-list and we are very much looking forward to the championships in Strzegom.”

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Britain’s Sarah “Cutty” Cohen scored her first Event Rider Masters (ERM) win when she took the first leg of the series ever to run in Continental Europe, at Wiesbaden, Germany, last week (2-3 June).

Sarah and Preci-Spark Ltd’s 15-year-old Treason, by Hand In Glove, were fifth after dressage, but rose to third with a clear showjumping. They then put in a speedy cross-country round for 3.6 time-penalties — the fastest round of the day in the final reckoning — which allowed them to overhaul Italy’s Stefano Brecciaroli and his experienced campaigner Apollo Van De Wendi Kurt Hoeve, who were second after showjumping but had 15.6 time-faults.

It looked like Sarah would settle for the runner-up spot as everyone expected German leader Ingrid Klimke to hold her lead with SAP Escada FRH. But in the very final throes of the course the 2013 European individual silver medallist glanced off a fence in the main arena, leaving Sarah in pole position and the surprised winner of the €19,000 (£16,000) first prize.

“I wanted to be competitive but never thought I would win,” she said. “I knew Treason was fit and he just wanted to gallop and jump today. He is my only horse and we have a great partnership as we have been together 11 years. I am over the moon with him.”

After sixth place at Chatsworth, Sarah now has a commanding lead on the overall ERM leaderboard with 51 points. She is 14 points ahead of Brazil’s Marcio Carvalho Jorge, who took eighth here on Coronel MCJ and sits in second in the overall listings.

Germany’s rising star Julia Krajewski was second after dressage on Chipmunk FRH, who at nine was considerably less experienced than many horses in the field, but dropped to fifth with three showjumps down. However, a fast cross-country round propelled her back up the rankings to take the runner-up spot in the final reckoning.

“It’s very exciting to be competing in the Event Rider Masters,” she said. “In my last five starts at Wiesbaden I’ve finished second and although I am not on top of the podium this is a very good result. I was disappointed with our showjumping, but Chipmunk FRH certainly made it up on the cross-country today.”

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Sara Algotsson Ostholt and her partner on multiple Swedish teams, Reality 39, collected third place after finishing three penalties over the time in the showjumping and collecting 10.8 time-penalties across country.

“It has been a fantastic competition this weekend,” she said. “I was pleased with our showjumping, but I felt the cross-country wouldn’t suit Reality 39 with the twists and turns as he is a big horse, but he responded very well to the challenge and was superb today.”

The next leg of the Event Rider Masters is at Barbury (8-9 July).

Full report from Wiesbaden in H&H this week, out Thursday, 8 June.

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

Sarah Cohen is leaving the Preci-Spark event yard after 17 years.

An injury to her 4-star horse, Treason, which will rule the 12-year-old out for the rest of the season, has prompted Sarah’s decision to “move on and pursue new opportunities”.

“The split has been totally amicable and I want to thank Vin and Liz Jones for their continuous support over the years. With nothing to compete at the higher levels — which is where I want to be — I have decided that it is time for a change,” Sarah told H&H.

Sarah joined Vin Jones’ Preci-Spark operation, producing and competing his home-bred event horses, in 1998 and has enjoyed considerable success over the years.

With the mare, The Wexford Lady — who sadly died last week, aged 21, after suffering foaling complications — she finished 5^th at Burghley in 2003 and 8^th at Badminton the following year. The pair were also selected for the 2004 Athens Olympics, but did not compete as The Wexford Lady picked up an injury.

More recently with Treason (pictured top) she was runner-up in the CIC3*8/9yo at Blenheim 2 years in a row, in 2010 and 2011, and finished 20^th at Burghley last autumn.

“Treason is such a talented horse and I was hoping that he would be my ticket back to the big time, so for him to be off again [with a reoccurrence of the leg injury that caused him to miss the autumn of 2012] is gutting,” she said.

Treason will continue to compete with Sarah once he has recovered and will join her at her Tilton on the Hill home in Leicestershire — where she is planning to build some stables.

“The plan would be to get him back up and running and hopefully aim for the European Championships at Blair Castle [in 2015],” she said.

Meanwhile the mother of 2 is planning to focus her energy on training others.

“I’m not giving up by any means, but I am stepping back for a while. I’m looking forward to being able to put something back into the sport,” she added.

Sarah will also be on hand to advise and support Samantha Hobbs, who will take up the position of Preci-Spark’s number 1 jockey.

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