Tim Price and Vitali have taken over the lead for New Zealand, as the Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country phase hurtles on towards its conclusion. The pair came home with 8.8 time-faults.
“He’s such an amazing horse and he doesn’t know another way but through the flags, even if I get it wrong, like I did the two or three times. He’s not the fastest horse, so we have to cut a few corners and take a chance or two, because he can get there all sorts of wrong and he just slips through the flags and look after me. He gave everything today and I’m really proud of him,” said Tim.
Last year’s Burghley runners-up had a risky moment at the Trout Hatchery (fences 21abcd and 22) when they came back to the arrowhead from the side and jumped across it, but Vitali showed his honesty by taking it on.
“I made a mistake into the Trout Hatchery, cutting my corner to the skinny, and he just chipped one in and slid through. But that’s what a good cross country horse has to do. We want to do a good job by them eight times out of 10, and the other two, they’ve got to do a good job for us. So he did that today, for sure,” said Tim.
Tim Price was third after dressage but his time-faults over the Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course open the door for other pairs to push ahead of them if they can put in fast rounds.
“Vitali is not an out and out thoroughbred – his top speed is 580m per minute where others can do 620. He’ll do 580 all day long, he’s a trier, but it’s not in his make up to be stretched out galloping faster,” said Tim, who also mentioned the “lovely” footing, which he said is getting quicker through the day.
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British open champions and Burghley debutants Katie Magee and Treworra, 13th after the first phase, were having a good round until a run-out at the corner at Defender Valley (fence 24abde).
This fence also put paid to the hopes of Max Warburton and Deerpairc Revelry, 12th after dressage, who scrambled over the corner at the Defender Dairy Mound (fence 9b) and then had a run-out at the corner at Defender Valley.
Tom Crisp guided the 11-year-old Dassett Rock Star through a jumping clear, but the pair’s 31.2 time-faults have resulted in them slipping down the ranks from 10th after dressage.
Emma Thomas’s ride Icarus didn’t seem to understand the step up at the Boodles Raindance (fence 7abc) and incurred 40 penalties for two stops there.
Katie, Max, Tom and Emma all went on to complete.
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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.
