One horse was not accepted to start the five-star competition at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials first trot-up this afternoon (3 September).
Bob Cotton Bandit, owned and ridden by Co Down-based British rider Laura Birley, was sent to the holding box and then re-presented, but did not pass the inspection. Laura, who works in IT systems for the NHS, had been set to make her Burghley debut this week.
Fifty-two horses were presented to the ground jury – New Zealand’s Andrew Bennie (president), Sweden’s Christina Klingspor and the USA’s Valerie Pride. All except Bob Cotton Bandit passed on first inspection.
A number of horses were very excited at the Burghley Horse Trials first trot-up today. Piggy March’s ride MCS Maverick, owned by the Maidwell Mavericks, briefly got loose just before his turn on the runway, but was caught at the arena gate and Piggy quickly settled him so he was then surprisingly calm on the strip.
Swiss rider Felix Vogg was among the late withdrawals from the event. He had been expected to start on Cartania, with whom he was 13th last year.
“I had a fall at Saulieu last week and despite a lot of work with the physio I’m still not 100%,” said Felix.
“It is such a shame for the whole team as Cartania is feeling very good and we were looking forward to going back to our favourite event.
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“Fingers crossed we’ll be back at Burghley next year. For now I’ll be trying everything to get 100% fit in time for the Europeans!”
British first-timer Aimee Penny has also withdrawn Gary Power’s PSH Gazelle from Burghley this week. She will still start on PSH Encore, who belongs to the same owners, and was one of the horses showing high spirits this afternoon – she bucked on the turn at the top of the trot-up strip, kicking the flower arrangement.
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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.
