There was drama and disappointment at the first Defender Burghley Horse Trials trot-up this afternoon (30 August).
Skip Mill, the ride of British competitor and Burghley first-timer Christopher Whittle, was sent to the holding box before being re-presented. The ground jury of Christian Steiner, Anne-Mette Binder and Nick Burton decided the 15-year-old gelding, owned by Andrew Dixon, was not fit to continue in the competition.
All the other horses were passed at the first time of asking, with 58 competitors left in the field.
The weather was bright but quite windy and this caused some horses to show off some extra moves.
MGH Bingo Boy, the mount of Nicky Hill, bucked with excitement in front of the sizeable crowd.
Global Fision M, who is ridden by New Zealand’s Lauren Innes, was incredibly fresh and was therefore asked to trot up twice as their first attempt was mostly in canter. Lauren did a good job to keep the 13-year-old gelding under control and he was passed by the ground jury at the Burghley Horse Trials trot-up to continue in the competition.
Rider Harry Mutch suffered a few of his own lame steps when the second of his two rides, HD Bronze, trod on him halfway up the trot-up strip. Thankfully it only looked to be a temporary problem for Harry.
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The opening day of dressage gets underway tomorrow at 9.45am, with Harry Meade the first rider into the arena with the first of his three rides, Away Cruising.
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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.
