Badminton winner ruled out of Burghley due to injury

Badminton victor Classic Moet has been withdrawn from Burghley following surgery after picking up an injury during her winning performance at Gatcombe.

The 16-year-old mare is on the mend, but will not be back in time for the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (5 to 8 September).

“Our incredible Classic Moet will sadly miss Burghley Horse Trials this year,” said rider Jonelle Price.

“While flying around the Festival of British Eventing cross-country at Gatcombe Park and winning the British Open, she picked up a tiny puncture wound to her knee which required surgery to flush the joint.”

Jonelle thanked the team at Valley Equine Hospital and said she is “recovering really well and wondering what all the fuss was about”.

The 2018 Badminton-winning combination finished fifth at the Lincolnshire event in 2015 and were third the following year. In 2017, Jonelle was out of the saddle for Burghley as she had just given birth to her son, Otis, and in 2018 Classic Moet was selected for the World Equestrian Games in Tryon.

The withdrawal leaves 81 combinations in the mix for the Burghley title.

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“Of course hugely disappointing for her owner Trisha Rickards, myself and the team — Burghley is made for her,” added the New Zealand rider.

“But after ‘17 Otis duties and ‘18 WEG duties, the stars have not aligned once again. Bring on Badminton Horse Trials in the spring and the rest of the 2020 season!”

Jonelle still has a ride at next month’s CCI5*-L in her 2018 Luhmühlen winner Faerie Dianimo.

The grey mare, co-owned by Jacky Green and breeder Trisha Rickards, finished second in the Event Rider Masters CCI4*-S section at Arville in June and eighth in the CCIO4*-S at Aachen in July.

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Lucy Elder

H&H senior news writer

Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.