Australia’s Chris Burton produced a silky smooth Paris Olympics cross-country round aboard his own and Guy Bloodstock Ltd’s Shadow Man to maintain overnight third individually on day two of the Olympic eventing competition.
British-based Chris stopped the clock with seconds to spare to remain on a score of 22 going into tomorrow’s final showjumping phase.
“I’m a bit embarrassed – he just did it so easily. I think you can probably make him a six-star and he’d do it,” said Chris, who took over the ride on 14-year-old Shadow Man, from British event rider Ben Hobday at the start of this season with the aim of competing him at these Games – a plan that has proven to be perfectly executed.
“He’s a beautiful animal, so thank you to Ben Hobday – he did keep banging on about how good he was, but I thought it was a bit of a sales pitch!” admitted Chris. “But Geoffrey Guy and Kate Guy at Cheddington Equestrian [of Guy Bloodstock Ltd] – I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity and being able to ride at Paris is a real treat.”
Chris spent time away from eventing in 2021 to focus on showjumping before returning to the sport this year.
“It’s fundamentally all the same, but I will tell you there were a few times this year I woke up a bit nervous thinking, ‘I wonder if I can still do this’,” said 42-year-old Chris, speaking of his return, while also admitting that he’s taken “loads” away from his time showjumping.
“I’ve always loved jumping and jumping some of the big grands prix has actually helped me. Thanks to the Australian high performance programme, I’ve been lucky to train with Nelson Pessoa. We work together with the jumping and we work together with the cross-country and after the first event I came back to, he rang me and said, ‘Do you think it makes you better?’ and I said ‘I think it does, I feel like I’m riding well’ – he said, ‘I think so too’.”
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Chris explained after his Olympics cross-country round that he is “trying not to think about being third at the moment”.
“I don’t want to get too nervous ahead of tomorrow, so we’ll just make sure the horse is okay and then we’ll give him a little jump in the morning to see how he feels and hopefully, I can do my best.”
To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout the Olympic Games, Royal International Horse Show and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
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
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.
