Two Brits in the top three at early stage of Burghley dressage: two errors of course costly for leading rider
Britain’s Oliver Townend is the early leader at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.
Oliver was first into the arena at 9.30am this morning (30 August), and at the lunch break, nobody has yet been able to catch him.
Oliver sits on a score of 27.2 aboard Tom Joule’s 13-year-old gelding, MHS King Joules (pictured).
Oliver said: “I have no complaints at all and if he stays on that mark all weekend, I’ll be very happy. Going into the arena first is always difficult as the judges perhaps take a few combinations to warm up to the marks, but it was inevitable with me having three horses here.”
As things stand, Oliver is the only competitor to have broken to 30 barrier. Mark Todd sits in second on 30.8, but he could have been in the 20s had it not been for two errors of course on NZB Campino.
“It’s too early in the morning,” he joked. “I let him down and two errors is unforgivable. It’s bloody annoying to say the least. I forgot to ride a 20m circle and then halted in the wrong place.”
Britain’s Julie Tew has made a great start to her first ever Burghley campaign, and sits equal third on 32.1 riding Simply Sox.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“He’s such a kind and generous horse — he’s had his ups and downs with silly injuries resulting in soundness issues, but it means so much to be here,” said Julie, who explained she was told to give up riding two years ago.
“I had a tumour removed from my spinal chord 18 years ago and was told at the time I wouldn’t be able to ride and I would have to walk with a stick. I fought back, but over the past five years I’ve really struggled with pain.
“I have 90% nerve damage in my legs and and I can’t do any fitness work — the less I do, the better I feel. As I’ve got older, things have got worse and I’ve cut down to riding just two horses now. It’s so emotional to make it to Burghley though.”
Tim Price, riding for New Zealand, shares thirds spot with Julie, riding Bango.
“I’m really pleased with him — he’s not an out and out dressage horse and he is a bit of a headshaker which filtered through today.”
The dressage recommences after the lunch break at 2pm.
You can read the full Burghley report in next week’s Horse & Hound magazine (Thursday 6 September).
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
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.