{"piano":{"sandbox":"false","aid":"u28R38WdMo","rid":"R7EKS5F","offerId":"OF3HQTHR122A","offerTemplateId":"OTQ347EHGCHM"}}

‘It’s effort after effort’: top riders share their thoughts on the 2017 Burghley cross-country course

Playlist 19 Videos H&H Champs: Schoolgirl and pony dominate after cross-country 01:14 H&H Champs: Journey from Scotland pays off for victorious young rider and pony 00:55 H&H Champs: 'I've felt sick all day' — rider fights off nerves to secure 90cm victory 00:55 H&H Champs: 'I held my breath' — islander takes 80cm spoils 00:54 H&H Champs: 71-year-old Sally Pidsley takes the 70cm honours 02:36 H&H Champs: 90cm class goes down to the wire on cross-country day 01:35 H&H Champs: catch ride rewarded after 15 hour journey 01:05 H&H Champs: 'cheeky' Fergus springs into the lead 01:40 H&H Champs: Super Szuca posts personal best to take the lead 03:00 One-eyed racehorse excelling in falconry career 02:24 Watch what happens when a sprinter compares training regimes with a racehorse 03:02 'He's a once in a lifetime horse': history repeats itself at HOYS Cob of the Year championship 00:46 'It has been a long time coming': rider returns to win back Blenheim title after 16-year gap 00:36 Blenheim win for Christopher Burton by narrowest of margins 00:51 All eyes on Tokyo 2020: meet the team behind Britain’s renewed eventing success 01:26 Ever wondered what it takes to be a doctor at Burghley? Watch this video to find out… 01:43 'It's effort after effort': top riders share their thoughts on the 2017 Burghley cross-country course 03:45 What do Zara Tindall, Mark Todd and Harry Meade make of the 2017 Burghley course? 03:47 Amy Woodhead: how working for Carl Hester has set her up for success 06:14

  • Find out what some of the world's top event riders, such as Tina Cook, Andrew Nicholson and Harry Meade make of this year's Burghley cross-country course

    The cross-country course at this year’s 2017 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials looks set to be as challenging as ever.

    The track, designed by Captain Mark Phillips since 2005, is 6400mm in length and has an optimum time of 11min 14sec.

    Tina Cook said: “As always, it is a dimensionally big course. I like the fact that there are still a lot of combination fences with alternatives where you can choose depending on how your horse is travelling and how they are coping with the crowd. The ground is perfect and I would hope the horses will travel really well on it.”

    Andrew Nicholson was in agreement saying: “It’s typical Burghley — big, difficult but very jumpable. It’s effort after effort all the way round and horses will need to be really fit.”

    Willa Newton said: “It’s very well presented and there are difficult combinations — the Dairy Farm and the Trout Hatchery are very tough, and I think the new loop incorporating Storm Doris will make horses very tired going all the way up to the Cottesmore Leap from there.”

    Harry Meade said: “The terrain plays a big part at Burghley — the first three minutes are virtually uphill the whole way. There are lots of places that could cause problems and it will require a great deal of concentration.”

    Sarah Bullimore said: “Winners’ Avenue was quite a pull last year, so with the extra distance from the bottom of the hill at Storm Doris, it will be tough early on.”

     

    Continued below…

    This is the third year that the course has run clockwise. Two riders made the optimum time in 2015, while none made it last year, so this could prove influential.

    Don’t miss this week’s H&H (on sale today, Thursday 31 August), including a Burghley pull-out with full form guide, dressage test, course map and more.

    You may like...