Kiwi Eventers Burghley Bound

Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier will be hunting down a second 5* win of the season when they start this week at the prestigious Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the UK.
Hot on the back of their win in May at Badminton, the duo are one of eight Kiwi combos starting in the 75-strong field in Stamford.

NZL-Caroline Powell rides Greenacres Special Cavalier during the CCI5* Cross Country. Interim-6th. 2024 GBR-MARS Badminton Horse Trials CCI5*. Gloucestershire. Great Britain. Saturday 11 May. Copyright Photo: Libby Law Photography

World no.6 Tim Price has two on the start card including his Tokyo Olympic mount Vitali on whom he placed fourth in 2023 at Burghley when he also set a new best-ever dressage score for the event with an eye-watering 18.7. The combination were recently eighth at Badminton and were third at Burghley in 2022. They have not been out of the top 10 in their five 5* starts.

He’s also in on Viscount Viktor who has completions at Luhmuhlen and Pau. “I am looking forward to this week,” said Tim. “It sounds like the cross country is going to be very demanding and Burghley-esque . . . as it should be. It is fun to jump these massive tracks and try and do a good job, so that is what I want to do.”

Caroline and Greenacres Special Cavalier, New Zealand’s alternate for the Paris Olympic Games, last month won the CCI4*-S at Blair Castle. In her usual understated way, Caroline figured they’d “go do it, have a good time and see what happens”. Caroline previously won Burghley in 2010 aboard Lenamore.

US-based Monica Spencer, who was on the reserve list with Artist for the Paris Games, opted to stay on for Burghley. “In the lead up to the Olympic Games, all my focus was on that, but once that was over I thought let’s redirect and stay on and give Burghley a crack,” she said. “So here we are!” She has already watched the Derek di Grazia-designed cross country preview and is excited to get underway with her first-ever Burghley.

“I have had some great support to enable Max (Artist) and I to stay in the UK and make this dream happen.” She says it is “pretty surreal” to be heading to “arguably the toughest event in the world”. “Everybody tells me I have a Burghley horse so it is time to find out.”

Monica Spencer and Artist, Kentucky CCI5*, 2024, Cross Country. Photo Credit Shannon Brinkman

Dan Jocelyn and Blackthorn Cruise will start in their second Burghley as will Lauren Innes and Global Fision M. Jonelle Price lines up aboard her Pau 2022 5* winner Grappa Nera who has placed sixth at Badminton but on debut at Burghley. Also making their first start together at Burghley is Jesse Campbell and Cooley Lafitte who this year placed 15th at Badminton.

The first horse inspection is on Wednesday afternoon (UK time), followed by two days of dressage, the all-important cross country on Saturday and the Paul Connor-designed showjumping on Sunday. There is a whopping £366,500 prize pool on offer, with a winner’s pot of £110,000. With 22 Olympians entered, including two members of Britain’s gold-medal winning team at Paris, competition is going to be fierce. Entries have come in from far and wide, including France, Ireland, the United States, Japan, Australia and Switzerland.

Burghley has a strong Kiwi connection. Since it was first contested in 1961both Sir Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson have hoisted the trophy five times apiece. Andrew has completed Burghley Horse Trials more times than any other rider – a staggering 36 times, notching five wins, five seconds and six thirds. Andrew and Avebury made history across the board, becoming the only rider, horse and rider/horse combination to have won the Burghley title three consecutive years with their 2012, 2013 and 2014 run.
Tim Price was the latest Kiwi to triumph at Burghley with his win in 2018 aboard Ringwood Sky Boy. Also claiming wins are Blyth Tait (1998 and 2001) and Caroline Powell (2010).

New Zealand is also represented in the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse competition with Muzi Pottinger aboard Phip Whtehead’s Renkum Celeste in the four-year-old final, and Clarke Johnstone’s on Jean Johnstone and Janene Maxwell’s Indigo Blue in the five-year-old final.

These days more than 173,000 spectators will attend over the four days. It is one of just seven 5* events in the world. Burghley is also part of the £230,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, the richest prize in the sport which goes to the rider who consecutively wins Burghley, the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and the Mars Badminton Horse Trials. Only Pippa Funnell (GBR) and Michael Jung (GER) have won the prize since it was introduced.

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By Diana Dobson – HP Media Liaison
Photos by Libby Law/ESNZ