2012 season

XC, Saturday 4th September

Saturday at Burghley dawned clear and sunny, unlike the previous day when we had been covering the 4- and 5-year old Dubarry Young Event Horse finals in Ring 2, when both horse and rider often disappeared into the mist at the far side of the ring!

There is always a special atmosphere on XC day at any major three- or four-star event, which is difficult to describe unless you are there – it’s a mix of anticipation, adrenaline, excitement and very real concern that all the competitors, both human and equine, will get safely to the finish.

And although some people were describing Mark Phillip’s course as rather less challenging than in 2009, to the spectator on the ground, those jumps still looked HUGE! The expectation was that the jump that last year caused quite a few problems – the Cascade – might do so again. But whether forewarned or better prepared, riders and horses took it well in their stride this year, although there were some very vocal encouragements going on at the approach! William Fox-Pitt showed how to do it in style and with no drama as he took Macchiato over it, as did Nick Gauntlett on Rocket Science (below).

Walking the course also gives an idea of how tricky the ground can be in places. Sometimes as a spectator you assume that there’s a chance to relax a little on the long galloping stretches, but an example of how you can’t afford to be complacent if you are riding the course came at the long stretch running downhill to the Trout Hatchery where several horses almost stumbled. Not only was the ground slightly uneven, but the camber on one side sloped a little away to the left, easy for the unwary to miss. We saw a master at work in Andrew Nicholson, who set Avebury up perfectly as he brought him down the hill, steering just enough to guide him away from the camber.

Ruth Edge was at the top of the leader board after the dressage phase on Thursday and Friday, with 38.3, closely followed by Caroline Powell, the eventual winner, on 38.7, Oliver Townend on 39.2, and William Fox-Pitt on Seacookie (below) (40.3). With a total of just 2 points separating the first four, it was going to be interesting to see how the order changed after the XC phase.