Three horses held and one withdrawn at Burghley first trot-up

Three horses were sent to the holding box and one of those was then withdrawn at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials first trot-up this afternoon (4 September).

Tom Crisp did not bring back Liberty And Glory, owned by his wife Sophie and her parents Patricia and Robin Balfour, after the ground jury sent her to the holding box on first inspection. This pair finished ninth at Burghley in 2022 and 14th here last year.

The other two horses who were held both passed on re-inspection. They were Swiss rider Nadja Minder’s ride Toblerone (owned by Nicole Basieux) and Wakita 54, owned and ridden by US competitor Andrew McConnon. Nadja, the Swiss alternate at the Paris Olympics with this horse, has based herself with Piggy March – winner here in 2022 with Vanir Kamira – for this later part of the season and her first tilt at Burghley.

Sixty-seven horses came before the ground jury, consisting of president Christina Klingspor of Sweden, plus Britain’s Nick Burton and the USA’s Robert Stevenson. There will therefore be 66 starters in the dressage, following the withdrawal of Liberty And Glory.

Two Irish pairs were among the late withdrawals before the Burghley Horse Trials first trot-up. Joseph Murphy did not come forward with Calmaro, owned by Claire and Charlie Mayne and Annette O’Callaghan and nor did the Badminton Horse Trials runners-up Lucy Latta and RCA Patron Saint, owned by Alison, David and Leslie Crampton.

As usual at the trot-up, the riders with multiple horses came forward first. Harry Meade is the only competitor starting on three mounts (Superstition, Cavalier Crystal and Annaghmore Valoner), while New Zealand’s Tim Price, Britain’s Ros Canter, Pippa Funnell and Matthew Heath, France’s Gaspard Maksud and Ireland’s Susie Berry all have two.

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