ONLY IN HORSE & HOUND - 'Let's have more vertical fences'

Andrew Nicholson analyses Burghley's course and which riders impressed

WHEN I walked the Burghley cross-country course early on the Friday morning of the event, I thought it had a smoother feel to it than in 2022. It posed difficult questions, but riders could get into the swing of it a little earlier, which is a sign of designer Derek di Grazia knowing the place better second time around.

I was still fascinated by the way riders jump off the drop at the Holland Cooper Leaf Pit and are in a hurry to get their horse to the next element – the big brush oxer – forgetting they’ve got to line up the skinny third part.

I know the drop and the ground encourages horses to run, but it is the rider’s job to say, no, wait a fraction longer here, and get their line right, rather than only thinking about getting over the oxer.

I thought the Defender Trout Hatchery, with its uphill bounce into water, rode very well. And the carved wooden hare to the two corners at the Joules at the Maltings jumped better than I expected. In my experience, horses aren’t so sharp with their legs over something that appears to look different, as the hare did, but perhaps that made riders respect it more.