TOWNEND AND TAYLOR LEAD AT HAMBRO SPORT HORSES BURGHAM
TOWNEND AND TAYLOR LEAD AT HAMBRO SPORT HORSES BURGHAM
TOWNEND AND TAYLOR LEAD AT HAMBRO SPORT HORSES BURGHAM
Olympic team gold medallist and world number one Oliver Townend is in pole position once again at Hambro Sport Horses Burgham International Horse Trials – an event at which he has enjoyed multiple wins in the past few years.
Riding Paul and Diana Ridgeon’s 14-year-old Swallow Springs, on whom he was third at Badminton this spring, Oliver scored 22.6 in the dressage to top section H of the feature class at the Northumberland event, the Hambro Sport Horses CCI4*-S.
Oliver said: “It’s great to be back at Burgham, which has been a happy place for me and my team over the years. It’s just a shame that Swallow Springs’ owners weren’t able to be here to see him – I was very pleased with the way he went and he’s a lovely horse to ride.”
Young British star Yasmin Ingham is close behind him with a score of 23.7 on Moorecroft Ltd’s Rehy DJ.
Izzy Taylor, winner of Burgham’s CCI4*-S in 2021, heads up the second section of the Hambro Sport Horses CCI4*-S (section I), having achieved a mark of 25.4 aboard Sarah van Vegchel’s 11-year-old mare Ringwood Madras. Izzy has a 2.6-mark lead over local rider Harry Mutch, who scored a personal best of 28 on Carole Mutch’s HD Bronze.
Izzy said: “The exciting thing about ‘Maddie’ is that I think there is so much more to come from her. This weekend should set her up well for Burghley in September.”
In the Howard Russell Construction Ltd CCI3*-S, Oliver Townend also is in first place in section A with 23.3 on Cooley Rosalent, while his team-mate from the Tokyo Olympics, Tom McEwen, is in control in section B with a mark of 27.7 aboard Brookfield Cavalier Cruise.
The CCI3*-S competitors progress to showjumping and dressage tomorrow (Friday, 29 July), while dressage continues for the CCI4*-S class and the Holme Dodsworth Metals Ltd CCI2*-S gets underway. There are also British Eventing national classes at intermediate and novice level.
There are a great selection of tradestands and food and drink outlets to help spectators enjoy a great day out in the picturesque Northumbrian countryside.
For more information and a full timetable, and to buy event tickets, please visit www.burghaminternationalhorsetrials.co.uk.
About Burgham International Horse Trials
Burgham Horse Trials was founded in 2011 and achieved international status in 2014. It is situated near the A1 between Alnwick and Morpeth and is Northumberland’s premier international event. It runs national classes at BE100, novice and intermediate level, and international classes at CCI4*-S, CCI3*-S and CCI2*-S level.
