Todd, Leonidas II on top at Burghley
Kiwi equestrian legend Sir Mark Todd is on course for a sixth Burghley Horse Trials victory after a stunning dressage test from onform mount Leonidas II.
And fellow evergreen New Zealand rider Andrew Nicholson, on Badminton winner Nereo, is also well in contention, lying fourth behind the 61-year-old Todd who leads the field after yesterday’s dressage on 36.7 penalty points.
The Kiwi combo’s foot-perfect effort saw them finish just .3 of a point ahead of American Lauren Kieffer, aboard Veronica II, on 37, while Germany’s Michael Jung, aboard La Biosthetique Sam FBW, is third on 38.9, with Nicholson on 39.5.
New Zealand’s Tim Price and Ringwood Sky Boy sit in sixth place on 41.3, and he is also 17th equal with Xavier Faer on 46.5. Caroline Powell and Onwards and Upwards scored 49.5 to sit in 27th, with Nicholson and Qwanza right behind them on 49.6. Powell is also in 44th with Spice Sensation on 55.7.
But the day belonged to Todd – a five-time winner at Burghley who first competed at the world famous UK event nearly 40 years ago. His last win at the four-star competition was in 1999 and he’d love nothing more than another victory on his 13-year-old mount.
‘‘I may have won Burghley five times, but I haven’t won it this century,’’ he said. ‘‘Finally this horse is starting to grow up. When I got him as a six-year-old he was so impetuous, but now he knows what he’s meant to do and I’ve got every confidence in him.’’
Todd, who is eyeing a potential ninth Olympic appearance in Tokyo, was now looking forward to the Captain Mark Phillips-designed cross country (overnight, NZ time).
‘‘Burghley is always Burghley. It is big. I would say he has maybe made it a little less technical than last year but you would be very foolish to take it cheaply,’’ said Todd, who plans to take all the direct routes.
Nicholson, who is also a five-time winner at Burghley, has a similar gameplan for his two mounts.
‘‘I will start off positively and ride according to plan,’’ he said. ‘‘My main plan is to go direct everywhere. Once you start going long ways you can mount up an awful lot of time faults.’’
He was pleased with his ‘‘very reliable’’ Spanish gelding Nereo.
‘‘He is a pleasure to ride in there.’’
Price also has two on the card and is confident both will give a good showing. ‘‘It is a three-phase game here,’’ he said. ‘‘I think these horses are both all-rounders. They are not out-and-out dressage horses, so they have both done their optimum.’’