Burghley - Fox-Pitt Club walk

Sam Clarke from the Professional Riders Organization joined in on the Club course walk and took this wonderful video at the Discovery Valley - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9zxnyqBaFY&feature=youtu.be.  

William Fox-Pitt told us he was very relieved that Bay My Hero behaved better in the dressage phase than he did in the First Horse Inspection, (which he spent most of on his hind legs!) and shared that luckily he's basically a show-off, "He likes to be a bit of a show-off and he likes to get things right but it's a long time to wait until Friday afternoon and he's been dying to get going, I'm thrilled with him, he's really coming up. This is a big step up for him in his flatwork, he's gone from 44 in Kentucky to into the 30s now which is very exciting, it's great to break that barrier!" 

 

Looking forward to the cross country on Saturday, "As always it's a serious track and it needs huge respect; I think [Captain Mark Phillips] has used the terrain, the combinations and the siting of the fences in a very clever way and I think it's going to take some jumping. In some areas he's maybe been a little softer, maybe a little bit kinder earlier down the lines, certainly in the leaf pit, I was very happy not to be coming off that horrible step, certainly there's nothing too nasty at the bottom but the jump through the sun requires attention but I think then you have the serious questions from the Maltings to the Trout Hatchery to the Rolex to the Dairy Mound which is quite an intense period of the track and I think it's going to take some jumping." 

 

What is Burghley like? "It's nervewracking! You've really go to have the horses on the job. Riders have got to be sharp and making no mistakes, you have to judge the terrain and judge your horse and trust that you and your horse cope well with it and come back nice and comfortably inside the time!" 

 

Bay My Hero had been on the back burner as Chilli Morning's back up for WEG just in case he was needed, and Parklane Hawk was also going to come to The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials Official Page but William explained that as he was short of any runs this autumn he and owner Catherine Witt decided not to run him after all, "He doesn't owe us anything, he's coming here purely for our benefit and one less run this year might mean one more run in the future." 

 

William also elaborated that even though he only rode one horse last at WEG last week he almost felt as if he'd ridden three or four, "It's the adrenalin - when you're in a team your adrenalin is peaking for Zara, peaking for Nicola, peaking for Tina and by the end of the day it feels like you've ridden round that course six times and I think it's a very different thing, of course you're in a team and you're under pressure and you're trying to create a result and there are expectations, but I'm used to that and if I can't cope with that now....!" Chilli Morning is reportedly very happy to be home, lying flat out in the stable and in his field before he goes to West Kington Stud to have his semen collected.

 

Below are some photos from the walk.