Burton reigns in Badminton before tough Cross-Country Day

A proud day for the Australians at Dressage Day 2 with Christopher Burton producing a flawless test on Graf Liberty, shooting to first position on 32.9 and leaving the packed Badminton grandstands cheering in awe.

Placing 3.5 penalties behind five-time German Olympian, Ingrid Klimke, Burton was all smiles of gratitude when leaving the arena this afternoon, warmly welcomed by friends, fellow Australian competitors and pregnant wife Bek.

View Chris Burton on his Dressage Test

The remaining three Australians to complete their dressage today all produced strong performances within the top 20 of the competitive field of 94.

Sam Griffiths, a consistent high-scoring contender on Olympic mount Paulank Brockagh, rode an accurate test scoring 42.5, placing in 11th position.

Following closely is Paul Tapner & Bonza King of Rouges on 43.9 at number 15, an impressive result for the horse’s first test in an atmospheric environment at this level.

Olympic legend Andrew Hoy and Badminton newcomer Rutherglen were close behind on 44.0 in 16th position, a confident result for Hoy’s second mount across the event.

With high anticipation riders look towards the cross country phase on Saturday 6 May, where Eric Winter’s first attempt of the Badminton track featuring 30 fences across a 6600m track with an optimum time of 11min 35sec, is creating lots of talkability.

Dubbed around the ground as ‘the toughest Badminton in a while’, Australian rider, Andrew Hoy said to Horse&Hound Magazine: “The brush fences are very big, standing at 1.40-1.45m and you’ve got to be very committed.”

Shane Rose and hearty thoroughbred, Shangai Joe, are sure to draw spectating fans in the flesh and online, starting cross country at 12:18pm on Saturday UK time and 9:18pm in Sydney. Originally produced as a racehorse, ‘Nugget’ has a sound reputation as ‘a horse with heart’ and his first introduction to Badminton will be a challenging welcome to the world’s renowned 4**** tracks.

Preview the infamous Badminton cross-country course

We wish all the riders a safe and successful day in the cross country phase tomorrow.