Lexington, KY – This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials which means there was no better place to showcase the first grant recipients of the Land Rover Competition and Training Grants awarded to three of the six U.S. eventing riders in attendance.
Leading the charge, fresh from being named to the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the 2011 Pan American Games after his second place performance at the Mandatory Outing at Richland Park in Michigan last weekend, is Michael Pollard (Dalton, GA).
He may have been the last American to arrive in the U.K but he arrives on top form. In addition to his second place finish on Schoensgreen Hanni, he also won an Advanced division on DV8 and was second in the CIC2* on Jude’s Law.
His attention now turns to Icarus, a 13-year-old former racehorse owned by his wife Nathalie and his mother-in-law Meike Hanssens. Pollard is no stranger to top-level competition. With Icarus, he scored a 19th place finish at the Rolex Kentucky CCI4* presented by Bridgestone in April. He completed his first CCI4* in 2002 and was the Young Rider of the Year in 2001. He is also the CEO of Cavalor North America.
“It feels great to arrive (at Burghley),” said Pollard. “A large part of the work is done just getting here. Now we all just need to show our best.”
Continue reading Six Americans Take On the 2011 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials