(Burghley, UK, 6 September 2013) Jonathan Paget (NZL) riding Clifton Promise is in 1st place after the Dressage phase at the 2013 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. Ingrid Klimke (GER) riding FRH Butts Abraxxas is in 2nd place, with Andrew Nicholson (NZL) riding Nereo in 3rd place. Current Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing prize contender Jonathan Paget is also lying in joint 5th place on Clifton Lush.
Rider Quotes
Jonathan Paget riding Clifton Promise
Q. How did that test compare with your Badminton test, which you went on to win?
I thought that test was a lot better than the Badminton test, he got a little bit tense there – but here he was just consistent all the way through.
Q. Do you feel under pressure coming here as the Badminton winner?
I think you can put pressure on yourself and this is a new kind of pressure for me because I’ve not won a four star before – but you’re always under pressure at these big events.
Q. Are you planning to take all the quick routes in the Cross Country tomorrow?
I haven’t finished my plan yet on how I’m going to ride and it will probably vary throughout the day depending how it goes, but I’m here to win and I’ll do everything I can to win.
Q. Which of your two horses do you think will cope better with the course tomorrow?
I think it’s probably a combination of both, as Lush is turning and thinking on his feet, and Promise will be strong at the start of the course, but Lush hasn’t got as big a stride as Promise so he might struggle with some of the distances – but apart from that both very strong at cross country.
Andrew Nicholson riding Nereo
Q. Looking at tomorrow – how is it going to suit you and Nereo?
He’s done all sorts of courses all over the world – he will naturally prefer a big galloping course as he’s got a massive powerful stride but he has run round here a few times – he’s dealt with it before and I’m sure he’ll deal with it again tomorrow.
Q. How do you compare your dressage day with Badminton?
I think it was a step up from Badminton – the whole test was a lot more polished and a bit more correct – today was a lot more smooth and consistent.
Q. Out of all the technical questions on tomorrow’s course, which do you think is the most difficult?
I think it’s pretty consistent all the way round, but for me probably the most difficult is the Dairy Mounds – skinny brushes on the hill. I know from other years that whatever is on the Dairy Mounds takes a lot more jumping than what you think as the horses are a little tired by the time you get there – perhaps it’s because I’ve been around too many times and know where the horses feel tired and where they don’t.
Cross Country Course Designer – Capt Mark Phillips
Q. What were you setting out to do when you designed this course?
The Dairy Mound is at seven minutes so all the serious questions are in the first seven minutes, hopefully before the horses get too tired. I think after that, riders will be disappointed if they make a mistake.
I think if horses are down at five minutes (on the time) then it’s just a question of how much they can get back in 7, 8, 9, 10 minutes because at ten minutes it’s the Burghley Station and I don’t think there is any time to get it back after that.
Q. What effect does it have on you when you hear that Ingrid Klimke says it’s the most daunting course she has ever encountered?!
I think the people I have spoken to say it is a ‘real four star’ course – and I don’t know how to say it but perhaps it’s more of a four star than some others that we’ve seen recently!
Copyright Free Audio Post Dressage Day 2 Press Conference
For an audio interview of the post Day 2 Dressage press conference featuring Jonathan Paget, Andrew Nicholson and cross-country Course Designer – Capt Mark Phillips, please click link here: http://po.st/ihmgMm.
Results after Day 2 Dressage
1 Jonathan Paget/Clifton Promise (NZL) 36.7
2 Ingrid Klimke/FRH Butts Abraxxas (GER) 39.0
3 Andrew Nicholson/Nereo (NZL) 41.3
4 William Fox-Pitt/Parklane Hawk (GBR) 41.5
5= Jonathan Paget/Clifton Lush (NZL) 42.0
5= Andreas Dibowski/FRH Butts Leon (GER) 42.0
For more information on the 2013 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and full Results/Leaderboard, please visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk.
A New Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing Contender
Having won the 2013 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, Paget is now in the unique position of being able to compete for the US$350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing Prize – to do so, he will need to repeat his success from Badminton and claim a win at this year’s Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. If he can complete this immense challenge, he will go forward to the 2014 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, with a win making him only the second person to be a Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing Champion, joining Pippa Funnell.
Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing
In 2001, Rolex created the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing. This prize is awarded to the rider who manages to win the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials and the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials event in any consecutive order. Until now, only British rider Pippa Funnell has managed this staggering achievement, winning the title in 2003.
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