FEI Barefoot Retreats Burnham Market International Horse Trials – Friday Round-up

The opening day of the Barefoot Retreats Burnham Market International Horse Trials delivered a fabulous start to the weekend, with some impressive performances and enthusiastic crowds setting the tone for an exciting three days of sport.

In the CCI4*-S, New Zealand’s Clarke Johnstone and Rocket Man have taken an early lead after the first day of dressage with a score of 26.7. This class is looking set for a thrilling finale on Sunday, with the top five so far all separated by less than one mark and many more combinations hoping to stake their claim tomorrow – including last year’s champions, Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent.

“I was fairly pleased with my test”, said Clarke. “There were a couple of mistakes, but Rocket Man is a very beautiful horse, luckily for me. There were some real highlights as well – he did two good changes, which makes quite a difference in this test, where you get two marks for each change.

“I’m not sure if we’ll still be in the lead after tomorrow, I think I’ll probably be surprised if we are, but a really good place to be after today and nice that he’s feeling quite fresh and looking forward to the cross country. I’ve been out and had a look at the course and looking forward to tackling that on Sunday.”

Emily King and Jackpot currently have the lead in the CCI3*-S class, producing a lovely test for a score of 25.3. Shashank Kanumuri and Gideon II (26.2), and Jenny Caras and Sommersby (26.9) complete the top three after the first day of competition.

The national class winners on Friday were:

Novice Section C, Clarke Johnstone and LT Holst Mackintosh (31.8)
Novice Section D, Aaron Otway and Jack Sparrow (29.3)
Open Novice Section E, Bernhard Reemtsma and Lougherne Cash In Hand (27.8)
Open Novice under 18 Section E1, Sofia Paul and Versailles Des Morins (34.8)
BE100 Section F, Caroline Powell and Halcyon Happy Hour (32.3)
BE100 Section G, Willa Newton and Cortada (28.5)
BE100 Open Section H, Emily Philp and Ballinamurra Intrepid (27.5)
BE100 Open under 18 Section H1, Flora Cheney and Speaks Volumes (22.5)
GO BE100 Section H2, Alicia Wilkinson and FGF Eagle Star (36.3)

Come along

With the promise of a weekend of fantastic sport, why not come and join us! Tickets are available on the gate, cash payments only. A cash machine is available in the Spar in Docking. Gates open at 8am tomorrow and Sunday. 

Watch live

Those unable to make it in person can still be part of the weekend, with live and on demand coverage of Saturday and Sunday’s international classes available via ClipMyHorse.TV.

View the courses

All the cross country courses are available to view at CrossCountry App here, https://www.crosscountryapp.com