Half the field of 90 starters kicked off the first day of dressage at the Burghley CCI**** in England, with Andrew Hoy of Australia leading on Moon Fleet, with a score of 44.4. Polly Stockton on Tangleman follows, on 44.8, with Olympic individual silver medalist Leslie Law staking his claim on third with a 46.0 score aboard Shear H2O.

Eleven American riders made the trip across the Atlantic to compete at Burghley. The journey ended yesterday at the first horse inspection for promising young rider Will Faudree and Antigua, who had been short-listed for the Olympic team. After suffering a close nail while being shod on Friday, Antigua looked uneven on the pavement in front of the ground jury and wasn’t accepting after being held and re-presented. All the other American horses passed.

Ashley MacVaugh was the first U.S. rider this morning, with All’s Fair, and turned in a score of 64.4 to lie 37th. Nina Fout and 3 Magic Beans had a well-contained test, with little of “Beanie’s” typical tension, but the judges didn’t mark them well, giving them 4s and 5s on their lateral work. Beanie’s canter work was better, with nice changes. They stand 31st with 62.0. Gina Miles and McKinlaigh are in 28th place with 60.6, while Heidi White is the highest-placed American at the moment, currently in 11th with a score of 55.0.

Tomorrow, Kim Morani on Test Run goes third in the day, with Gretchen Butts and Zydeco four horses later. Linden Wiesman and Primitive Gold will also perform, as will John Williams and Sloopy. Jan Thompson and Task Force will wrap up the American effort tomorrow.

But some big names go tomorrow as well, which should shuffle the standings a bit. Last year’s winner, Pippa Funnell, is due to ride Cornerman, while Andrew Hoy has another ride, Master Monarch. Blyth Tait rides Eze tomorrow, and William Fox-Pitt is on the schedule with Ballincoola. Andrew Nicholson, who’s currently 19th with the 2000 Burghley winner Mr. Smiffy, will ride Lord Killinghurst.

But Burghley is anything but a dressage show, and with their first glimpses at the cross-country course, the riders know that Saturday should shake things up dramatically. The course is long, almost 13 minutes, with 28 jumps and 46 jumping efforts. Burghley’s constantly undulating terrain will test the horses’ fitness and make the time very hard to make. Early in the course comes the combination in the arena, at fences 4 and 5AB. After nipping into the corner of the main arena, riders jump a tall, white, very vertical gate, followed by a bending seven strides left to a large table, with a bending four strides to the right to a gaping Liverpool fence. (See the photo gallery for an image of 5A).

Check in tomorrow for a full wrap-up of the dressage action, and more photos and analysis of the cross-country course.