Stamford, England—Sept. 6

Andrew Nicholson rocketed to the top of the leaderboard after cross-country at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, and in doing so, he set himself up for a record third title with Rosemary and Mark Barlow’s brilliant gray Avebury.

The combination once again gave a masterclass in handling the unique demands of Burghley’s undulations and varying terrain, turning in the fastest time of the day for 5.6 time penalties.

“Avebury goes his best when I ride him like I stole him, so that’s what I tried to do,” said Nicholson. “For the first three minutes I rode him a bit quieter than I normally would, but as soon as I started putting on a bit more pressure; turning up tight and taking the inside line, he started to really operate and felt like he was loving it.”

No one achieved the 11:19 optimum time, and those who could get within a minute of it found themselves shooting up the leaderboard.

Australia’s Sam Griffiths and Happy Times, owned by Steve and Dinah Posford and Juliet Donald, lie in second place, less than a fence behind the leaders.

“I went quite early so I didn’t allude to the fact that no one was making the time,” said Griffiths, who clocked up 9.6 time penalties.

Great Britain’s Oliver Townend and Paul Ridgeon’s grand old Land Rover Burghley campaigner Armada climbed from 12th to third with the second quickest round of the day.

“We all know Armada and what a wonderful cross-country horse he is,” said Townend. “If you put him in the right place and in the right gear to jump the fences he’ll do his best for you.”

After rerouting from the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games following a runout early on course, New Zealand’s Jock Paget lies fourth with Clifton Promise, while Izzy Taylor (KBIS Briarlands Matilda) and William Fox-Pitt (Bay My Hero) complete the top six going into show jumping.

Hannah Burnett is the highest-placed U.S. rider, sitting seventh with Harbour Pilot. She moved up seven places after dressage with her clean cross-country round.

“I’ve been so nervous this week, more nervous than ever before,” said Burnett of her first Burghley experience. “The course rode extremely fast. After the combinations it felt pretty good; he was jumping fantastically. He actually accelerated up the hill to the last fence. I was like, ‘Is this really happening?’ He actually pulled both hind shoes. I didn’t notice until I went to [fence 29, the Lincolnshire Goose,] which is like the scariest jump on the course because it’s so upright, and they’re so tired. He’s the best horse in the world!”

Next is Allison Springer with Arthur, who incurred a runout at fence 19B, a corner in the Rolex combination, to drop to 20th place.

Marilyn Little is in 24th after going clean but breaking a frangible pin at 18B, the corner that was part of the Malting’s Bounce combination. Meghan O’Donoghue and Pirate suffered a fall at the same corner. Both horse and rider are OK.

Sadly, Orto, a horse ridden by Sara Squires, was euthanized after hitting his stifle on fence 19. The fence was part of the Rolex combination, and there was no fall of horse or rider.

Of the 63 horses that went out on course, 24 were either eliminated or retired. Despite the good ground conditions the water elements in particular proved tough.

“It was a little rougher than I thought,” said course designer Capt. Mark Phillips. “I have to say most of the fences rode like I thought they were going to ride, in fact pretty much all of them. In that respect it was good. I really didn’t anticipate the time being so difficult to get. Whether they watered the course too much or it had too many twists or turns, I didn’t see that one coming. It was like I sort of picked the wheel up a minute from the end when I didn’t.

“When the time is impossible to get, you put the horses and riders under more pressure,” he continued. “Then the picture’s not quite so good, and you get one or two more mistakes because people are under pressure. It finished up being a little bit of a rough day for me as a designer because we’ve got some wonderful horses and riders, and they weren’t all able to produce the picture that I would’ve liked them to be able to produce.”

For full results, visit the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials website.