Andrew Nicholson has broken Burghley records after he claimed his third consecutive victory at the horse trials with his sensational partner Avebury.
Two fences in hand
Last to go, Andrew had two fences in hand as he entered the showjumping on 46.1pen after his biggest threat Sam Griffiths knocked two poles with Happy Times.
This pushed Sam down to third place and afforded Andrew some breathing space, as the next best score was Jock Paget on 55.1pen.
Andrew didn’t need breathing space, however, as he managed to leave all the fences up and brought Avebury home with just two time faults to win the competition.
Hat-trick
Andrew and Avebury claimed their first Burghley title in 2012, and were awarded the 2013 win after Jock Paget was stripped of the honour due to doping charges. Jock has since been cleared and returned to competition this summer.
This year’s victory makes it a hat-trick of wins for the combination – something which has never been done before.
Knowing a new Burghley record was in the offing, no-one would blame the Kiwi for feeling the pressure, but the seasoned campaigner remained characteristically cool-headed as he entered the arena.
“I told myself I have just got to get on and win the competition,” he said. “I just thought keep my cool and ride him like I ride him and trust him to do his job.”
A few close rubs
Despite completing almost foot-perfect, there were gasps from the crowd when Avebury rubbed a few of the poles.
“He felt like he was just rubbing them in front,” said Andrew. “It is very rare that he has a pole down in front so I wasn’t too worried about them falling. He is 14 and knows how to rub jumps. I think he wants to leave them up and he knows how to do it economically.”
Not Jock’s day
Second place went to Jock Paget and Clifton Promise, who made their return to eventing in June, just in time to represent New Zealand at the World Equestrian Games.
Jock was leading the competition after the dressage, but dropped down to third after the cross-country phase, where speed turned out to be the biggest decider.
A clear round in the showjumping kept him in top-place contention, but the day belonged to Andrew.
“My horse gave me everything and it wasn’t good enough to win on the day so it wasn’t my competition,” he told H&C.
Cheap rails
Australia’s Sam Griffiths also put in a fantastic performance with 15-year-old Happy Times to claim third place.
After a great dressage score and a strong round across the country, Sam entered the showjumping phase just 3.7pen behind Andrew, but two costly poles pushed him back down the standings.
“I was desperate to try and do a clear and put a bit of pressure on Andrew,” said Sam. “I felt I had a couple of cheap rails, but the jumping can be a bit of an Achilles heel for Happy Times.
“It is always disappointing not to go clear but a third at Burghley is an immense thrill.”