Three American Equestrian Stars Shine in Cross-Country, Secure Top Spots Ahead of the Next Challenge

The prestigious equestrian event 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials is in progress. The crowd has witnessed an ultimate competition between the riders who are participating in the event from around the world. The competition which has a reputation of being challenging is near the end after the cross-country phase.

The cross-country event in which the riders competed among the beautiful landscape is the major attraction of the event. After the cross-country phase, a list was released by the authorities on the completion of the cross-country phase which was led by the British equestrian Oliver Townsend abroad Ballaghmor Class with 33 points. The list also included three U.S. participants among the top spot which was shared online and garnered attention.

American equestrian shine at Burghley

The Burghley horse trail is considered one of the toughest in the world and holds a special place in the hearts of the equestrian riders who dream of participating in it. This year the event had 58 participants from different parts of the globe. Among them, three Americans have secured a spot among the top fifteen in the list released after the cross-country event. The news was shared by the U.S. equestrian on X with a caption saying, “A Burghley cross-country day has three (tagging US Eventing) athletes sitting in the top 15 heading into show jumping tomorrow!“.

In the list, Boyd Martin secured the ninth and tenth positions on different horses. He secured tenth place riding On Cue with 50.6 points and ninth position riding Tsetsorleg TSF with 49.7 points. The third athlete was Jennie Saville who rode FE Lifestyle and secured twelfth position with 51.5 points. Another athlete, Will Faudree, missed the top fifteen with a rank. He secured the sixteenth position riding Mama’s Magic Way with 54.2 points. The other participants from the States were Grace Taylor at the Thirty-Fourth position who rode Game Changer but withdrew from the race and Tiana Coudrey at the Fifty-Third position who rode Cancaras Girl but was eliminated in the cross country section. Now, the event proceeds into the last section, the show jumping after it will interesting to the final list. Boyd Martin who is in the lead among the American contingent had his share of events at the cross-country.

Boyd Martin’s incident at cross-country

Boyd Martin started his cross-country trial with perfect display riding on Tsetserleg TSF. As he was approaching the Boodles Raindance at fence 24/25ab he stopped by the authorities of the trails.  The authority personnel thought that they saw a speck of blood on the horse therefore they stopped Martin so that veterinarians and technical delegates have a close inspection of the horse.

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Then, to clear their doubt they asked Martin to turn around and from a standstill jump the biggest fence. Though it was frustrating for the rider he complied with the demand for the love of the horse and respect of the authority. After that, they cleared him and he continued his journey on the cross-country trial.

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