Holly Richardson revels in fine start to Burghley Horse Trials

Richardson, 30, steered 14-year-old gelding Bally Louis to a dressage score of 35.9, one mark better than their marking in the same phase in their maiden run last year.

The pair have been working together since 2019 and Richardson said she was delighted to see her charge coming on leaps and bounds.

“I’m really happy, it’s an improvement on last year and we stayed really calm in there which is the main thing,” said Richardson, who is based in Richmond, North Yorkshire.

“It’s a little quieter doing the dressage phase on a Thursday as opposed to Friday but you still know you’re at Burghley when you walk in there.

“It was a good debut last year, it helped with the pressure off and he was really great but I’m really pleased with our start.”

The world-famous 5* event is regarded by many of the riders as the best in the world and the field for this year is bigger and better than ever with a record-breaking field of entrants including eight 5* winners.

Burghley’s prestigious reputation in the equestrian calendar parallels its notoriety for playing host to a vast and complex cross-country course, and Richardson is determined to keep her sense of perspective despite returning for a second run.

“The cross-country terrain gets the horse and that makes everything seem even bigger,” she added.

“It’s our local 5* and we used to come when we were kids and thought ‘can you imagine doing this one day?’ The atmosphere, the terrain, the hills, everything about it is so prestigious and incredible.

“Even though I’ve been once before, now we still took photos when we were over at Burghley House for the riders’ briefing, you almost still don’t believe that you’re here.”

Defender Burghley Horse Trials (5-8 September 2024) has been a major international sporting and social event for over 50 years. It attracts the world's top equestrians and is attended by vast and enthusiastic crowds. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk