Errors cost Shropshire's Oliver Townend a top-10 spot
Shropshire three-day event rider Oliver Townend insists he is keeping an open mind about his chances at this year's Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials after a couple of errors in his dressage left him just outside the top 10.
Townend, from Dudleston Heath, near Ellesmere, who bagged team silver at the World Equestrian Games in France last week, had to wait until the very last session of the dressage tests before getting the chance to impress the judges on board 15-year-old Armada.
And with British team-mate and World Equestrian Games individual bronze medallist William Fox-Pitt leaping straight into second place behind New Zealander Jonathan Paget shortly before the duo's entrance, the atmosphere in the arena was lively.
But it was not to be their day yesterday as a few dropped movements left them with a score of 48.3 and a placing of joint 12th, although Townend was quick to defend Armada.
"He's got all the movement and he's got all the talent but the brain is the tricky bit and in two movements the brain let us down again," he said.
"We are used to that. If he has a clear round we enjoy it. If not we just try our best.
"He's a very special horse, an unreal horse. I wouldn't say he is always a pleasure to ride but he's definitely a pleasure to have in the yard and to be associated with."
Next up for Townend and Armada is today's cross country course designed by Captain Mark Phillips, viewed as one of the world's most difficult.
The multi-award winning Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (September 4-7) has been established as a major international equestrian and social event in the Autumn Sporting Calendar for over 50 years. Visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk
