Riding on board Cooley Rosalent, Shropshire’s Townend rubber-stamped his status as one of the riders to beat with a sensational 22.0 in the dressage phase on day two of the famed 5* event, besting closest challenger and reigning Defender Burghley champion Ros Canter by 0.2 points.
Townend is a three-time winner at Burghley House, with his most triumph coming in 2023 and he more than lived up to his billing in front of an expectant Stamford crowd.
“She’s a good girl and I’ve been slightly caught out by the atmosphere,” said Townend. “It wasn’t as quiet as I’d have liked to be in there but she ended up in the right place so far.
“We don’t bring horses not to be competitive at this level but so far, so good.
“We know we’ve got one of the best horses in the world coming and we know she’ll take some beating but at the same time we’re in it to win it and we know we’re in a good starting position.”
Townend’s work is not finished just yet, with the disciplines of cross-country and showjumping still to come later this weekend.
The former gets underway on Saturday with a gruelling 31 gate, 6500m run, the brainchild of noted course designer Derek di Grazia.
To add to the challenge, di Grazia has also reversed the direction of the course for the first time since 2017, the same year Townend claimed the second of his Defender Burghley wins, that time astride Ballaghmor Class.
And the eventing expert is hopeful that the coincidence bodes well when it comes time to mount Cooley Rosalent again come Saturday.
“It’s been lucky for me before in 2017 when we went that way on an inexperienced horse. It’ll be interesting. I don’t think it’ll be an easy feat,” added Townend.
“It’s Burghley so the first thing to know is the terrain and Derek is being brave with how he’s used the terrain.
“The first 3-4 minutes are pretty gruelling but hopefully if you get to winners’ avenue, you can give them a breather and come downhill from there.”
Defender Burghley Horse Trials (4-7 September 2025) 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
