Burghley thread

Marshpiper said:
Yes, if you go to drawn order on Burghley website, you can see who has withdrawn…for example Susie Berry who has been chosen on Irish team for Europeans and a couple of others….
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Susie Berry and Felix Vogg were the only I hadn't read/seen; Bubby, Tayla and K-RS I'd read about earlier in the week :)
 
Honey08 said:
Do you enjoy stewarding? Where do you end up being?
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Sorry just saw this. I don’t mind it. I managed to get a dressage day last year just stewarding the horse walk to the dressage arena, which was very chill. Most years though it’s crossings out on the XC, which can be chaotic. Usually it’s just closing strings and generally pointing people in the right direction, but the odd drama of rugby tackling loose dogs, horses falling right into our crossing, and one awful year a horse breaking its leg when it was only me and my friend at the crossing on the long gallop to the Cottesmore leap (brain fog on if that’s the right name!). Worth it for free tickets for the 4 days, but does mean you miss a lot of the XC unless your are in a good spot. My friend did a 5hr shift in the TV lorry one year, picking the best clips to put out on air. Meant she didn’t get to walk any of the course.
 
I steward the XC warmup. Which is basically the same job as at BE except that there are no 'numbers on the board' or multiple riders pushing in or fights! It's FEI so everyone has to go in strict number order. It's complicated as the warmup is a 3 or 4 minute hack to the start box. So if i give a rider a 10 minute warning they realistically have 6 more minutes of warmup, then 4 minutes to get to the start. The old hands are fine. The first-timers and foreigners (especially those with not much English) sometimes have not taken that into account.
The clock starts for their round at the designated time, whether they are in the start box or not. One year one member of our Euros team was 30secs late for their start time because they took too long to get up there, which was significant in the final results, but it is ultimately entirely the responsibility of the riders to get up there on time.
Some want to amble up and be there in plenty of time, others want to leave as late as possible, trot/canter all the way and aim to get there as the starter says '20 seconds'. The odd person will go up on foot and mount on the way up. And a couple (I generally know which ones) will go straight from the stables and not stop in the warmup. They will usually have had a jump early morning and warmed up trotting round the lorry park.
Other than that it's a matter of giving every rider (or their team - some riders do not want to deal with timings at all) 10 and 5 minute warnings, then if there's a hold on course recalculating their times and communicating the length of delay and their new times.

It's probably not a job for the fainthearted, but I like it, and love watching them all warmup and seeing what they jump and how.
Like BBP2 I generally have no idea how things have gone on course. We don't have a screen and it can be jard to get enough signal to get results on your phone. Riders who have completed do come back past me throughthe warmup though, so you often notice who hasn't come back and therefore didn't get round.

Lastly I will hugely miss Caroline Moore this year. She was always there for her flock of young riders so was in the warmup for hours coaching and hand holding. She was always great to talk to and generous with her insights. And she always thanked us for making her riders lives easier and less stressful on their big day.
 
Tiddlypom said:
You wear many hats, don’t you, Gamebird, what with your racing commitments and this 🙂.

Interesting reminder about how far the XC start is from the warm up at Burghley, and how that needs to be taken into account.
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I remember Tom McEwen one year at badminton on Toledo missing his start box time as he was still in the warm up field!Got a substantial number of time penalties as a result
 
Have been lucky enough to compete there twice in the RoR class, which was great fun. Haven’t ever been to the actual event to watch though so interesting to follow it through this thread.
 
I miss not having the radio for stealth listening at work, I'd def miss if it I was there for the commentary too, I think it makes a huge difference (while also being able to shop and not feel like you're missing out on it) did they have it last year, I can't remember.
 
Velcrobum said:
He was a member of the Ground Jury 2012 Olympics. He has been a Dressage Judge for many years and I have written for him at Advanced Eventing level many times.
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He is also a very experienced 5* eventing judge. He often does Badminton (where he finished in the top 10 with Bertie Blunt in 1994) and Burghley.
 
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I particularly liked Nick Burton’s comment that the give and retake of the reins which features in this advanced medium test was introduced as a ‘gymnastic exercise’ with a view that riders will be obliged to practise giving the reins at home in training 🙂.

I’ve always used the give and retake of the reins extensively in my own schooling to check that the horse is carrying itself.

Also that he judges any advanced medium test in the same way whether it is pure dressage or eventing dressage. And another gem - he regards the judges at E and B as the ‘quality control’ judges who can see things which might not be evident to judges from other vantage points. Really interesting.
 
Tiddlypom said:
I particularly liked Nick Burton’s comment that the give and retake of the reins which features in this advanced medium test was introduced as a ‘gymnastic exercise’ with a view that riders will be obliged to practise giving the reins at home in training 🙂.

I’ve always used the give and retake of the reins extensively in my own schooling to check that the horse is carrying itself.

Also that he judges any advanced medium test in the same way whether it is pure dressage or eventing dressage. And another gem - he regards the judges at E and B as the ‘quality control’ judges who can see things which might not be evident to judges from other vantage points. Really interesting.
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I agree with all your points, but the test doesn't feature a give and retake. It's a circle in working canter allowing the horse to stretch forward and down. This was what he wanted people to be including in their training at home so horses at home learn to stretch.

He was very good though, wasn't he. I've never 'done' Burghley radio so don't miss it, but am listening to the commentary for Burghley TV in my car whilst driving around for work.
 
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