Lincolnshire, England – Land Rover/USEF Eventing Competition Grant recipients Lynn Symansky and Donner and Boyd Martin and Steady Eddie captured sixth- and 10th-place, respectively, on Sunday at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials CCI4*. Part of the Grand Slam of eventing sponsored by Rolex, “Burghley” is known for its tough courses and competition as the best eventers in the world chase the title.
Symansky (Middleburg, Va.) and Donner, The Donner Syndicate, LLC’s 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, placed sixth with a final score of 53.1 after the final jumping phase. The combination sat 11th after dressage on Friday with a score of 45.5, improving to eighth after cross-country on Saturday with a score of 49.1.
“I’m thrilled. I left points on the table everywhere really, so there is much to be improved upon still, but going into it, I’m just really happy with how he came out of it,” said Symansky. “I think this is a tough track – the oxers are tough spreads, but it flows quite well. The horse jumped a really good round.”
Martin (Cochranville, Pa.) and Steady Eddie, Denise Lahey, Pierrie Colin, and George and Gretchen Wintersteen’s 14-year-old Australian Thoroughbred gelding, finished 10th with a final score of 58.0. Tied for 21st after the dressage test with a 48.0, the combination moved into ninth place just behind Symansky with a 50.0 after cross-country.
“[Steady Eddie] was definitely feeling the effects of yesterday,” said Martin. “He really tried his heart out yesterday. Today, he was a little tired and wound up at the same time. I am very happy with him though. A great result and great effort.”
Lauren Kieffer (Middleburg, Va.) and Veronica II, Team Rebecca, LLC’s 15-yer-old Dutch Warmblood mare, were named the “Best First Time at Burghley” award recipients at the event. With an impressive and personal best dressage test, as well as solid performances in both cross-country and jumping, the pair finished in the 12th position with a final score of 66.0.
“As an experience, [Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials] is what I expected,” said Kieffer. “Burghley is big and bad and has a repetition, and that is why I came to ride. They did a great job with everything and it is a staple on the calendar for everyone.”
Finals results for all U.S. combinations can be found here.
