Despite the wettest Burghley in living memory, the Autumn Classic of Eventing did not disappoint with the fans braving the elements and turning up in their tens of thousands to see a world class field, including two of Britain's Beijing Olympic bronze medallists fighting it out for this year's title and the £50,000 first prize.
Whilst Britain's Ruth Edge and Mr Dumbledore set the early pace with a sparkling dressage test of 33.7 penalties, the chasing pack including four previous Burghley winners ( William Fox-Pitt, Mary King, Andrew Hoy and Andrew Nicholson) were seperated by less than twenty penalties with the toughest cross country track of the year ahead of them.
With ever softening ground, thanks to a further 22mm of rain, the optimum time of 11 minutes 30 seconds over the 6,555 metre journey punctuated by 32 of Captain Mark Phillips' innovatively designed and positioned fences was never going to be easy. Indeed just 2 made it, America's Philip Dutton on his thoroughbred Woodburn and defending champion William Fox-Pitt riding Tamarillo at Burghley for the very first time, the parnership having been held two thirds of the way round, coming home an astonishing 14 seconds inside the time with Tamarillo relishing the mud!
For good measure Ballincoola, the 2005 Burghley Champion, enjoying his sixth consecutive visit to Burghley, incurred just 2.8 time faults in the hands of William Fox-Pitt to go third with Mary King moving up to 4th and 5th with Imperial Cavalier and Apache Sauce.
Sunday morning dawned with the disappointing withdrawal of Woodburn from second place leaving William Fox-Pitt and Mary King occupying the top four places to provide a fascinating Show Jumping finale to the 2008 Burghley Horse Trials.
Approx running time 104 mins.
PAL and NTSC compatible