Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo’s brilliant cross-country performance at Defender Burghley Horse Trials 2024 was an absolute masterclass and a must-watch for any fan of the sport. It’s made even more impressive when you realise that “Walter” jumped much of the way around Derek di Grazia’s challenging five-star track with just three shoes after losing one at fence nine, the big open oxer – the Pedigree Rails.
In a fascinating video of her round on Burghley’s facebook page, Ros analyses her riding and Walter’s performance over every fence around possibly the toughest track they’ve ever faced.
How Ros Canter rode the Burghley cross-country course
Ros says she was really happy with how she started the course: “I went out with with real confidence, and I got a really good, open, kind of galloping stride over the first log.”
This set the pair up for the first few straight forward galloping fences, before heading into the main arena, where Ros says she was very pleased that Walter stayed very straight as “my trainer Caroline Moore had given me strict instructions not to take a single flag at Burghley” after the unfortunate flag penalties the pair picked up at the Paris Olympics.
Ros’s earlier attempt at the Burghley 2024 cross-country course on Izilot DHI came to an end at the Defender Valley, when as Ros described it – “I had a bit of a whoopsie” – so between her rides she returned to the fence on foot to re-walk her line and confirm her plan. “It was all eyes on the red flag of the last part to make sure that I got my line on the way in, spot on. And then it was just a little bit of a steering exercise. And Walter flew through there.”
Having kept a tight line over the Trakehner at fence six, they headed up the hill to the Leaf Pit, which had been a real talking point among the riders before the cross-country got underway. Here was one of a number of times in the video when Ros shares her gratitude that Walter is such a polite horse to ride, while also having a lot of speed when galloping.
“When I came around the corner of the Leaf Pit, he came straight back to me and popped off [the big drop] with really lovely balance, and then rolled down to the two triple brushes. We saw a good shot for the first, and I was able just to steer him round for a second – a tick in the box with no flags.”
Ros’s return route through Discovery Valley also went without a hitch and then she “let Walter rip” and galloped on up the hill to fence 9.
“Walter really flew [the oxer at fence 9], but he drifted right, which is what he does if I’m not quite on my A game,” explains Ros. “So that was a good wake up call for me before the Tout Hatchery with the right-handed corner coming out.
“He was absolutely super through the Trout Hatchery. You know, he’s fast, but he waits. He’s polite, so it’s exactly the kind of question that he excels at.”
Ros Canter jumps the drop into the Trout Hatchery at Defender Burghley Horse Trials on overnight leader after cross-country Lordships Graffalo.
Ros adds that she didn’t realise Walter had lost a shoe at fence 9 and so she was able to carry on “without letting that interfere with my thoughts”.
With the next two straight forward galloping fences under her belt, Ros says she got a useful reminder that she needed to stay strong in her position when Walter flew over the big oxer going into Joules at the Maltings at fence 14.
“We got a great shot at the big oxer,” she says. “At Burghley every fence feels a bit like a drop fence and I felt like my body tipped forward a little bit so it as a good reminder to make sure I stayed strong for the rest of the course.”
The challenging bending line over the brush to the rails to the triple brush was the sort of “schooling exercise” at which Walter “excels, because he’s neat and he bounces and he comes around his corners as well”, so they wasted no time there before heading on the challenging Rolex Corners at fence 16.
“I think the riders probably slightly under estimated this fence in our course walk, but I’d watched what was unfolding during the day” explains Ros. “I was determined, I wanted the four strides. I wanted to be turning and waiting to the last corner because when people were chasing their horse [to make the distance] the horses weren’t having time to read it.”
Of course when it came to it, Ros’s ride through the fence 16 “all came off a bit like clockwork” and they were quickly heading off towards Winners’ Avenue, after negotiating Capabilities Cutting, another big table and the two gates on a turning line.
The Irish Horse Board Cottesmore Leap (fence 20) on the Burghley cross-country course for 2024.
Having got the long pull up Winners’ Avenue out of the way, Walter “ate up” the impressive Cottesmore Leap, before tackling the two triple bar accuracy questions at Fairfax & Favor at Keepers (fence 21ab), which Ros says she rode “as smoothly as I could, so that I was still staying on my minute markers”.
It may be a surprise to learn that a rider of Ros’s experience ever gets “a little bit nervous” about a particular fence, but she describes the Defender Dairy Mound as “a little of a nemesis for me” having fallen there in 2023 and had problems with the late, great Allstar B on an earlier visit. While her ride through looked almost flawless to observers, ever the perfectionist, Ros says she “kind of nearly got it right” this time.
“I felt I’d put Lordships Graffalo in a touch close coming over the corner, but he’s so sharp in front and brave that he didn’t really notice. Then he was agile, like a cat, coming down over the log and two strides to the cabin with brush on top – that’s where he really excels.”
With the most challenging parts of the course behind them, Ros said this was the first time that she had to remind Walter to “keep plugging on”, when previously he’d been taking her along all the galloping stretches: “I started to chat to him a bit and say ‘Don’t worry mate, we’re nearly there. Let’s keep at it’.”
Having negotiated Capabilities Cutting for the second time, where Ros says she was “pleased with the way I rode” the road crossing and upright hare that followed, they headed down to the huge Slate Mine and the next water crossing at Fence 26abc – Boodles Raindance.
Ros explains: “That was the first time I felt Walter felt like he was getting a little bit weary and he didn’t jump into the water quite as cleanly as he normally does, so I was like ‘Come on Ros, pick him up, it’s time to get working!’”
From there onwards, Ros describes her round as “plain sailing” with a “good shot” at the house before the Lion Bridge, and “a really good line to the fish in the water, which always gives us riders the heebie-jeebies”.
Ros Canter and Lordships Gaffalo pass under the Lion Bridge on their way to a clear round inside the time at Defender Burghley 2024.
Having got that out of the way, Ros says she got down on Walter’s neck and “he really responded. He is an incredible horse like that. He seems to be able to find that extra gear when other horses are getting tired”.
Having flown over the second last, Ros admits to feeling a little nervous before the last fence: “When Walter was six-years-old, he came across a jump with a hat on top. He stumbled and fell and I fell off. So ever since he’s been a bit wary of things over the top of him.”
But of course, he jumped the Defender Finale like the absolutely pro he is and Ros could relax in the knowledge that she’d “done a good job, and shown off a horse with such ability as Walter to be the best we could.”
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You might also be interested in:
‘I held my breath until the final fence’: Ros Canter cements Burghley lead despite last-minute concern
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo win Burghley: ‘I wasn’t sure I’d ever tick this box’
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‘Lordships Graffalo is an absolute clown’: Sarah Charnley on 10 years grooming for Ros Canter – and juggling it with a full-time job
Watch Paris-bound Lordships Graffalo cross-country schooling as a six-year-old under Ros Canter
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