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Pippa Funnell’s treasured Team GBR hat silk handed in after heart-felt plea

Lucy Elder Lucy Elder

    • Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials 2019 winner Pippa Funnell will be reunited with her Team GBR hat silk, which flew off as she tackled the cross-country course with MGH Grafton Street on Saturday (7 September).

    Pippa, who took her second Burghley title this weekend 16 years after her first, made a plea in both Saturday and Sunday’ s press conferences for the silk to be returned to her.

    “I’ve had that silk for 30 years,” she said on Saturday, asking for the person who picked it up to hand it in.

    Aside from the plea, Pippa saw the loss of her silk as a “good omen”.

    “It is what happened with Primmore’s Pride when he won Badminton [in 2005] — I lost my silk and I was mortified. When I got back I said ‘oh my god, I’ve gone round the whole course with an egg-head!’” she laughed.

    Her silk, which carries the number 168 and her British team flag, came off between the Pardubice hedge (fence 21) and Collyweston Slate Mine (fence 22).

    It has now been handed in anonymously and is on its way back to its rightful owner.

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    Pippa’s “egg-head” round wasn’t the only good omen for those who are superstitiously minded — she was given a draw number of 77, which is her lucky number.

    “If you wonder why I’m still wearing my number [bib], it’s because this is my lucky number and I’m going to sleep in it tonight,” she joked on Saturday. “In my Tilly’s Pony Tails books, [the main character] is wearing it in all the illustrations.”

    Don’t miss this week’s issue of Horse & Hound — on sale Thursday, 12 September — for the full report from Burghley, plus all the usual news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more

    Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout major shows like London International and more with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

    Lucy Elder
    Lucy Elder

    H&H senior news writer
    Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
    Lucy Elder

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