‘A different twist’
RIDERS were generally positive about Derek di Grazia’s first attempt at designing Burghley’s cross-country course before riding it, while agreeing it had a different flavour to that of previous years. The most intense section was from the Holland Cooper Leaf Pit at fence 7abcdef to the Fairfax & Favor Boot Racks at fence 19ab.
Pippa Funnell said: “It invites you to get out there and try to be attacking; be brave, be bold. There are a lot of big jumps coming home – you have to remember at Burghley, terrain is hugely important as well.”
Francis Whittington said that it was “not what I would put down as being a traditional Burghley track”.
He added: “There’s a different twist to it, but that’s the point of having different course-designers and I think that’s the benefit, that we’re not just riding those similar tracks every time.”
Derek is known for numbering combination fences in such a way that he uses a lot of letters and limits whether riders can change their minds about their route in the middle of the complex – “locked in” was a popular phrase.
Francis said: “I’m not a big fan of this abcdefgh – I ran out of fingers and alphabet! You’re trying to react when you’ve had a stumble and find an alternative route, you’re assessing the situation, you’re creating a new plan, you’re enacting that new plan – doing all that within a second and a half.
“Now we’ve got to think, ‘Was that a b, was that a c, was that a d?’ When you’re trying to assess all of that and stop yourself from having a serious injury in a second and a half, it’s an awful lot [to think about].”
Ultimately, the numbering at the Trout
