Kiwi Sir Mark Todd out of Burghley horse trials after falling on cross-country phase

  • 03/09/2017

Kiwi rider Sir Mark Todd has bowed out of contention at the Burghley Horse trials after taking a fall during the cross-country phase.

After sitting atop the leaderboard following an impressive dressage, Todd took a tumble from horse Leonidas II late in his round on Sunday morning (NZT) to effectively end any hope of winning his sixth title at the event.

The 61-year-old was uninjured and philosophical as he recounted a frustrating day.

"I was having a really good ride and he was fairly well up on time," he said.

"He just over-jumped. I may not have had too nice a stride into it and he just launched and lost his footing when he landed. It is not something he has ever done before . . . it is just really frustrating.

"Without that we probably would have been inside the time. I am not going to have too many more chances here."

It was an uncharacteristic fault from a horse who is typically reliable in the cross country.

Andrew Nicholson also struggled in the penultimate event, dropping from fourth to sixth place after taking a spill from Qwanza. He was later passed fit enough to take another crack aboard Nereo.

"She (Qwanza) is a bouncy, buzzy thing and it was early on in the course," said Nicholson.

"It was a two stride combination and she did it in one – the second element is very big and very wide, and she is only little."

Tim Price admitted his ride was scrappy, despite picking up time and moving into fourth on the ladder.

"He is not the most elegant tidy jumper, but he is incredibly enthusiastic and brave, and I try to use those things as our main tools," he said.

Great Britain's Oliver Townend is the event's new leader heading into the showjumping phase on the final day.

Newshub.