Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials Video

Video of Silva and Stately at Lamplight

Stately at the Young Horse Dressage Championships at Lamplight

Burghley Cross-Country Video

Boyd and Neville conquer the massive cross-country course at Burghley! Video from Burghley TV via Youtube

Burghley Dressage Video

Neville and Boyd's dressage test at the 2011 Burghley CCI****, video via Burghley TV on Youtube.com

Burghley Show Jumping Video

From the Official Burghley Website

Big Burghley Over: A Sigh of Relief and a Sense of Satisfaction

Photo from the Official Burghley Horse Trials Website

Well, I must say, I had a great experience on my first trip to the Mecca of Eventing. First and foremost I must pay tribute to my old friend Neville.

This was the perfect event for him. First, getting to England with him a week before the event was ideal because I had nothing to think about except the competition and spending as much time with him as I needed. It was the first time I have really focused on a competition since the WEG last year. The actual competition suited him great: a long, hard, brutal x-country that sorted out the horses from the show ponies. It was also a great feeling having a fresh, sound horse on Sunday afternoon.

It was a great sense of satisfaction finishing competitively after the most distracting preparation in history. 12 weeks to the day of the event Neville cheated death, escaping the barn fire. In the past I have been known to 'hype' stories up to impress people for a laugh. To be honest, thinking about it, I think I have been quite humble talking about what happened that night, and the state and condition of Nev as it is something that is so tragic, and something that haunts me. It was a true testament to the horse only to get fit and ready for this event in 8 weeks. Remember Nev was on stall rest from a shoulder injury he got at Red Hills in March and not really in work when the fire struck on Memorial Day. I always knew he could do this and he just started feeling stronger & stronger every day. It was almost like, the more I galloped him the stronger & fresher he felt!

I also knew if something went wrong with Nev galloping around Burghley I would suddenly become the most hated person in eventing. I suppose after over a decade of competing at this level, you learn to listen to your horse. The fine art of horsemanship!

As I sit here on the plane on the way home, I must admit that I could not have pulled this off alone. Firstly to my old man Rossco, I promised this one for you when we said goodbye; Phillip Dutton, the guiding hand as a friend and the ultimate coach; Kev Keane, the man that kept checking and rechecking Nev's health through the recovery & event preparation; Silva, best looking dressage coach and loving wife, Lindsey, Caitlin, Lil & Sara the hardest working group of gals through hurdles and setbacks; Doug Neilson, best farrier in the world who is happy to shoe Nev at 1 am in the morning; The Neville Bardos Syndicate, 10 super fun, super supportive people and couples who have ridden the highs and lows with Nev this year; Bruce Jackson, The Fair Hill Therapy Center's Hyperbaric chamber became Nev's home for two weeks straight; Michael Dickinson, who allowed me to do Neville's gallops on his amazing Tepida track while the ground was so hard; Land Rover for their grant that went towards the huge traveling expense of this event, and every single person in the world that has helped out donating to any of the fire funds: without your financial support I absolutely would not have been able to pull this one off!!

Cheers,
Boyd

Neville Syndicate Featured on Horse Junkies United

Videos – Boyd Martin And The Neville Bardos Syndicate Have A Lot To Celebrate!
Again, many thanks to Horse Junkies United for their spot on coverage!!

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Boyd and Neville Finish 7th at Burghley!

The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials 2011

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Boyd & Nev Add 7th at Burghley to Their Resume!!!

Cannot wait to see the video coverage of their stellar stadium round.
Fox-Pitt takes his 6th Burghley title, and for full results click here.
Stay tuned for an update from Boyd!!

Burghley TV XC Coverage

Pull up a chair & enjoy your coffee!!  Great video coverage of XC day.

Count Down to Stadium

Thanks again to John & Samantha (and the Horse & Hound) for their continued coverage of the event.  There is a slight pause in the action until 2:30 UK time (9:30 EST) when the stadium resumes.  Until then, here's the current standings after the first round in stadium.

Great photo & commentary on Boyd & Neville at the jog this morning...thanks to Samantha!

Boyd and Neville - what a moment! Everyone is talking movies and Disney, and yes, there should definitely be a whole franchise, but this story is far from over, can't wait to see what happens next.

Burghley Live Blog -- Show Jumping

By John on September 4, 2011 5:30 AM, Filed Under Live Blog

Click below for a live blog of the Burghley competition from our friends at the Horse and Hound and click here for the Horse and Hound's complete Burghley coverage.  Eastern Time is Burghley time -5 hours.

[Live Scores, Video Replays, Interviews]

If the live blog does not work in your browser click here.