Oliver Townend wins Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials
In the words of Land Rover Burghley’s event director, Elizabeth Inman: “It’s been a wonderful four days of sport. So many people put so much work into making this event such a success and we are indebted to Land Rover for its continued support.
For the first time since 2011 a British rider, Oliver Townend, holds the Land Rover Burghley title. While fellow compatriots Piggy French and Gemma Tattersall made it a British one-two-three, following years of antipodean dominance.
Carrying immense pressure, having sat in pole position overnight and being the last to go in the showjumping, Oliver Townend had a fence down, but remained 1.3 points ahead of the field and swept to victory.
“It’s very, very special,” smiled an emotional Oliver, who was competing a relatively inexperienced mount, the striking grey Ballaghmor Class. “We’ve had Ballaghmor Class from the word go and he’s a top class horse. I looked around the collecting ring and I honestly wouldn’t swap him for any other horse in there. It’s been a long time since I said that. It’s the biggest and most difficult event to win and it means the world to me.”
Piggy French, who returned to competition this spring after taking a year off following the birth of her son Max, pulled off a faultless clear round aboard Vanir Kamira, to climb up the leaderboard from fifth overnight into the runner-up spot.
Lying in second overnight, the pressure was on Gemma Tattersall and Arctic Soul, for whom a clear round would have resulted in a win, but they hit the penultimate fence to drop down to third.
The 2018 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials will run from 30th August to 2nd September.
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Grantham school joins Carol Service in celebration of town’s hospital![]()
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Pupils from St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy are taking part in the first Carol Service to celebrate the special relationship Grantham and District Hospital has with the town and surrounding communities.![]()
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The school children will join in the singing of favourite Christmas Carols as well as perform their own set musical piece at the Carol Service on Thursday 11th December at 7pm, in St Wulfram’s church, Grantham.![]()
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Deputy Head Teacher Olivia Mumford said: “The Carol Service is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to share the joy of music while showing appreciation for the incredible work done at Grantham and District Hospital. It’s a privilege to support such an important event in our town."![]()
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The Carol Service has been organised by United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity, who work closely with staff at Grantham and District Hospital and provides those extras for staff and patients that NHS budgets are unable to fund. ![]()
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Further details on the Grantham NHS Carol Service can be found by visiting www.ulhcharity.org.uk/news/christmas-carols-at-grantham-st-wulfram-church-in-thanks-for-towns-sup...