For the first time in history, a Swiss rider leads the way after the first phase of competition a the Defender Burghley Horse Trials. Nadja Minder, 26, and the evergreen Toblerone, who is 19, have put themselves firmly in the spotlight after completing a polished dressage test on Thursday and have maintained the lead ahead of tomorrows cross-country. For a horse who does not necessarily regard dressage as his favourite occupation, Toblerone produced exactly the performance his rider had been hoping for accurate, mistake-free and rewarded by the judges.Toblerone is a cool dude, said Nadja afterwards. Now hes the Burghley leader.Nadja explained that, much like Gemma Stevens Chilli Knight, who sits in second on 29.6, just 0.1 penalties behind the young Swiss, dressage does not come entirely naturally to Toblerone. But he was just so with me, so correct and didnt make any mistakes.For Nadja, this was precisely the sort of test riders dream of extracting from their event horses at the highest level: a clear, obedient performance in which the horse stays with his rider and delivers when it matters.It was the clear-round dressage performance were all trying to get out of our horses, she said. And to get rewarded like this is pretty cool.Toblerone is no stranger to the demands of the sport. He and Nadja were trailblazers for their team at last years Blenheim European Championships, producing an outstanding cross-country round on a course that was tough even by four-star long standards.Twelve months on, Nadja believes that experience can only help although she is keen to make sure tomorrows strategy is rather different from one of her previous visits to Burghley.His best phase is still coming tomorrow, so thats exciting.She admitted that she had been deliberately conservative around Burghley two years ago.I was very slow two years ago around here because I was quite scared to go out and try to be quick, she explained. So theres a different plan tomorrow Im going to try and put ourselves in a good position, but obviously stay safe, jump the jumps, and theres a lot to do, she said. But hes a cross-country machine, so Im definitely looking forward to it.At 19, there may not be many more major outings left for Toblerone, making this week particularly special.Hes a true family member, said Nadja. My whole family loves him. We have a yard at home and my parents look after him too hes my partner in crime.She credits him with teaching her a huge amount, particularly as they progressed through the levels.Hes very special and there were no shortcuts with him because he wouldnt allow it. He really communicates with you. You really feel like he could talk. He blinks, and sometimes, just with looks, he shows you exactly what he wants.Gemma Stevens: Im genuinely in shock Gemma Stevens will head out on cross-country remaining in second after their Thursday dressage performance, a position she admits she scarcely expected.Im genuinely in shock, actually, she said. Really in shock.Her delight was largely for her mount, the 16-year-old Chilli Knight, who she feels has finally received the recognition his consistency deserves.I feel really happy that weve been or actually, the horse has been rewarded for being such a good boy, she said. Hes always such a good boy, and he always tries really hard.The pair have often found themselves frustratingly close to the top without quite receiving the marks to match their performance.Its always been so hard to get any marks out of the judges, Gemma explained. Weve always been just outside the top 10 after the dressage.This time, however, everything came together.Yesterday I felt like his good training and his good brain were rewarded, she said. Gemma will be out relatively early on cross-country, continuing a theme that has followed her throughout the season.To be honest with you, me and him just need to go and do our thing, she said. Its Burghley, its tough, the terrain is tough, and theres questions all the way to the end.Us as riders have got to ride with our brains and ride in a good balance and look after our horses, she said, and try and be as fast and clear as we can.Tim Price: precision will be key for Falco New Zealands Tim Price and Falco were the only new addition to the top three after todays dressage. They sit on a score of 30.5, despite a couple of mistakes. Falco is the only horse competing at Burghley this weekend having completed the eventing World Championships at Aachen almost three weeks ago, where they finished 21st individually following a disappointing first phase score. He was basically unrideable in Aachen, Tim said. He was so fresh in the dressage, and I pledged to not make that mistake again.This time, some additional work over cross-country fences yesterday helped take the edge off.He was very rideable today, Tim said. So therefore, it was just down to me to do as good a job as possible.He felt he could have produced a cleaner performance, particularly in the flying-changes, but added: Other than that, he was really good. Hes a lovely, lovely horse and I enjoyed riding him.Tomorrow represents something of an unknown for Falco. Although Tim has won Burghley before, this is Falcos first appearance at the event.I dont really know the answer, he admitted when asked how the course would suit him. But I do believe in him a lot.Now the key is giving Falco a course on which he can feel confident enough to show his considerable jumping ability, as he is widely considered a good enough showjumper to take this up professionally.Hes such a deliberate show-off with his jump, Tim said. He loves to jump well.The going, therefore, could be crucial.If I did something that took away his ability to jump well, I think you could see an unraveling, he explained.I want to go out of the start box and have him having fun. Just 10 penalties cover the top 37 combinations, so it really will be all to play for tomorrow. The cross-country gets underway at 11.30am. Images by Tim WilkinsonRelated contentWhy Will Colemans alpha female mare is wearing a nosenet for her five-star debutI am old!: 52-year-old rider fulfils five-star ambition at Burghley Im fortunate he stayed: one horse and riders journey to their first BurghleyTeacher knows best!: Sam Watsons approach to riding a horse with oodles of energyHe was her favourite horse: Tim Price pilots Global Quest at Burghley in memory of Georgie CampbellHow to watch this weeks Defender BurghleyThe post Hes a cool dude now hes leading Burghley: action-packed first phase results in some surprises appeared first on Your Horse.

Getting Tiana Coudrays Defender Burghley partner DArtagnan up to the main arena today was no mean feat the 12-year-old grey, who has an incredible vigor for life, required a fly mask, two leaders on foot, and copious amounts of polo mints.We had a bit of a disaster getting up here yesterday, and I thought this is it, our weekends over, because you have to ride through the middle of the Leaf Pit and Discovery Valley to get here, said the US rider. Thats game over because hes like a spaniel on speed at that point. He was up the hill and into the warm-up at about 700 meters a minute.So, trying to get a dressage test out of him was not looking promising. I didnt have high hopes.For todays trip to the main arena, the horse wore a fly mask, with a person leading on either side, handing out a constant supply of polos.We were force-feeding polos. Every time hed start to look, give polos. I will try anything, she laughed. And actually, to be fair, it did work.If anything, he was maybe a little bit too quiet, which meant he missed some changes, which on another day he wouldnt have, but look, we will take it. He was obedient. He was listening.Lessons learned at BurghamTiana acquired DArtagnan, who is contesting his first five-star, when he was rising eight, and he has quickly climbed the ranks.He just gives you his entire heart and soul. If ever theres a problem, its because hes too enthusiastic, she said. Hes just a dream to train and theres no other horse Id want to be here with.Their preparation has not been completely straightforward, with a difficult run at Burgham a few weeks ago coupled with being named as reserves for the world championships.Burgham was a try-out-things-that-dont-work-in-all-three-phases, tick that box and move on, so weve moved on, explained Tiana.DArtagnan had been practising the dressage test for Aachen, where certain movements including flying changes on the short side were deliberately avoided.But at Burgham, those same changes were required.So he actually did a nice test there, but he completely cocked up both those changes because he was going, Im not allowed; Im not allowed to change, she explained.In the showjumping, Tiana opted to test herself against the clock, anticipating a tight time allowed at the worlds, and they had two fences down.Then came the cross-country.We were just not in the right headspace, and he went one way and I went the other, so all three phases tick tick tick, she said.Tiana added that she has no expectations for Burghley.I just hope to give him the best ride I can, and give him every opportunity to do his job,. Then itll be what itll be, she said.Lifes too shortGetting the horse here has been particularly meaningful for Tiana, who thought he might be sold. I was so lucky. Probably a year-and-a-half ago, there were some offers on him, and Annabelle [James], my groom, who owns him said, No, lifes too short. You need to have fun, and so she turned them down.Co-owner Kyrle Arscott subsequently became involved in the horse in the spring, helping to secure his future at Tianas Swindon yard.Im not saying that if big money came along we wouldnt consider it, but it secured the situation, which has been amazing, and its just been so fun to have her [Kyrle] along.Main image by Tim WilkinsonRelated contentWhy Will Colemans alpha female mare is wearing a nosenet for her five-star debutTeacher knows best!: Sam Watsons approach to riding a horse with oodles of energyHe was her favourite horse: Tim Price pilots Global Quest at Burghley in memory of Georgie CampbellHow to watch Defender Burghley Horse Trials this weekThe post Like a spaniel on speed: how polos saved the day for this excitable Burghley first-timer appeared first on Your Horse.