Heath hails Askari heroics at Defender Burghley Horse Trials

By Ben Hart at Defender Burghley Horse Trials

Matthew Heath marvelled at the progress of horse Askari after completing the gruelling cross-country phase at the 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials.

Burghley-based Heath had modest expectations heading into the second stage of the famed 5* event following Askari’s struggles at less high-profile events.

But on a day where some of eventing’s biggest stars failed to complete the track, Askari came through unscathed much to the delight of his proud rider.

“I said when I came here if he comes round here it’ll be a fair achievement, it wasn’t that long ago we were at Osberton struggling to get round the three star,” said Heath.

“He’s come a long way, I’d be very happy to come back and have another go with him. I’d probably be able to ride him a bit better. His mind was a little bit ‘oh my God, again, again, again’.

“He doesn’t really think for himself when it comes to the distance. At fences, he doesn’t really adjust himself and you have to do a lot of that for him, but you can’t fault his bravery.”

A lack of practice prevented the pair from climbing any higher on the leaderboard, according to Heath, who admits his horse may require a step back in class.

“It’s a pity it’s not earlier in the year, we’ve had such a mixed year, we’ve struggled for runs,” added Heath.

“He hasn’t had a massive amount of runs, he’d probably love to go again and unfortunately our season doesn’t allow us that.

“We’ll come out next year and whether we try and do a 5* in the spring or whether we go back to Bramham that he’s jumped round well already and try to be competitive there and come back here in the autumn.

“He’ll need a confident run again after this because he felt like he was being asked a lot all the way round.”

Defender Burghley Horse Trials (31st August - 3 September 2023) has been a major international sporting and social event for over 50 years. It attracts the world’s top equestrians and over 170,000 visitors. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk