Heath hoping to cook up perfect Recipe at Defender Burghley

By Lucy Wilde at Burghley

Leicester eventer Matthew Heath is optimistic his stallion companion Golden Recipe will be exactly that at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials - the perfect ticket to success.

This is Heath’s eighth visit to Burghley but the first run for Golden Recipe, who produced a disciplined performance in the dressage phase of the three day event.

A test of technicality and horsemanship, the dressage event assesses the basic training of the horse and Heath was satisfied a Golden Recipe proved worthy of competing on the prestigious Burghley stage.

“He’s really green at this level,” Heath said, reflecting on the pair's dressage performance. “I think that’s the first time he’s done a change in an arena at a test. I know a couple of them were late but normally he properly blows in all of those.

“He’s a good jumper, a good galloper - he’s jumped round 3 and 4 longs now - so he’s earned his right to come. He’s a long way off established at this level but those changes are really hard to train.”

This is not the first time Heath has set himself the hard task of seeing a relatively green horse around the Burghley course, as he guided 5* debutant Askari to a top 30 finish at the event in 2023.

The development and determination of his latest stallion will no doubt be equal cause for celebration this year, and the Rutland rider is already making a point of commending the small wins after the first event.

“The changes are double marked, we knew that coming here, and I was glad to sneak under the 45 for the qualifying result. It was important for me to get under that.

“For him [Golden Recipe] to come out of the arena on a long reign with his ears pricked and chilled afterwards was a big deal.

“He was white wall coming out at Brahman so he’s come on a long way. That might not seem the case looking at the scores but the tests are so much harder at this level than 4* level. I thought he coped well.”

Though confident of a clinical all-round performance, Heath has moderate expectations for the competition, particularly when it comes to looking ahead to the weekend’s cross-country round.

“I had a good walk around and I don’t know if it’s as big as 2019, I thought 2019 was massive. It’s the second biggest I’ve come across, if not challenging the biggest.

“The only difference is that 2019 was quite a solid track, the fences were all quite solid, whereas there is a lot of brush out there this time. There's going to be a huge amount to do.

“It’s very intense early on so I can see the scoreboard shattered. It’s a great track but it’s going to have a lot of influence.”

Defender Burghley Horse Trials (5-8 September 2024) has been a major international sporting and social event for over 50 years. It attracts the world's top equestrians and is attended by vast and enthusiastic crowds. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk