Ka-Pow From Powell at Burghley

Kiwi equestrienne Caroline Powell has notched the biggest win of her career this morning winning the Burghley Horse Trials in the UK.

It topped quite a week for the 37-year-old Scotland-based rider who has just been named in the New Zealand team to compete at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky later this month. Her win made her the first New Zealand woman to win the prestigious 4* three day event and provided the perfect wedding present for her horse's co-owner Lexi Mackinnon, who gets married on Saturday.

The 50,000 pound sterling win has put her into third place in the FEI Classics series behind leader William Fox-Pitt (Britain) and Andreas Dibowski (Germany) with just one event left.

“He was just so cool and totally deserved his win,” Powell said of her lovey 17-year-old grey gelding, who is owned by Lexi and her mother Janie, and is the oldest horse to have won the Land Rover Perpetual Challenge Trophy at Burghley.
The weekend was fault free for the combination.

“We've had every hairy moment we possibly could have over the past seven years, and nothing this weekend – it was perfect!”
It is Powell's first 4* win.

Her win stopped William Fox-Pitt (Great Britain) in securing his sixth victory, leaving him in second spot aboard Seacookie, with Clayton Fredericks (Australia) on Be My Guest II third.

Lenamore was made unavailable for the World Games team, but Powell says she has every faith in Mac MacDonald.
“It is shame it isn't Lenamore, but he is so unreliable in the dressage and it is just soul destroying when they don't behave.”

But she had none of those problems at Burghley. The combination were in second slot by a smidgen after the dressage phase, took the lead in the cross country after a perfect round, and didn't bat an eye-lid under the pressure of the showjumping.
“It is pretty mega to win this,” she said.

Lenamore was toasted with a big cake of chaff and carrots.

“When the time comes for him to retire he will tell us,” she says. “It will be very sad, but when the time is right, then that's when it will be.”
Powell said she had received tremendous support from New Zealand team-mate Andrew Nicholson throughout the event.

With no penalties over the cross country or show jumping, Australian rider Clayton Fredericks and Be My Guest II finished a respectable third on their dressage score of 45.8.

Mark Todd was the next best of the Kiwis finishing in 11th slot aboard Major Milestone after going clear in both the cross country and showjumping. Nicholson and Armada were 14th, Annabel Wigley and Black Drum were 18th, Nicholson and Avebury 22nd and Dan Jocelyn on Special Advocate 24th.
Blyth Tait was the last Kiwi to win at Burghley, back in 2001.

Results
1 Caroline Powell/Lenamore (NZL) 38.7 + 0 + 0 = 38.7
2 William Fox-Pitt/Seacookie (GBR) 40.3 + 1.6 + 1 = 42.9
3 Clayton Fredericks/Be My Guest (AUS) 45.8 + 0 = 45.8
4 Oliver Townend/Carousel Quest (GBR) 39.2 + 0.4 + 8 = 46.6
5 Mary King/Apache Sauce (GBR) 44.8 + 0 + 4 = 48.8
6 William Fox-Pitt/Macchiato (GBR) 46.8 + 2 + 0 = 48.8
7 Mary King/Kings Temptress (GBR) 45.3 + 0 + 4 = 49.3
8 Clea Phillipps/Lead The Way (GBR) 49.5 + 0.4 + 0 = 49.9
9 Anna Warnecke/Twinkle Bee (GER) 50.5 + 0 + 1 = 51.5
10 Francis Whittington/Sir Percival lll (GBR) 48.3 + 0 + 4 = 52.3

Story courtesy of the New Zealand Equestrian Federation. Photo: [URL="http://www.burghley-horse.co.uk"]www.burghley-horse.co.uk[/URL]