Delight for Dzenis and Dalton at Burghley

A packed Burghley crowd were treated to a dressage exhibition by three-day world number one Michael Jung, who qualified joint top after the first phase finished.

But 24-year-old Dzenis from Petworth also got in on the act, scoring a new best 51.1 on board Xam to sit 42nd in the table.

That was as good as it got as the duo withdrew before the gruelling cross-country stage, but Dzenis was still delighted with Xam’s performance earlier in the world-famous event.

“He was a really good boy and we got a personal best at four-star level and knocked a good few marks off our score last year, and it’s really pleasing,” Dzenis said.

“He made a bit of a mistake in the medium trot at the beginning which was a bit frustrating because he doesn’t normally do that, otherwise he kept it together. There’s definitely a bit more of an atmosphere in the arena than the previous day. It’s Burghley and there’s always a buzz.

“It’s really exciting to be back at Burghley. It’s the highlight of our autumn campaign, so I’m really thrilled to be here again.

“It’s amazing to hear the crowd cheering you on after a decent jump, and it’s such a buzz as a rider.”

There was still a tinge of disappointment that Xam couldn’t improve on last year’s 26th-place finish at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.

“I’d have loved to go clear in cross-country, and he did Badminton in the spring and Burghley last year so I’d have liked to get as close as I could to the optimum time, but it just wasn’t to be,” added Dzenis.

“It’s a fair old sized track and there’s a lot to be jumped out there. There are a lot of questions all the way round and even the let-up fences are big fences.