US rider Caroline Pamukcu got her Defender Burghley debut underway this morning aboard William O’Brien’s HSH Tolan King, a “failed sale horse” she couldn’t sell for $20,000.

The 11-year-old gelding was originally bought as a sale prospect, but despite sending him to three separate professionals in the hope that someone would see his potential, the Irish Sport Horse remained unsold.

“He’s a funny story,” said Caroline. “He arrived in my yard in 2021, and then when I was based here [in the UK] with Pippa Funnell [in 2022], we didn’t bring him, we were just trying to sell him. I sent him to three separate professionals saying, ‘You should take this one. He will be nice’, but he’s just one of the ones I couldn’t sell.

“So I went to the investor, and said we have so much money in him, why don’t we kick on and let me show him up the levels a bit and see what we have. He’s a bit quirky of a horse, but he digs deep. He’s kind of a underdog, which is cool, and he’s exceeded all of our expectations.”

‘Not the American type’

Caroline added that being a slightly quirky, less conventional type made the horse a difficult proposition for the US market.

“He wouldn’t be the American type of horse,” she explained. “He’s blood, he’s a little small; he wouldn’t be the flashy, big-jump type of horse, but he’s an ideal type for me. I like the smaller, a little bit rogue ones.”

The rider added that the horse has a lot of Thoroughbred blood, which is ideal for Burghley.

“He’s high blood percentage. I think he’s about 70-80%. He has a full Thoroughbred mare [on his dam Kilmolash Clover Rhodes’ side] and then his sire is Tolan R. He’s a dig deep, fighter sort of horse.”

The duo are Burghley pathfinders and will be first out of the cross-country startbox on Saturday, a position they are familiar with having gone first at Kentucky earlier this year and at Maryland.

“I’m so honored to be here. It’s been a bucket-list show of mine, but I’ve been a big believer in supporting our American five stars and every year I try to have a horse for Kentucky and Maryland,” added Caroline. “Sadly, this year Maryland is a no-go, so it was a perfect opportunity to come overseas and do Burghley.

“Hopefully I’ll get to a point in my career where I have enough horses to go to Burghley, Maryland, Kentucky, and Luhmuhlen — that is my ultimate goal!”

‘Everyone chips in’

Caroline has a big support team with her, including her husband and young daughter, while a wider support crew keep her horses going at home in the US.

“I’ve been away [from home] for five weeks now because I went to the World Championships in Aachen, so I’ve been off of my horses at home and trying to focus on the lot that are here.

“I have an incredible nanny, and my husband, and everyone in the barn,” she says. “Everyone kind of plays separate roles and chips in when they can. So it’s a lot.”

Caroline is also riding a second horse at Burghley, her re-routed Aachen ride HSH Blake. They are due to do their dressage test tomorrow afternoon.

Main image by Tim Wilkinson

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