A 14-year-old gelding once destined for “a bullet or the rodeo” due to being a “chronic bucker” kicked off his Defender Burghley campaign today (3 September) with Samuel Jeffree in the saddle.

The Australian rider is competing on UK soil for the first time and said that when the 16hh Warmblood first arrived at his Victoria yard it was “the final straw” — but he immediately spotted the horse’s potential.

“I got him as a six-year-old. He was going to either have a bullet lined up for him, or go to the rodeo. He was an absolute bucker — a chronic bucker — and would just get everybody off,” said Samuel. “He came to me to see if we could do anything about it, before his final straw.

“I saw the talent in there from day one and we’ve managed to get the bucking under control now. He’s turned out to be the best horse, but it’s been a long journey.

“Even there [in the main arena], he reverts back to his old ways a little bit, but when he’s on, he’s absolutely fantastic.”

From Aachen to Burghley

Samuel and Santoro were selected as one of the travelling reserves for last month’s FEI World Championships in Aachen, where the British team won gold.

“It was a great opportunity to come over and train with these guys, and then what better back-up plan than to go to Burghley?” said the 28-year-old rider.

“We are based at Sammi Birch’s at the moment, and the horse is going to stay over here for a while. After this, he’ll have a break, and we’ll go home and have a break as well, earn some money, and hopefully come back for next year.”

Samuel described his first overseas event as “mind boggling”.

“I’m a bit mind boggled by the entire thing!” he confessed. “We love Adelaide in Australia, and that’s our top-tier event, but this is another level. The crowds and atmosphere — it’s eye-opening, but also exciting.”

‘He can be a hothead’

Santoro was bred by fellow Aussie Heath Ryan.

“He’s 14 years now and has done almost everything in Australia we could ask for. He’s a phenomenal athlete; he doesn’t have that much blood, but if you watched that dressage test, you wouldn’t know that. He can be a hothead, but he’s a great galloper and loves his job.

“It wasn’t our best [dressage] performance, but we got in, we got round, and we finished that phase. Now we’re onto the fun stuff. I’m really looking forward to giving the cross-country a red-hot crack.”

Main image by Tim Wilkinson

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