There is nothing quite like the feeling of galloping a Thoroughbred around a five-star cross-country course, as Tom Strawson confirmed after piloting Public Address around Defender Burghley’s beefy track.

“He’s so genuine and tries his heart out. He gives me 120% every single time, and he’s fantastic animal,” said Tom of the ex-racehorse who point-to-pointed in Ireland as a four-year-old, but was not particularly well suited to that job.

“He’s not typically like a racehorse. I mean he failed as a racehorse, and I’ve got a few other Thoroughbreds at home that have got far bigger engines.

“What makes him so good is that he is the most honest horse you’ll ever come across. He just gives you everything every time.”

Tom, a former point-to-point jockey, originally bought Public Address as a six-year-old with the intention of selling him. This is now his third five-star start and their second Burghley, the pair having finished 21st here last year.

“I loved it [the cross-country]. I was probably blowing as much as him at the end, and I thought I was fairly fit, so I had to work hard. But if you don’t get a thrill out of that, then you need to give up horses.”

A Thoroughbred fan

Tom described riding a Thoroughbred versus a different breed around Burghley as being like “the difference between a Ferrari and a Peugeot.

“It’s quality, isn’t it? I always say when you go hunting, you want a Thoroughbred. To go faster, you just have to just let your fingers go a bit. On a common horse, you have to kick, and even that will be the difference.”

Tom has his eye on a second attempt at Badminton next spring. They retired their this year after the horse tied up during the first half of the cross-country.

“He tied up at Badminton, which was sad, but we’ve tweaked a couple of things since, such as feed feeding. We’re trying to spark him up rather than calm him down, which is the opposite of most Thoroughbreds. Now we’ve got him on a lower starch-based diet now and tweaked his routine too.

“I take it day by day, but plan A, if the horse is happy, everything’s good.”

Rolled poles

Public Address had five showjumps down today.

“It’s been fantastic week. It’s the top of the sport and it’s great to get a completion,” said Tom, who admitted he was not quite at his best in the final phase.

“Jockey will be kicking himself for a while. The horse was a bit tired and I wasn’t quite on my A game. I probably need to sharpen up a bit, ride a few more, and then it might come a bit easier.”

Images by Tim Wilkinson

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