{"id":27703,"date":"2016-07-01T15:49:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-01T05:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=27703"},"modified":"2016-07-01T15:49:12","modified_gmt":"2016-07-01T05:49:12","slug":"july-rider-of-the-month-christopher-burton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2016\/07\/july-rider-of-the-month-christopher-burton\/","title":{"rendered":"July Rider of the Month – Christopher Burton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ChristopherBritish based Australian eventer, Christopher Burton took first place in the CCI*** of Saumur, riding Santano – his \u2018dresssage\u2019 horse (the Hanoverian gelding is by Sandro Hit out of a Brentano II \/ Weltmeyer mare). The win is a good omen for Christopher who was 1st and 2nd at Saumur with Haruzac and Leilani, in the run up to the London Games. Christopher led from start to finish, adding just one time on the cross country, and one rail in the showjumping to his dressage score of 40.2.<\/p>\n

It seems Saumur is happy hunting ground for you?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is, it has been a good place to us, I\u2019m happy to have done so well there again. It is obviously a lot more relaxed at Saumur than Badminton, but Pierre Michelet built a tough course, I thought. Okay I was riding a first-time three-star horse, but it was very tough. He\u2019s found a new hill through the woods, and the ground was a little bit holding and tiring, and there were some very tough questions right at the end. I was super pleased with the way my young horse galloped, and the way he responded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who does that make as your front runner for Rio?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou like asking me difficult questions. I don\u2019t know, it will be up to the selectors in terms of what they need for the team – hopefully I\u2019ll be lucky enough to be selected. Of course this has been a good performance and we\u2019ve always considered him a good Rio horse but of course things can change. Who knows, I might not be selected at all.\u201d\"Christopher<\/p>\n

Santano – Chris’ dressage horse<\/em><\/p>\n

Realistically Rio is not going to be the toughest course you\u2019ve ever ridden, it\u2019s not going to be a Badminton or a Burghley, is Santano the sort of horse you\u2019d like to take to a tough two star?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou might be right, he has always looked to us like an Olympic horse but we always keep saying one day we might be in for a shock, we\u2019ll turn up at an Olympics and it will be a proper four-star, but they do often make it a kinder track for the sake of the public. So in that regard, he is outstanding on the flat, and a very good jumper, so he could make a good contender.\u201d<\/p>\n

I might have to concede that Sandro Hits are not useless\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so funny, while they all seem to be black and beautiful, they do seem to be quite a mix of natures. But you know me, I\u2019m not too fussed by breeding – I get my horse, and I ride my horse and if it feels right, that\u2019s all that matters to me. This one has always been a jumper. Interestingly there was another horse there with similar breeding that ran out of petrol, but our one galloped right to the end. He was unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Badminton things weren\u2019t looking so wonderful for Australia, maybe things are looking up now\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I was disappointed after Badminton (Christopher was eliminated on the cross country with Nobilis after a good dressage test)<\/em> – it just shows that things can always go wrong. To be honest, I don\u2019t think it was all bad. Sam Griffiths having a 20 on his beautiful mare, Paulank Brockagh, was very unlucky, she would have a 20 on her card, she has hardly ever had a cross country penalty, so all that is going to do it focus them up, to put a little more emphasis on the cross country, and I\u2019ll tell you now, she\u2019ll jump a clear round at Rio. It might just have been the wakeup we need, and I still believe we can be strong when we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos: Eventing Photo<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"hawley.tif\"Each Rider of the Month receives a prize supplied by IAHP.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This month, the Rider of the Month receives a 30g tube of Protexin Paste<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Protexin is the most advanced multi – strain Probiotic in the world today Unlike many other Probiotics that consist primarily of a single strain of bacteria, Protexin consists of seven different naturally occuring bacteria. The effectiveness and synergy of these strains has been proven in years of trials and production application. The uniqueness of Protexin is not just confined to its multi-strain formulation. Research and Development has produced a special \u201cprotection\u201d to ensure the highest possible numbers of bacteria survive the journey through the hostile conditions of the crop or stomach, into the gut where they rapidly begin to work for the benefit of the animal. Protexin\u2019s introduction to Australia makes it the first and to date, the only nationally registered Probiotic approved for administration to animals and birds.<\/p>\n

\"IAH-Banner\"<\/p>\n

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To read more articles with Christopher, head to his who’s who page:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Burton, Christopher<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n