When Chris Burton and Shadow Man posted a score of 22 in the dressage phase at the Paris Olympics, the eventing world sat up and took notice. A rider who had only recently returned to the sport and been partnered with his horse for just four months were in medal contention – but it shouldn’t have really come as a surprise. Afterall, Chris Burton is a world-class rider and Shadow Man is a world class horse.

Australian equestrian stalwart Heath Ryan certainly wasn’t surprised. Prior to the dressage, he predicted that a score of 22 could in fact be within reach. “We would be delighted with 78% from Chris Burton and Shadow Man… I just think it might be achievable. Shadow Man has never done a score like this, but he is on an improving graph where he is already breaking personal best scores. A 78% would be a PB and in penalty terms would represent 22,” said Heath ahead of the dressage phase. Accurate, as it would turn out.

“I have had some very good horses in my career but never one as good in all three phases as Shadow Man,” says Chris of the horse that carried him to a silver medal. Chris and Shadow Man’s dressage score of 22 was enough to have them in equal third ahead of the cross country – and the second phase resulted in a masterclass from the pair, who finished clear and under time.

As someone who has been competing at the elite level in the discipline of jumping for the past few years (Chris was shortlisted for the Paris jumping team with Chedington Hazy Toulana) and with a horse that is also strong in the jumping, Chris found himself in an enviable outright bronze medal position heading into the final phase. However, he says it was crucial to remain focused.

“It’s a dangerous thing at a championship to get overconfident. I knew he was a very good jumper, and I had to work hard all day to stay focussed on the process and not be thinking about the outcome,” explains Chris. “My good friend Sam Griffiths taught me this years ago and I like to come back to it in these moments. It was reaffirmed in our team camp sessions by Steve Hansen.”

At the 2016 Rio Janeiro Olympics, Chris had been leading the field with Santano before faults in the jumping saw them drop out of individual medal contention (although still leading the Aussies to team bronze). He says this didn’t play on his mind at all in Versailles, as the circumstances at either Olympics were very different.

“At Rio I was in the lead going into the show jumping and Santano was a very young horse; that beautiful little horse had given everything in the cross country and had nothing left to give. This time, I was on a very good, mature jumping horse who recovered extremely well from a flatter cross country that was less physically taxing. They were very different circumstances,” he explains.

“This time I also had my Mr Miyagi in Nelson Pessoa standing at the in gate. And I’ll take the opportunity to thank the Australian High Performance program for the opportunity to work with him over the last eight years.”

It was a thrilling performance, with the pair jumping clear in both the team and individual jumping rounds to move up into the individual silver medal position – just 0.6 penalties away from Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH of Germany who claimed the gold.

A PB for Chris and Shadow Man at only their second full throttle hit out together, they couldn’t have done much more. Afterwards, Chris managed to give the sport some mainstream media attention with a hilarious tongue-in-cheek interview – and for those wondering, he did get that nice cold beer with his teammates and family in the end. “It was worth the wait!” he laughs.

THE NEXT CHAPTER

Chris announced post-Olympics that he and his family now have plans to return and base in Australia later this year, much to the excitement of Australian eventing enthusiasts. “We are very excited about moving home at the end of this year! We have a block of land in Goulburn, NSW and plan to set something up there… we can reveal more about our plans later in the year.”

As for the partnership with Shadow Man, Chris explains that it’s a little bittersweet. He and the horse’s owner, Great Britain’s Ben Hobday, had a private arrangement whereby the horse was under Chris’ ownership for the Games – however now that the Olympics are over, that arrangement is coming to an end.

“I’m trying not to think about it at the moment. The story of Paris was all about Shadow Man and it has been devastating having to hand him back to Ben. At present, we are sadly yet to raise the funds to purchase him. However, we are still looking and working hard behind the scenes to find potential partners to secure him for the Australian team!

“I have to say I am really enjoying being back in eventing, and it would be a dream to continue that journey with this special horse.” EQ

Equestrian Life would like to thank Abi Penrose from Success by Design Agency LTD for conducting this interview.

“I have to say I am
really enjoying being
back in eventing.”