Magical mare heading for historic horse trials

Padraig McCarthy is hoping third time will be the charm at the prestigious Defender Burghley Horse Trials – and first on 5* debutant Lady Ophelia.

The Devon-based 47-year-old placed 17th last year and 19th on his first appearance in 2022, both on HHS Noble Call, but is confident Lady Ophelia can improve on those strong performances despite it being a big step up for the mare.

Lady Ophelia finished 13th at the Blair Castle four-star two weeks ago and it’s been a bumper year for McCarthy’s other horses too, with multiple top 10 finishes and several stepping up to four-star level.

McCarthy said he ‘always has a positive feeling’ returning to Burghley after his good runs with Noble Call.

“It’s a fabulous event and I love going back there, as does every rider,” he said. “It’s great to have a horse that can do that because it’s really not every horse you can aim to take to Burghley, you need a special horse with a lot of blood.

“It’s a really nice event, always very welcoming. You really feel that the horse is the most important part when you get there, as it should be.”

At 16 hands, Lady Ophelia is around a foot and half shorter than Noble Call, making for a very different experience for her rider.

And McCarthy admitted he didn’t always envisage her as a five-star horse.

“She’s a real surprise package,” he said. “When I got her, I openly said to the owners I didn’t think she would ever get to this level. But she’s one of these real tough little mares that keeps showing up for work and keeps trying.

“She’s not very big, at home she’s not overly inspiring, but when she’s in the ring she really, really tries.

“It’s a big step up for her, Burghley this year, but she’ll do her best every time. She was double clear at Blair last week, so that’s hopefully set her up well for this week coming.”

“Horses never cease to amaze me. We sell a lot of young horses here and people are always asking for your estimation of horses, and sometimes you can be right, but sometimes you can be so wrong, like [I was with] this mare. I never had any idea that she’d get this far but she keeps turning up for work and keeps surprising me.

“I’m going there confident. The owners always have a good laugh at me about it – hopefully it can continue like that!”

Defender Burghley Horse Trials (5-8 September 2024) has been a major international sporting and social event for over 50 years. It attracts the world's top equestrians and is attended by vast and enthusiastic crowds. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk