Despite course errors on the first day of dressage, British eventing stawarts Mary King and William Fox-Pitt head the Burghley Horse Trials leaderboard.
 Despite a course error, Mary King and Apache Sauce hold the lead after the first day of dressage at Burghley.© Kit Houghton/FEI
 William Fox-Pitt
Laura Collett and Ginger May Killinghurst.
© Horsesports Photographic
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Mary King, 49, who has been riding at Burghley for more than 20 years, called her error of course "a blonde moment". She missed part of the final canter work on the 14-year-old Apache Sauce and, on arriving at halt, had to be interrupted by Ground Jury member Marilyn Payne.
"I haven't done that for years," King said afterwards. "But when I went back and did the flying changes, they came off much better! You never know how Apache Sauce will go; sometimes he can be a real 'red-head', but he was on his best behaviour today."
King won Burghley in 1996 on Star Appeal, and Apache Sauce was fourth there in 2008.
William Fox-Pitt, a five-times winner of Burghley and currently second in the $333,000 HSBC FEI Classics, is in second place on the handsome Argentine Thoroughbred Macchiato - also having suffered a minor aberration.
Fox-Pitt was penalised with an error of course after entering the arena more than 45 seconds after the bell had rung. "I had got myself into a position where I couldn't see the clock. I've never done that one before!" he said.
"Macchiato has started to really come on in the dressage," added Fox-Pitt, who won Luhmuhlen in 2008 on the 12-year-old bay gelding. "He's a sensitive and forward-going horse who always tries to please."
Despite her contrasting lack of experience, third-placed Laura Collett, 21, contesting her first Burghley, managed not to forget any of her test.
She produced a composed performance on Ginger May Killinghurst, a 15-year-old chestnut mare by Dallas, who has previously been ridden at four-star level by Andrew Nicholson and M-J Tumbridge (Bermuda). Collett is a former Junior and Young Rider European Champion, but she admitted: "Those courses now look rather small compared to this!"
Describing her first Burghley as "amazing", she has walked the cross-country with British team manager Yogi Breisner and pronounced it: "A lovely course - as big as you would expect. I've had some serious braking problems with Ginger May Killinghurst, but I've borrowed a new bit from Lucy Wiegersma and hopefully that will do the trick. I'm definitely going to take the long route at the first of the Dairy Mound Corners."
Enjoying perfect sunny conditions, 38 of the 77 starters have now performed their dressage tests in front of Martin Plewa (GER), Marilyn Payne (USA) and Les Smith (GBR), seven of them scoring under 50.
New Zealand riders have a good record in the event, with Mark Todd joining William Fox-Pitt and Virginia Elliott (nee Holgate) as the most successful riders, each having won the prestigious crown five times - Todd most recently in 1999 on Diamond Hall Red.
Todd and Blyth Tait the only two riders to have taken first and second places in the same event in 1987 and 1998. Tait won the event, aboard ready Teddy, in 2001, Nicholson on Mr Smiffy in 2000, and aboard Buckley Province in 1995.
However, this year, the Kiwis are slightly off the pace, with Andrew Nicholson 14th on Armada, with Bruce Haskell 17th on Kiwi Smog and Dan Jocelyn and Special Attorney close behind in 19th. Caroline Powell has opted not to start her World Equestrian Games mount Mac MacDonald.
Kiwis starting today include Craig Nicolai on Just Ironic, Caroline Powell on Lenamore, Annabel Wigley on Black Drum, Mark Todd on Major Milestone, Andrew Nicholson on Avebury and Dan Jocelyn on Special Advocate.
Performances of interest included Pippa Funnell (GBR), back at Burghley for the first time since 2004, in fourth place with the French-bred Mirage d'Elle; Marina Kohncke (GER), seventh on the beautiful bay mare Calma Schelly and making her Burghley debut - her first four-star event since the Sydney Olympics 10 years ago; and Kate Walls (GBR), whose horse Alter Ego, in ninth place, has made a remarkable recovery from breaking his back in a fall at Luhmuhlen last year.
But it could be all change today. Renowned dressage expert Ruth Edge is still to come on her 2007 Luhmuhlen winner Two Thyme, who has been carefully prepared for Burghley, and World silver medallist Clayton Fredericks' (AUS) first CCI4* with new ride Be My Guest will be of interest.
King and Fox-Pitt still have their second horses to come, and strong performances are expected from the defending champion, Oliver Townend on Carousel Quest, plus other former winners Mark Todd with Major Milestone and Andrew Nicholson, on Avebury.
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