British rider completes Burghley despite ruptured thigh muscle: ‘Icing, strapping and physio’

Emma Thomas has achieved her second Defender Burghley Horse Trials completion, despite riding with a ruptured muscle in her thigh.

The British 25-year-old jumped round the cross-country yesterday with 20 jumping penalties at the Trout Hatchery, plus some time-faults. She completed her campaign with her mother Rebecca Velarde’s 11-year-old Icarus with one rail down and 1.2 time-penalties in the showjumping this morning.

Emma was kicked in the thigh last week by her other advanced horse, The Buzz Factor, who won the under-25 CCI4*-L at Bramham Horse Trials in June.

“I think he was annoyed he wasn’t coming here – it was a case of, ‘If I’m not going, you can’t go either’,” she said. “It’s been quite sore, but it’s held up much better than I expected. We’ve managed it with a lot of icing and strapping and I’ve been really lucky to have physio twice a day with the complimentary physios on site at Burghley.

“I did feel it a little bit going off the drops across country and the drop into the Trout Hatchery especially, annoyingly – and he’s so talented he doesn’t need to have a run-out – but at least I don’t have to kick very hard on him.”

Icarus is a very keen and strong cross-country horse. Last year, he and Emma Thomas jumped round clear to finish 18th and best of the British first-timers at Burghley Horse Trials.

“He made Burghley feel easy, once again, which is slightly terrifying,” said Emma today. “There’s a bit of homework to do with the brakes still, though I’ve done a lot since Bramham, where he really ran off with me, and it was better.

“It’s mental for him – he doesn’t switch off and his brain’s going a million miles an hour, so it’s just trying to get him to take a breath. I’m so privileged to have a horse who enjoys it so much and is talented enough to run that far and finish so well. I don’t want to complain about having such an enthusiastic horse.”

Emma rides Icarus across country in a Swales Pelham.

“I had him in a Waterford for ages and I think the Swales is actually kinder on his mouth and more effective,” she said. “I think it is the right bit and now the rest of the work has to be done with the training and his mentality.”

Emma hopes to take both Icarus and The Buzz Factor to Badminton Horse Trials next spring. It would be her first time tackling the cross-country at the British spring five-star, as she withdrew Icarus after he was very tricky in the dressage there this year.

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