Inside Paris | Presented by International Horse Breeders
Australian eventer Chris Burton is lining up for his third Olympic Games this month after being named on the team with his new partner Shadow Man.
Chris Burton and his Paris Olympic partner Shadow Man. Image by Bit-Media.
While Chris has been based in the UK and competed at the top level for many years, like most elite Australian riders his roots trace back to a childhood spent riding ponies around the family farm.
Growing up on a Darling Downs grain farm, northwest of Toowoomba in Queensland, Chris began his riding career at age three on a pony named Clancy, who had a tendency to be a bit naughty. However, it was his next pony, an 18-year-old 14.2 hand Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred named Spice, who was the one credited with kick-starting his eventing career.
Speaking to Equestrian Life for a feature on first ponies back in November 2020, Chris said that like most good ponies, Spice came from a friend of the family. He spent his early days riding the mare around the farm chasing cows and jumping home-made cross country fences with his brother (who has since gone on to become a professional campdrafting and cutting rider).
“We did all the normal pony club activities too. Spice was incredibly tolerant; we could crawl all over her, and do whatever we wanted. If we fell off, she wouldn’t go too far away. The better we rode her, the better she went!”
One of Chris’ fondest memories of Spice was when he was quite young. “I remember we were so little we couldn’t saddle her up and if we fell off, we would keep hold of the reins and try to find some food to get her to lower her head so we could climb onto her neck and hold onto her ears, and she would lift her head up and we would scramble on and ride home.”
You can read more about Chris and his Paris Olympic horse in the July issue of Equestrian Life here.
