Wills Oakden is playing the long game when it comes to using the competitive Burghley environment as a learning exercise for himself and his stallion A Class Cooley.

The Perthshire local, 34, completed the infamous cross-country course, not without a near-20-point penalty, but is more concerned with providing his stallion with valuable experience than playing the hero.

“Everybody wants to blaze round inside the time and look like a hero,” he said, speaking after the second phase of the Defender Burghley Horse Trials. 

“For me and for A Cool Cooley today it was about getting him a good education and experience, coming home safe and sound and learning a lot for next time. 

“I want to turn him into a proper 5* horse for the future.” 

The duo won the CCI4* long at last year’s Blair Castle Horse Trials and is the only entry at Burghley for Oakden, who was fifth and eighth at last year’s event with Oughterard Cooley and Arklow Puissance.

Having fallen during the cross-country course at Badminton this spring, Oakden was determined not to repeat the offence in Lincolnshire, aiming to make it a third-time-lucky outing on the infamous track.

“He’s [A Cool Cooley] been to two 5*s now and both haven’t quite gone to plan so this was about giving him the best competition possible for the future," he added.

“He’s a horse I have a lot of belief in. I think he could do really well for us down the line, at least I hope he will, but he’s not going to do it without experience and I’m really pleased with how he’s lining up. 

“He dug deep in the cross country, kept going and he’s got a whole other range of gears.” 

As one of the latter riders to take to the start box, Oakden saw first hand the unforgiving nature of the course as 2020 Olympic gold medal winner Oliver Townend was amongst those who failed to finish.

The British rider was however unphased by the task at hand, instead choosing to use the time spent waiting wisely. 

“I watched a few riders before I went off to check that the plan I had was available to me,” he said. “It was a course that as a rider, things didn’t come up as you expected them to so it was just about trying to create space and time for yourself and keep the train on the tracks. 

“Bless him [A Cool Cooley], he did a great job and I’m proud of him. Hopefully we can build on this and get better.”

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