By Ross Lawson, Sportsbeat

GATCOMBE eventer Tom McEwen brought the curtain down on his 2017 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in perfect fashion as a stunning show-jumping performance saw him rocket up the leader-board.

Riding Toledo de Kerser, McEwen had entered the last discipline of the three-day event in seventh place, with a spot on the podium requiring something very special from the pair.

It so nearly came too, jumping a clear round to finish with a penalty score of 49.1 in the CCI4* competition, enough to see him sit in fourth place come the weekend’s finale.

But rather than being upset with being so near to a top-three place, the 25-year-old was delighted to reflect on a stunning weekend, particularly with the way they had grown this year alone.

“He’s a special horse, he would never have a pole down unless it was down to me,” he said.

“He jumped on point in there, gave a little bit of room and he just jumped superbly, he had some great consistency throughout all of his fences.

“I didn’t know how I was doing on time so we picked up a few paces, but I can have no complaints with him, he was excellent.

“I didn’t realise how tough it would be to get him back here, so to get a personal best in the dressage and have no down in the show jumping is very special.”

McEwen’s achievements were even more impressive given he had sat 20th after the dressage phase, with a stunning cross-country run helping him to within touching distance of a first top-ten finish.

Only once had he finished this particular three-day event, one of just six 4* competitions in the world calendar.

But with just 1.6 time faults in the cross country the day before his show-jumping efforts, it proved to be an easy task, taking his place among an all-British Burghley top four.

“I came here to be competitive, we picked it up dramatically in the cross country and while there are a few things to work on, we tightened up on the dressage as well,” he added.

“It was an improvement on Badminton, we’re now super excited for the future.

“He’s a beautiful horse and most people in the eventing world know that, so there was a bit more pressure to produce him, but I’d say I’ve done it right.

“We didn’t come here to take it easy, especially with a horse like him.”

The multi-award winning Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials from August 31 – September 3 has been established as a major international equestrian and social event in the Autumn Sporting Calendar for over 50 years. For more information visit burghley-horse.co.uk