Pippa Funnell believes that Redesigned is the perfect ride for a brutal-looking cross-country course after the first day of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials

THREE-time Olympic medalist Pippa Funnell believes that Redesigned is the perfect ride for a brutal-looking cross-country course after the first day of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.

The Brit, who took team eventing silver at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic games, guided her horse to a dressage score of 43.0 and eighth place on day one.

That puts Funnell in a solid spot heading into Saturday with Germany's Michael Jung currently the man to beat in first with a score of 34.2.

But Funnell, who will compete at the European Championships next week, says she couldn't ask for a better horse to have under her on Saturday on the world-famous Burghley cross-country course.

“It’s a big course but Redesigned has excellent scope,” said Funnell. “The biggest challenge will be controlling his enthusiasm.

“It’s no secret that he’s a big horse for me, but you couldn’t be sat on a nicer one really.

“It’s always a little bit difficult to judge because he doesn’t run a lot, and I manage him in a certain way to keep him fit and well, so you’re never quite sure where you are fitness-wise.

“The course seriously hilly. The first three minutes is all pull up so we’ve got to be careful how we ride the first half of the course.

“The early ones to go will tell people a lot about how it’s riding. The first ten pathfinders will be a good indication about how it rides.”

Burghley is one of just six four-star rated events in the world each year, and prides itself on its tough cross-country course and world-class field.

With a whole host of high-calibre competitors, it took a stunning performance from London 2012 double gold medallist for Jung to take the day-one lead.

But despite being nine points back, Funnell was delighted with Redesigned's ninth place in the dressage, giving her confidence of achieving even more come the weekend.

“I was really thrilled with his brain,” she added. “It’s probably the best test he’s done, so I was really pleased.

“It’s always annoying to be drawn early on a Thursday morning, but he did really well.

“I maybe could have asked for a bit more in the trot work, but I was basically delighted with him.

“Burghley and Badminton are the top ones to be at now.

“Badminton was a bit softer this year whereas Burghley, having walked round it, is one of the biggest tracks I’ve seen for a long time dimensionally, and going the other way round will be interesting.”

The multi-award winning Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (3rd-6th September) has been established as a major international equestrian and social event in the Autumn Sporting Calendar for over 50 years. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk