Video of the Week: Sinead Halpin at Burghley

The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials took place from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2 this year at the historic Burghley Park in England. Along with the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and the Badminton Horse Trials, Burghley is part of the Rolex Grand Slam of eventing, and as such, draws the best horses and riders in the sport to compete each fall.

This year, American equestrian Sinead Halpin and the French-bred gelding Manoir de Carneville (known to his friends as Tate) were the team to beat. They topped the leaderboard after dressage and turned in a flawless cross-country ride to maintain that lead. Only two Americans have won Burghley in its 51-year history, and [SPOILER ALERT] Halpin very nearly became the third. Three rails in the show jumping phase knocked her down to a second-place finish behind New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson, but that doesn’t diminish her incredible performance over the weekend.

Watch below as Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville show how cross-country is meant to be ridden at the 2012 Burghley Horse Trials.

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