Stamford, England – A challenging cross-country phase at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials CCI4* shook up the leaderboard on Saturday. Fifty-five of the 68 combinations that started the course finished, with just two combinations going double-clear. All three U.S. combinations completed Captain Mark Phillips' tough track, with USEF Land Rover Competition Grant recipients Lynn Symansky and Donner leading the way in 20th place.

Symansky (Middleburg, Va.) and The Donner Syndicate, LLC's Donner had a stellar round in their first appearance at Burghley. Though the 2003 Thoroughbred gelding took a bit of time to settle into the atmosphere, Symansky rode him well, taking long routes at Maltings 360 and Discovery Valley, ensuring that they came home with no jumping penalties. The pair added 13.2 time penalties to their score to head into Sunday in 20th place with a score of 60.9. ?

"I couldn't be happier with him," Symansky said of her mount. "He's a spooky horse and the beginning was pretty tough for him to get into a rhythm and settle. He got better and better as it went on and was faster coming home then he was starting out. I decided to take two long routes to ensure we came home with a positive clear round since he was early in the going , so we picked up quite a bit of time, but he really tried for me and I'm really pleased."

Colleen Rutledge (Frederick, Md.) and Covert Rights, recipients of a Jacqueline B. Mars Competition Grant through the USET Foundation, also had a great day, having no jumping penalties but adding quite a bit of time. Rutledge gave the the 2006 Thoroughbred Cross gelding a wonderful ride over just his second CCI4* course, with the combination easily tackling the massive track and collecting 28.4 time penalties. They sit in 30th place on a score of 74.9.

Laine Ashker (Henrico, Va.) and her own Anthony Patch, a 1999 Thoroughbred gelding, completed their first attempt over Burghley's renowned cross-country course, but had a few issues along the way. The pair collected 40 jump penalties after stops at fences 4B of the Lion Bridge and 20A at the Land Rover Trout Hatchery, also incurring 46.4 time penalties after taking a few long routes. The pair sits in 54th place with a score of 135.2.

Michael Jung (GER) and La Biosthetique-Sam FBW are in the lead with a score of 40.0, while Tim Price (NZL) sits in second on a 41.5 with Ringwood Sky Boy and his wife Jonelle Price (NZL) is in third with Classic Moet on their dressage score of 44.9. Chris Burton (AUS) and TS Jamaimo were the other combination to go double-clear, and they currently sit on fourth on their score of 45.0.

Competition will come to a close on Sunday with the show jumping phase beginning at 10:30 a.m. BST for the first group and 2:30 p.m. BST for the second group.

Find out more about the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials CCI4* and view the results.

The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOC, and USEF Sponsors and Members. Without the support of these organizations and individuals, it would not be possible to support our athletes. The USEF is especially grateful to individuals who give generously of their time and money to support the equestrian teams.