| Nicknames |
Chris, Burto (Facebook page, 10 Dec 2020; Athlete, 04 Jul 2012) |
| Hobbies |
Skiing, water skiing, golf, playing the guitar. (badminton-horse.co.uk, 14 Apr 2019) |
| Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning the team competition at the 2016 Nations Cup event in Aachen, Germany. (Insights Magazine, 01 Feb 2022) |
| Most influential person in career |
His mother, and coach Nelson Pessoa. (racingqueensland.com.au, 19 May 2022; Insights Magazine, 01 Feb 2022) |
| Hero / Idol |
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. (Athlete, 04 Jul 2012) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Never give up on your dreams and never forget to pack clean underwear." (Athlete, 04 Jul 2012) |
| Awards and honours |
He was named New South Wales Eventing Rider of the Year on four occasions between 2005 and 2010. He also won the 2005 Australian Eventer Rider of the Year award. (chrisburtoneventing.com, 18 Sep 2017)
He won the 2008 Anna Savage Medal, which is presented to Australia's best and fairest event rider [co-recipient with Megan Jones]. (equestrian.org.au, 02 Nov 2011) |
| Other sports |
He competed in equestrian jumping at the 2008 World Cup event in Sale, VIC, Australia. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jul 2020) |
| Famous relatives |
His brother and sister in law Karl and Felicity Burton are known campdrafting riders in Australia. |
| Other information |
SWITCHING DISCIPLINES
In early 2022 he announced that he would be switching to compete in equestrian jumping with a view to representing Australia in the sport at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. "I have always loved showjumping and it has always been a passion of mine. Having a team of jumping horses and a team of eventing horses like I had is tough. I was finding I was enjoying the jumping more than the eventing. Temporarily stepping back from eventing has been a really tough decision, especially when you think that eventing has been at the core of my life since I was a boy. When we spoke to our owners, and family and sponsors, we were overwhelmed by the strength of support that we were shown. I have had a fantastic career so far and a plethora of happy memories. I have no doubt one day that I will come back to eventing as it is a big part of who I am. But for now, I am excited to sink my teeth into this next chapter." (eqlifemag.com.au, 01 Jul 2022; Insights Magazine, 01 Feb 2022)
Fast forward to 2024 and he announces an eventing come back with horse Shadow Man and is bidding for a spot on both the eventing and jumping team at the Paris Olympics. Something not done since the 80s.
FROM AUSTRALIA TO ENGLAND
He relocated from Australia to England in early 2011 to improve his chances of selection for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. He is based at Chedington Equestrian near Beaminster in Dorset, England, and runs the Chris Burton Academy. "I moved to England in 2011 with six really nice horses. All my owners in Australia supported my move here and helped me to get set up here. People forget that Australia really dominated the sport of eventing in the 1990s and into 2000 and it hasn't really gone anywhere. But it is fair to say, if you ask me, England is the best place to be based as an event rider and is the hub of eventing. For me, being based here, I can compete more horses and get to more major competitions. There is no doubt in my mind that one day we will move home to Australia. I'm not sure when that will be, but it's the greatest country on earth and we miss it very much. I'm really lucky. Bec, my wife, is Australian and she, like me, would be happy to move back to Australia one day – but in the meantime, we've got bigger fish to fry. We're well set up in the UK, so we'll keep going." (eqlifemag.com.au, 01 Jul 2022; chedington.co.uk, 18 Jun 2021; horsemagazine.com, 12 Jun 2021; eqlifemag.com.au, 01 Oct 2020; broadwindsor.org, 21 Jun 2020; burtonequestrian.com, 31 Dec 2019; equestrian.org.au, 02 Nov 2011)
OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has been a mentor for Equestrian Australia's High Performance Eventing Generation NEXT Squad riders. (equestrian.org.au, 07 Jan 2021; eqlifemag.com.au, 01 Oct 2020) |
FEI Database
www.burtonequestrian.com 
www.facebook.com/burtonequestrian 
instagram.com/burtonequestrian 
