When I started eventing, way back in 1983, one of the first things my trainer explained was how to bridge my reins. She had me use the bridge when galloping: it gave me more security, gave my horse a constant, steady contact, and kept the reins from slipping through my fingers (or being pulled through by a strong horse).
It's the next best thing to being there. 
Oliver Townend is having a good year. After winning Badminton on Flint Curtis, he won the Landrover Burghley Horse Trials over the weekend on Carousel Quest with clean cross country and stadium rounds.