Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class. Photo by Libby Law.

When just one horse-and-rider pair jumped clear in the morning session of showjumping at Defender Burghley today — that was Harry Meade and Away Cruising, for what it’s worth — we knew that nothing would come easily in this afternoon’s finale. Of course, that was already a bit of a given; of the top ten after cross-country, very few could be considered exceptional show jumpers, and certainly neither overnight leader Tim Price’s Vitali, nor overnight runner-up Oliver Townend’s Ballaghmor Class, would be easily bestowed with the accolade.

And so it began, and the rails, as predicted, fell en masse, even for typically very good jumpers. There were some excellent early efforts; first-timers Emma Thomas and Icarus and relatively inexperienced combination — and fellow Wesko Equestrian Federation benefactors — Kristina Hall-Jackson and CMS Google each delivered elusive clears, popping them up a handful of places apiece, as did Alex Bragg‘s upstart Quindiva, who moved into the top fifteen as a result. But in total? Just six of the 32 starters executed a double-clear round, which meant that by the time the final handful of combinations came forward, the atmosphere in the place was a true pressure cooker.

First, overnight fifth-placed Sam Watson and SAP Talisman tipped four rails, pushing themselves right out of the hunt; then, overnight fourth-placed Wills Oakden and Oughterard Cooley took one, despite a classy effort. Finally, it was the turn of third-place David Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed, arguably the pair with the greatest advantage in this phase, as they’ve not had a rail in 2023 and jumped clear previously at both Badminton and Kentucky on the final day. Sitting in third overnight, they were, on paper at least, in a fortuitous position as far as mindset is concerned — but would the pressure of possibility still get to them? Would we see them tip the final fence and miss out, as we had done when they jumped in the lead spot at Pau last year, handing the win to Jonelle Price?

We wouldn’t, as it turns out: the Wiltshire-based part-time ice-cream maker and his extraordinary horse, with whom he’s logged three top tens in a row at the level prior to this week, delivered the round of the day. It was smooth, classy, clean, and ensured they’d be the only pair in the competition to finish on their dressage score — but would it be enough? All they could do was wait — “and I’m not very good at watching,” admitted David.

Next up to bat was Oliver Townend, with a rail-and-change in hand aboard the 2017 winner of this event. They’ve lost as many five-stars as they’ve won off the back of a rail down — or, in the case of Badminton 2019, a stride and thus a second that they couldn’t afford — but today, it looked as though they’d avoid that curse. Until, of course, they came to the final fence, established take-off — and took the top rail with them. But without having lost any time around the track, it could still be enough — provided that dressage-record-setters Tim Price and Vitali stuck to prior form and tipped three rails, as they’ve done in each of the horse’s three prior five-stars.

They did. Three rails later, they’d dropped themselves into a final fourth place — and Oliver Townend was named the winner of the 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials, by just seven tenths of a penalty over David Doel.

Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class add another five-star win to their record. Photo by Libby Law.

There are few horses, whether in the modern era of the sport or in its century-and-a-bit long history, that have established the sort of consistency that we’ve seen from 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse Ballaghmor Class (Courage II – Kilderry Place, by an unrecorded sire). In nine five-star runs, he’s never finished lower than fifth; today, he added a third win at the level to his roster, completing a full circle that began with his debut — and first win — as a ten-year-old here.

It’s a sea change for Oliver, whose 2022 season brought with it a lack of top-level wins, and the loss of the FEI World Number One spot, after numerous seasons at the top of his game — and one that he’s been working his way towards ever since.

“Last year, we didn’t win a five star, which was the first year for a while that we hadn’t; we’d been on a good roll, but it was the same year that I joined Caunton Stud,” says Oliver, referring to the high-powered competition and breeding base of Victoria Wright, daughter of Sir John Peace, who had begun a professional partnership with Townend following the tragic passing of her late husband, fellow event rider Matthew Wright, in 2021. That new system, which sees him ride a string of exciting horses for Caunton from their own base, while maintaining his own string at his Gadlas Farm in Shropshire, represented a huge, but exciting, demand on his time — and one he needed to ensure he balanced properly.

‘We were trying to figure out if we were making sure everything was still being done the way we want it done, with two yards two and a half hours apart,” he says. “But this just cements that the teams at both yards are still doing all the right things with the horses, and now we can kick on and hopefully breathe into it and relax and and keep producing these results.”

Oliver Townend: your 2023 Defender Burghley champion. Photo by Libby Law.

For Oliver, who names Burghley as “the best five-star in the world; my favourite five-star”, winning again is undeniably special — but winning aboard ‘Thomas’, who was originally produced as a young horse in Ireland by Katherine Charlton, is even better, despite his occasional penchant for poles.

“I think his other two phases are strong enough to forgive him the occasional fence down, and when he doesn’t have a fence down, he wins. I think he’s jumping as good as he’s ever jumped,” says Oliver. “I got to the second to last and thought, ‘Christ, we’re still clear, go on!’ — and then, BANG! But what can I say about him — he’s a freak of nature ,and the people behind him in terms of the staff at home are just incredible. They’ve all been with me between seven and fourteen years; they’ve known all the horses since they were four years old — and horses don’t lie. If there’s a five-star on in the world, generally we’re there and near the top. So, the important thing is that he’s as sound as he’s ever been. He feels better than he’s ever felt and he’s performed amazingly.”

And what is it that makes Ballaghmor Class so special?

“He’s a true event horse,” says Oliver. “He’s brave. You know, at a couple of fences yesterday I thought, ‘oh, good distance!’ and then he absolutely walloped them and I was like, ‘oh my god. What are you doing?!’ But he still has his ears pricked and a smile on his face. And I think it’s that bravery that makes him perhaps not the most careful event horse, but at the same time, as long as I keep doing my job and he keeps doing his job, the form says the rest — and I love his form. If we went back to the long format tomorrow he’d still come out on top; he’s a fighter. Whatever era you put this horse in, he will win.”

David Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed. Photo by Libby Law.

For David Doel, who got the most colossal cheers of the week for his exceptional clear today, this career-best second-place finish is something extraordinarily special — and if any part of him is thinking about what could have been, it’d be very hard to spot that through his palpable, hugely well-earned delight.

“Our luck was here this week,” says David, his characteristic broad smile etched across his face. “We didn’t have the luck at Pau, when we lost the lead, and I had a couple of lucky rubs, for sure, but he’s such a special horse — he’s magic.”

Galileo Nieuwmoed has been proving himself a horse of a lifetime for David over the last couple of years, with a fourth-place finish at Pau last year, a sixth-place finish at Badminton last spring, an eighth-place finish at Kentucky this spring, and two four-star wins to his name already in just his twelve-year-old season. He came into this afternoon’s showjumping as the only horse at the upper end of the leaderboard with a statistical chance of a clear — and cool-headed David rode the round of his life to make sure that happened.

“He’s an absolutely mega horse to ride,” he says. “We had our plan for the morning, for the trot up, and we had our plan for the jumping in the afternoon — and it’s not very often the plan goes right, but this weekend, we’ve ticked all those boxes and the plan has gone well.”

Now, the obvious question on everyone’s mind is this: where next for Galileo, who, but for a first-phase that’s still not quite consistent — he earned a 33.7 this week — could be the sort of British team anchor that could be counted on on the biggest of stages?

“I’ve not really thought past this weekend, honestly,” admits David. “But I was obviously a little bit disappointed to miss out on the Europeans, and so it was a great thing to be able to come here and show the form he has. I guess, now that he has a second, a fourth, a sixth, and an eighth at five-star, we’ve got to win one!”

Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal. Photo by Libby Law.

After delivering the only clear of the morning session with first ride Away Cruising, Harry Meade returned for the afternoon to pilot his debutant mare Cavalier Crystal around the influential track in pursuit of their overnight sixth — or better. And though she’s one of the least experienced horses in the field, she delivered a clear as classy as her much more seasoned stablemates, which allowed her to sit pretty on the leaderboard and climb thereafter, up to an eventual third place.

“She’s such a fun jumper,” enthuses Harry. “She’s obviously a totally different ride from Away Cruising, but for both of them to have come out today and jumped clear rounds, it’s really just so exciting for the whole team. It’s nice — on a good jumper you can really enjoy it and just go in and have fun.”

Harry came to Burghley this week with three horses: hugely experienced pathfinder Away Cruising, debutant Crystal in the middle of the pack, and former stallion Tenareze as his third ride yesterday, but before coming, he tells us that he really wasn’t sure what to expect from the up-and-coming mare in her step up. While she’s obviously relished the experience, it’s also provided an immense learning opportunity, both for her to discover the upper echelon of her sport, and for Harry to discover more about her, too.

“The biggest question for me was how she coped with the atmosphere,” he says. “Not so much in the final jumping phase, but just generally — and also the speed and endurance on the cross country. Even before I went to get on her yesterday I was questioning it; I hoped it would be the right decision for her. But I think she thoroughly proved that she’s a five-star horse through and through. Today, if I could choose a horse to be sitting on, I was delighted it was her. Away Cruising has very different characteristics, and he was a good warm-up horse for me to jump a clear round with — and then I was able to get on and just really enjoy her.”

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Libby Law.

Though those three rails were achingly disappointing, and cost him another Burghley win to add to his 2018 victory, Tim Price didn’t have too far to fall with his two-phase leader, Vitali. They wound up in fourth place at the close of the competition — a respectable finish for a pair who began their week by setting a dressage record of 18.7.

“It’s super disappointing, and the gravity of that will come on in a few hours,” says Tim. “Showjumping is his Achilles’ heel, and we know that — I was just desperate to turn that around and get our first great result in the showjumping department. It’s disappointing, and it’s back to the drawing board. He’s a funny little fish, and we’ve just got to figure him out. I’ve never been very good at Rubik’s cubes, but I’ll get there in the end, I’m sure.”

Wills Oakden and Oughterard Cooley. Photo by Libby Law.

Scotland’s Wills Oakden isn’t the kind of man to come to a five-star aiming to be an also-ran, but despite his exceptional ability as a cross-country jockey, he’s never quite snuck into the business end of the leaderboard — before this week. And if you’d told him before he arrived that he’d end up with two horses in the top ten, having executed a twenty-plus place climb over cross-country and tipping just a rail apiece to stay well in the mix?

“I’d have said you’re insane,” he laughs. “But it’s worked out, and it’s full credit to the two horses and all their connections for obviously supporting me and give me the rides. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to try and get the best out of them.”

Oughterard Cooley, who joined Galileo Nieuwmoed as one of two horses inside the time yesterday, slipped from fourth to fifth with one rail, while former Oliver Townend ride Arklow Puissance, also by the late Irish sire Puissance, climbed from ninth to eighth with his own rail.

“It’s surprising but absolutely brilliant,” says Wills of his banner week at Burghley. “They’re two out-and-out jumping horses and cross country horses, and to have the rides that I’ve had is unbelievable, really.”

Wills Oakden and Arklow Puissance. Photo by Libby Law.

Wills came to Burghley off the back of a major win in the CCI4*-L at his local international, Scotland’s Blair Castle, where he also took a three-star section — but, he says, he didn’t let the buzz of that win influence him as he came to the biggest event of his season.

“It’s a completely different week, so when you drive out of one event, you just start thinking about the next one,” he says, with no shortage of pragmatism. “Coming down here we just had to trust the work we’ve done at home; we knew we’d got them properly fit and well, and we just came to have a go, really, but it’s worked out.”

Pippa Funnell and Majas Hope. Photo by Libby Law.

Pippa Funnell, too, tipped a pole with her stalwart campaigner Majas Hope, and though she was still able to climb from eighth to sixth, she had one thing to say as she rode out of the ring: “Bugger!” she laughs. “Because actually, he jumped well. I was very pleased with how he’s jumping.”

Her husband, British team showjumper William Funnell, helped her with her preparation for this phase — a dynamic she might be rethinking going forward.

“I didn’t jump him so much in the warm-up, and William said, ‘whatever you do, don’t start pulling and hooking, because then he inverts’,” says Pippa. “I came out of the ring and he says, ‘You were too free there’. So maybe I should have hooked and pulled a bit! But Hope’s been lovely this weekend. He’s been fabulous. And actually, he was unlucky to have one down as opposed to being lucky having one down. He did jump well, so I’m delighted.”

Every year, Pippa says, she considers starting to plan the end of her extraordinary top-level career — but weeks like this make her rethink the decision.

“I’ve gone right down to four horses thinking, ‘Okay, I’ll see these through,'” she says. “Now I’m thinking, ‘I’d really like another couple of nice six year olds!’ When you go around and have a ride like yesterday, you sort of think, ‘Oh my god, there’s a bit more juice in me left.’ But I don’t know. We’ll see. It might be a different story in two weeks!”

Alice Casburn and Topspin. Photo by Libby Law.

On the other end of a top-level career is 21-year-old Alice Casburn, who once again found herself in the top ten at the end of the week having delivered a clear showjumping round with her homebred, Topspin. This year, that round, and that finish, represented a weeklong climb from first-phase 37th to a final seventh — though she wasn’t always sure she’d get their characteristic perfect finale this time.

“He was quite quiet in the warm-up and I was like, ‘oh god, is he alright?’,” she laughs. “And then he goes in there and he just completely lights up. He goes all spooky and over-excitable, but he’s incredible. I couldn’t be more thrilled with him.”

That reactivity might, in a funny sort of way, actually be the lynchpin that pulls the whole thing together, because it forces a reaction: “The first three fences I’m still a little bit like, cold feet,” explains Alice. “But then, actually, I was so worried about that I started riding it like a jump-off at a showjumping show, and I actually really enjoyed myself. I think as soon as I get into it and I get going, I’m pretty calm but going in absolutely not. I don’t think I breathed! I’s incredible; even when you walk in and you haven’t even done anything yet, the crowds are cheering at you and you hear the gasps as you go around as well. I don’t think any other feeling would beat it.”

Of her six-time five-star partner, who still lives in the stable he was born in, she smiles, “He deserves it so much. I’m so young, so to have an experience like this with a horse like him — I feel incredibly lucky.”

Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg TSF. Photo by Libby Law.

Ninth and tenth place went the way of Boyd Martin riding Tsetserleg TSF and On Cue, respectively — but though it’s an incredibly exciting result, ultra-competitive Boyd is already thinking about how he could have engineered a better one, particularly with talented Tsetserleg, who tipped three rails today to drop from overnight seventh.

“I jumped fence one and he was jumping so well, and then I came through the turn and he lost his lead, and then he had trouble making the turn,” explains Boyd. “And then I ended up to an impossible distance at fence two and he went through it. So we plowed fence three and then we regained ourselves and finished jumping well. And Cue, she had two down so, obviously it’s always lovely to jump clear, but I really feel like we gave our best this weekend. It’s so tough at this level of the sport.”

Tsetserleg’s return to form after tricky runs at both Kentucky and Luhmühlen, and Cue’s return to the sport after nearly two years off after her win at the inaugural Maryland five-star, give Boyd plenty of hope for the future — and plenty of positives to take forward as he looks towards another couple of five-star runs with younger horses at the tail end of the year.

Boyd Martin and On Cue. Photo by Libby Law.

“I’ve got a good group now,” he says. “The thing I’m happy about is that Cue hasn’t done much since that Maryland, and I just wanted to get through this unscathed — and I feel like she’s got plenty left in the tank at the end. And same with Thomas; he’s had a bit of a shonky year at five-star, and there was a lot of whispering that he’s past his prime. To come out here and jump around this, I feel like his career’s still to continue, and I’m very, very pleased for the Turner family who backed me for so many years. The Yanks are on top of the world at the moment, but we’re still going to get better. We’ve got some awesome horses, and awesome riders, and we still need to make up just a bit to be the best in the world.”

At the end of the day, he says, these weeks — these enormous efforts, these results, these highs and lows — are all about the horses underneath you.

“I’m actually really in awe of both these horses’ characters,” says Boyd. “They fight for me, and I don’t know if they’re born like that, or it’s through the partnership or something in their DNA, but there’s so many moments, especially in this last third of a course, where I think, ‘you have every reason to pull up right now’. But they don’t. I feel them grit their teeth and pin their ears back, and I don’t call on them like that very often — it’s once or twice maybe a year — but when I do ask for that grit and determination, God, they want to do it. They do it for me. And I just love them for that.”

Jessica Phoenix and Wabbit. Photo by Libby Law.

Canada’s Jessica Phoenix and Wabbit came to Burghley this week knowing that everything — the long trip to the UK, the time spent based with Tim and Jonelle Price, the money and time and effort and faith put into the whole undertaking — would be worth it to give the off-the-track Thoroughbred the chance to run over a course that matched his big heart and huge stride. That’s all paid off remarkably well for them; though they began their week out of the hunt in 29th place, they climbed and climbed yesterday to move up to 15th on their 10.8 time penalties and today, after tipping one rail and adding 1.2 time penalties, they moved up again, to a hugely exciting eleventh place.

“It’s a very good day in the office for Wabbit,” says Olympian Jessica with a broad smile. “It’s a true achievement, absolutely. Just to have that horse come out and perform the way he did today is just a miracle. It’s beyond our expectations. It’s like a God-given day.”

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Libby Law.

Jennie Brannigan slots in right behind her in twelfth place, having knocked just one rail with the cross-country specialist FE Lifestyle, who has impressed throughout the week despite constantly playing catch-up after a flight delay meant he only arrived a week ago.

“It’s been a bit stressful, honestly, because the horse did not ship over here well,” explains Jennie. “And so we’ve been staying up late nights, shout out to my girls. So it’s been a lot of work but obviously totally worth it. He’s a great horse, and the rail was definitely my fault, but I’m excited to maybe come back here in the future.”

Will Faudree and Mama’s Magic Way. Photo by Libby Law.

Will Faudree and Mama’s Magic Way took a final sixteenth place, after a frustrating round for them saw them take three rails.

“For all that he’s done, he’s still quite green and affected by atmosphere, especially at combinations because he tends to stare through them,” explains Will. “So when I saw that the triple combination was coming at fence five, I think I just oversteadied a little bit and got a little bit quiet in, which was my plan, but then he didn’t quite cover the back rail. Then, I just think he got flustered at the next two but then he got his composure back and jumped the end of the course really great. So you know, it’s not the result you want, but you dream of coming to these events your whole life and then you get here and not all of us can produce it on the day. I’m happy to complete — I didn’t get that done in 2012.”

If there’s anything we’ve learned this week at Burghley — and, frankly, in any of our five-star reporting roles — it’s that getting to this stage of the week is an accomplishment almost beyond words, and managing to do so in the top twenty, or top ten? That’s something you can dine out on for a lifetime. That’s all from us for now from the 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials — thank you for joining us on this wild ride, and roll on the next one!

Go Eventing.

The top ten at the 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials.

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage

Overnight leaders Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It’s been a morning of two halves here at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials. We woke up, bright-ish and sort of bushy-tailed, to discover news of five overnight withdrawals, thinning the field to 32 going into the final phase, and feared an ongoing morning of drama — but then, as the final horse inspection unfolded in front of ground jury members Christian Steiner, Anne-Mette Binder, and Nick Burton, it was all… rather boring, actually. Not a single one of our remaining horses was so much as asked to trot a second time, and all 32 looked fit, well, and in good condition following yesterday’s exertions. It’s the kind of ‘boring’ that we all tend to long for.

Those withdrawals came from across the breadth of the leaderboard. Most notably, though also most unsurprisingly, was the withdrawal of ninth-placed Tenareze, who was the last horse on course yesterday with Harry Meade, and completed with 9.6 time penalties but pulled up lame at the finish. Harry and his team have since posted an update on the gelding on social media: “He’s happy, settled & comfortable in his stable this evening having pulled up lame,” they write. “The veterinary team at the finish were absolutely brilliant and with him within seconds. Thankfully he will be fine although sadly for him won’t get his chance to shine in the show jumping tomorrow.”

Will Faudree and Mama’s Magic Way move into the top ten. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

That withdrawal now means that US representatives Will Faudree and Mama’s Magic Way step up into the top ten going into showjumping.

Also withdrawn was 25th-placed Ferro Point, the other ride of David Doel, who sits third with his remaining horse, Galileo Nieuwmoed. Tom McEwen, who pulled up on course yesterday with Toledo de Kerser, who is also confirmed to be happy and well at home in his stable, opted to withdraw his debutant, Luna Mist, who sat 19th after cross-country, and British-based US rider and five-star first-timer Grace Taylor withdrew Game Changer from 16th place. Former British under-25 title-holders Greta Mason and Cooley For Sure also withdrew from 35th place.

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Two prizes were awarded at the final horse inspection. The Best-Shod Horse prize was given to Tim and Nina Gardner’s FE Lifestyle, ridden by Jennie Brannigan and shod by Russell Deering. The Horsemanship Prize for the groom who was deemed to have gone above and beyond in their care of their charge was awarded to Amy Akehurst, groom for Tom Crisp and Liberty and Glory, who has also been a previous winner of this prize at Badminton. Second place went to Kerryn Edmans, groom for overnight leaders Tim Price and Vitali.

Tom Crisp and the best cared-for horse, Liberty and Glory, groomed by Amy Akehurst. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Now, it’s all about the showjumping — and that top few horses and riders. We’ve got an exciting afternoon ahead of us, not least because our overnight leaders have just 2.3 penalties in hand — and in three five-stars, have consistently had three rails down each time. But in second place, Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class aren’t a guaranteed jumping pair either; they pulled four rails at Pratoni last year, and though they have jumped clear and won at the level, they’ve also had to settle for a top-five placing a number of times on the basis of this phase. And then, in third place, there’s David Doel. He’s 7 penalties — less than two rails — behind the leader, and 4.7 penalties — a rail and less than two seconds — behind Oliver, and he and Galileo Nieuwmoed haven’t had a rail down in 2023. They’ve jumped clear at Kentucky and Badminton, and while they did tip the final rail at Pau last year while in the lead, they come into the ring in a much more fortuitous and less pressurised position. Just 1.2 penalties, or three seconds, behind him is Wills Oakden and Oughterard Cooley, who had three rails here last year and two at Badminton this spring, and then, in fifth, it’s Sam Watson and SAP Talisman, who haven’t yet had a clear round in a long-format. Expect big changes and a tonne of excitement to come (and maybe pour yourself a stiff drink to get through the stress of it all).

Here’s a look at the top ten going into showjumping this afternoon:

The first group of 12 horses and riders will take to the showjumping ring from 10:30 a.m. local time/5.30 a.m. EST. The top twenty will follow on from 14.15 p.m. local/9.15 a.m. EST. Keep it locked onto EN for a full report on all the action — and to meet our 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials champion!

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Peter Nixon/Defender Burghley Horse Trials.

In classic Burghley fashion, cross-country day has been a day of major changes, colossal climbs — and no shortage of surprises. Just four of our top ten after dressage remain in the hunt after cross-country, though no one could quite have predicted the variety of ways in which major contenders fell by the wayside: second-placed Oliver Townend and Swallow Springs retired at the Dairy Mound (20ABC) after effectively landing in the huge oxer at A; fourth-placed Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser also pulled up, though just before fence 12, the Waterloo Rails, after the horse took some lame steps. Fifth-placed Ros Canter and Pencos Crown Jewel saw their day end at the Dairy Mound when the newly-crowned European Champion took a shock tumble at the second element, the first of the skinny triple bars, and tenth-placed Emily King and Valmy Biats dropped down to 29th after a topsy-turvy round full of enormously classy moments but also no shortage of rotten luck, which saw them activate a pin at those Waterloo Rails — “I don’t think you’re meant to miss at a five-star fence,” she jokes, wryly — and then get their stud girth caught on the fence. They steadily navigated the rest of the course battling a shifted girth, a lost whip, and a bad chest infection (for Emily, not, crucially, Valmy), and so finished in fine style but with a sensible 30.8 time penalties as well as those 11 frangible penalties.

But where there were high-profile disappointments (who, for example, could have guessed that Oliver’s first ride of the day, with Tregilder, would end because of a snapped rein, or that hugely experienced trailblazers Harry Meade and Away Cruising would pick up their first 20 in six years?), there were also countless of the kind of stories that make this event so special, and so unique. Take, for example, the 33- and 23-place climbs executed by Scotland’s Wills Oakden, who rocketed into the top ten on both rides as a result of his swift, capable riding; see also the lifts from 37th and 26th to 13th and 14th, respectively, by Alice Casburn and Topspin and Tom Crisp and Liberty and Glory after masterclass efforts. We’ve seen first-timers — horses and riders alike — excel: take British-based US representative Grace Taylor and Game Changer, for example, who might have dropped out of the top ten into 16th with their 17.6 time penalties, but still looked as though they’d walked the course together while tackling their step up, or Wesko Equestrian Foundation beneficiaries Emma Thomas and Icarus, who kept on digging deep and romped home to sit just outside the top twenty with a 25-place climb.

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Peter Nixon/Defender Burghley Horse Trials.

And then there was our overnight leader, who left the startbox late in the day with an enviable margin, thanks to the remarkable 18.7 he’d put on the board yesterday, setting a venue record, a five-star record, and a personal international record all in one go. As it turned out, New Zealand’s Tim Price and Vitali would need it; they added 8 time penalties during their round, allowing them to maintain their grasp on first place — thanks, in part, to disasters that befell many of their nearest competitors — but taking away any hope of a rail in hand for tomorrow’s finale, too.

That eight time penalties — that’s twenty seconds — came as something of a surprise, both to spectators and to Tim, too: the 13-year-old Holsteiner hasn’t yet made the time at five-star, but he’s come close to it. But, Tim explains, today he had a rather different feeling underneath him than he’s used to.

“He was just not taking me from the start for whatever reason — horses aren’t machines,” he reasons. “He still had a desire to go, but just not the same speed as what I’ve had with him in the past, so you’ve just got to ride with what’s beneath you. His jump stayed good, and the action was good all the way home. It was just a matter of just trying to just eke a little bit more out of him. For him, he’s such an internaliser. I’ve said before, I think it did him some good at some stages, to take a breath and relax and then get into a good wind kind of mode. He just stayed a little bit held, but I’m really proud of him, he just kept coming. At one point, I thought it was a long way to home, but he kept trying and we got there.”

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Libby Law.

The pair looked classy around the course, but for one nearly moment at the Irish Bank at 17A, when the gelding came close to tripping himself up while touching down atop the obstacle.

“I just wish I didn’t see that distance,” says Tim. “I was just trying to be cheeky under the tree and took my eye off the distanace and I had to sort of hook it out of the ground. And then I thought, ‘you’ve asked for trouble now’. Anyway, we got away with it, and the rest really was just a tough day in the office around a five-star really.”

One of the highlights of the round came at the Holland Cooper Leaf Pit at 7ABCD, where Vitali locked on and attacked the colossal final elements of the question, which was ultimately the most influential of the day with 15 combinations picking up penalties, despite most riders assessing it as an easier iteration of the complex than in previous years.

“That’s what makes him the horse that he is cross country,” Tim explains. ‘He switches on when it’s really important to, and he responds to my questions when he needs to. Not just for staying inside the flags, but for safety and for all these other things that we have to deal with all the way round the course. But we’ve had lovelier rounds; Badminton in the mud was really smooth and it was, I think, one of my most favourite rounds of my career. But with horses being horses, you can’t expect that every time, and every day is different. It’s become quite warm this afternoon, whether it’s that or whether it’s just the side of the bed he got out on, he just wasn’t taking me today like he can do.”

Now, the pair go into tomorrow’s showjumping finale with less than a rail — 2.3 penalties, to be precise — in hand. That’s not, perhaps, the proximity that Tim would have liked to have borne; in his three five-stars, Vitali has had three rails down each time.

“He’s just not all that confident with atmosphere,” says Tim, who has taken the gelding jumping in the Spanish winter tours in a bid to build his confidence in this phase. “He’s actually quite a good jumper. He’s quite an athlete and he wants to do the right thing, but he might leave the building for thirty seconds or so which isn’t helpful. But our preparations have been really good; I’ve been mixing it up a little bit with my approach to it all, and I think he’s come here really happy and relaxed. I’m looking forward to having a chance of demonstrating that tomorrow.”

Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class. Photo by Libby Law.

After two rounds that he’d rather forget — that broken rein with Tregilder, for one, and the crash through the oxer at the Dairy Mound with Swallow Springs, after which he retired — Oliver Townend was relieved to leave the start box for the final time on a horse who’s not only won here, on his debut as a ten-year-old six years ago, but is, arguably, the most consistent cross-country horse in the world. Ballaghmor Class has run at eight five-stars, and has never finished outside the top five in any of them — and once again, he proved today precisely why that is, with a positive, confident round that saw him hold his overnight second place, albeit with 4.8 additional time penalties.

“After the first two, I did think, ‘here we go again!’ It’ll be like twelve months ago, hitting the floor twice without feeling like we’d done too much wrong,” says Oliver. “So it was good that the last one was Mr Reliable. What can you say about him? He’s a freak of nature, and not only is my hero, but the horse of a lifetime.”

His time penalties, he explains, came because adjusting the 16-year-old’s stride proved tricky around the long, tough track.

“He wasn’t giving me the easiest ride; he’s definitely not showing his age! He was keen, keen, keen,” he says. “He opens the stride easily, but then it doesn’t close — going down to fence five, the rail and ditch, I had no control whatsoever, and the very last stride before we took off at the rail was the shortest stride he took and the only split second I was in control. But he just knows what he’s doing, and as long as I show him where we’re going, he does it nicely.”

Both his earlier rides, he says, returned to the stables feeling fit and well and ready to potentially reroute after some conversations with the owners.

“It’s a huge credit to the team at home. These horses don’t lie; they don’t turn up as old as they are again and again and again and again with their ears pricked, doing their jobs, without incredible management behind the scenes,” says Oliver. “All the girls back home have been there for years and years. We’re all getting older, but we’re all still madly passionate about the horses and they keep coming to these big events and putting in great performances.”

David Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed. Photo by Libby Law.

At the very start of the day, two riders put down exceptional clear rounds inside the time — and though we all wondered, for just a fleeting moment, if that might mean that the time would prove gettable all day, nobody else managed it throughout the rest of the 58 rounds.

The fastest of those? Wiltshire-based David Doel and the consummate galloper Galileo Nieuwmoed, who once again showed the utter class that has seen them finish in the top ten at Badminton, Kentucky, and Pau — the latter of which they led after this phase. They came home in 10:57, nine seconds inside the time, and stepped up from overnight 25th to third place going into the final phase.

“He’s had great five-star form and he’s a lovely galloping horse — he gallops so easily across the ground,” says David, who was up on his minute markers throughout the course. “He turned really well, even though this was probably a bit of a fiddly course for him; he’s got a big stride and really likes to open up, so with the twists and turns, I wasn’t really sure how he’d take it. He felt a little bit tired coming off the Dairy Mound, but he picked up really well coming home and gave me a super feel.”

But the credit can’t go wholly to Galileo Nieuwmoed: David himself has proven time and time again that he’s exceptional at riding a swift rhythm and finding economical lines and approaches, a skill that’s helped him catch the time at several five-stars with different horses.

“It’s been a lot of years of work, and it’s been a real team effort over the years — we’ve made some mistakes and learned from them, and I made mistakes today and we’ll learn from them again,” says David, who also sits 25th with second ride Ferro Point after an early drive-by at the final element of the Leaf Pit and a respectable 9.6 time penalties, even with that runout. “So it’s an ever-evolving sort of picture really. I like going quickly, don’t get me wrong, it’s good fun, but I’m very lucky to have two lovely horses here at the moment that you can sit on top of and let jump underneath you, and they gave me super rides.”

And going into the final phase? David sits on a score of 33.7, which puts him seven penalties — or less than two rails — behind the leaders, and a rail and just under two seconds behind Oliver, who, like our overnight leaders, will be achingly aware that tomorrow’s phase isn’t always his most straightforward. As for Galileo? He’s not yet had a rail this year, and he jumped clear on the final day at Badminton last year, so while the memory of losing the win at Pau when the final rail fell will probably still sting, he has the great benefit of going into tomorrow’s competition without the pressure of jumping for the win outright. All he has to do is get the job done and wait, for what will probably be the longest two rounds of his life thereafter.

Wills Oakden and Oughterard Cooley. Photo by Libby Law.

The other clear inside the time went the way of Scotland’s Wills Oakden, who brought to Burghley all the confidence that comes from having just won a home CCI4*-L — he took Blair Castle’s feature class, plus a three-star victory, last month — and, of course, two excellent horses. His first, the hugely athletic Oughterard Cooley, was the one with whom he caught the time, and really, this has been waiting in the wings for a while: the gelding finished just outside the top ten here last year and at that tough Badminton this spring, and now, at thirteen, he’s truly hitting his peak. He now sits fourth, having climbed from 27th after dressage.

But, he laughs, “I’ve no shame to admit,  I was out of control the whole way! There was not much being able to ‘whoa’ to prepare for fences. It was just trying to pick a spot, either left or right, in the gear we were in, because he was just relentless, but so cool. He’s a really cool horse.”

One of the secret weapons that Wills has utilised to find Oughterard Cooley’s penchant for speed has been to team up with Grand National-winning racehorse trainer Lucinda Russell, with whom he’s undertaken fitness work on her gallops in Kinross.

“I’m very grateful for the support I get with him, and for the owners — I’m so happy for them,” says Wills. “We’ve had a lot of help this summer from Lucinda — we used her gallops and she’s helped us with the fitness, because he’s been five-star twice and I thought both times we could have got more out of him. He’s really found his guts now with a little tweak from her, and I’m just so proud and so impressed with him. I was slightly terrified at times; it was good! He’s so gutsy, and he just digs so deep and gets going.”

Another way that Wills moderated the energy to ensure he had enough in the tank to catch up at the end was by moderating his own reactions — something he learned from his experience here last year.

“I got very excited last year when I went through Discovery Valley, I got a bit of a cheer and I thought ‘wahey, let’s go!’ And I think that set him alight even more. So this year, I just kept saying to myself, ‘don’t use him. Don’t use him. Don’t use him’. I knew where my minute markers were, I knew I was sitting just behind them. I just thought to myself, ‘wait, wait, wait,’ and I managed to keep waiting all the way until I was through the last bit of the Lion’s Bridge. And then when I pressed go, oh my god, he went! God knows what happened at the last two fences — I can’t remember, but it was pretty fun!”

Wills Oakden and Arklow Puissance. Photo by Libby Law.

Not content with just one mountainous climb, Wills returned near the end of the day for another go-round, this time with the former Oliver Townend ride Arklow Puissance. Though he couldn’t quite catch the time, he added just 4.4 time penalties, moving up from 43rd to tenth place going into the final day in the horse’s first five-star completion.

Sam Watson and SAP Talisman. Photo by Libby Law.

There’s obviously something to be said for Puissance offspring, because alongside Oughterard Cooley and Arklow Puissance, who are both by the stallion, there’s another well in the mix in our new-look top ten. Ireland’s Sam Watson came to Burghley knowing that his very blood SAP Talisman would be perfectly suited to a terrain-heavy stamina test, and so he was — so much so, in fact, that like Wills and Oughterard Cooley before him, he crossed the finish line and found that his horse still had several minutes of running left in him.

“If I could have settled him, I would have been inside that time, but I was a second over,” says Sam ruefully. “Firstly, I take the blame: I wasted two seconds on my way to the first fence, and I knew it at the time as well. And I thought, ‘if I’m a second over I have myself to blame’ — but then I couldn’t settle him either, so it was hard to get it back. It really was.”

Where they could catch up, though, was in Talisman’s unerring ability to cover the ground, delivering stride patterns emulated by much bigger horses throughout the day.

“He’s not big; he’s barely 16 hands and he has a small stride, and he’s spooky. So he’s unreal to shuffle, but like, he did three strides up on the Dairy Mound. He did those big corners in four and three and he wasn’t off them. He had his stride. I didn’t have a good start, and I wouldn’t say that was my smoothest round ever by any stretch but I was on a very good horse today.”

Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal. Photo by Libby Law.

After a frustrating blip in an otherwise smart trailblazing ride with Away Cruising, Harry Meade returned midway through the day with an exciting debutant in Cavalier Crystal — and although she’s the least experienced of his three rides this week, she’s also put in the top result of his trio. They picked up just a scant 5.2 time penalties, helping them execute a climb from 21st place after dressage to overnight sixth.

“I was thrilled with her,” says Harry, who masterfully negotiated a green moment at the Leaf Pit to add confidence and pace throughout the round thereafter. “I was on a little bit of an ambiguous stride coming up to it and it’s not a thought process. It’s just instinct. It’s always better just to kick on, rather than manhandle them and override the horse’s instincts — but she was mega. She’s been a slow burn; I never, as a young horse, thought she was necessarily a five-star type. She scuttles in her gallop, and she’s very careful and she’d sort of drag herself to the roots of a fence and then jump it in a careful way. But I’ve ridden her since she was a five year old and she’s just gotten better and better. I was slightly in two minds as to how she’d be — I just thought she was an unknown chapter for me here, but she just found it really, really easy. She could see everything — so long as she can see the fences she just pricks her ears and goes. It felt great fun, and she felt she could have done another two or three minutes on the end of it. She could go in a bottomless year and feel like she’s got loads of engine.”

Harry also delivered an end-of-day top-ten round with Tenareze, who was initially awarded 15 penalties for a missed flag but, after those were rescinded, stepped two places up to ninth with his 9.6 time penalties — though it’s unlikely we’ll see him return tomorrow for the final phase, as he was taken for veterinary inspection after he pulled up at the finish. We’ll keep you updated on this as the story develops.

Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg. Photo by Libby Law.

Boyd Martin is best of the fearsome US contingent after delivering a classy and capable round with Tsetserleg TSF, putting a tricky year with run-outs at Kentucky and Luhmühlen well behind him. They added 9.6 time penalties, moving them down just one spot from sixth to seventh.

But that round was very nearly a bit of a different story: they were pulled up by the ground jury late in the course, just before the colossal Agria Slate Mine at 23, for closer inspection of what had appeared to be blood in the horse’s mouth. While they were subsequently deemed fit to restart, Boyd didn’t totally relish the prospect of jumping one of the course’s biggest fences as a re-starter obstacle.

“It was bloody nerve-wracking!” he says. “I was getting waved down in front of the big tram, and I thought someone might have crashed in front of me as they were just pulling me up, but they thought they saw a speck of blood on him. Luckily for me, a couple of vets and a TD there opened his mouth and looked through him and then said, ‘Alright, turn around and come to the biggest jump on the course from a standstill.’ I  was like, ‘oh, God!'”

It’s not, perhaps, an ideal moment in an otherwise very exciting round, but Boyd is pragmatic about it all: “To be honest, it would have been better if I could have just kept rolling but you know, I think the welfare of the horse is always important. Part of me was frustrated but then the other part of me thinks, I love this horse so much and if he was injured, I’d be the first one to pull him up.”

Boyd Martin and On Cue. Photo by Libby Law.

That was Boyd’s second ride of the day; the first, with Maryland 5* winner On Cue, sees him sitting pretty in twelfth on 10.8 time penalties, which came as the horse began to visibly tire in the latter stages of the course, which prompted Boyd to ease off her and coast her home.

“It was a tough round, and she had to fight hard,” says Boyd. ‘She hasn’t done much since the last two years. So she was sort of lacking a previous five star to really get her fit. But God, she tried hard, and I love her to bits. It doesn’t matter what the scenario, she pricks her ears and gets over the jump.”

Pippa Funnell and Majas Hope. Photo by Libby Law.

Pippa Funnell remains in eighth place with Majas Hope after a round that began and ended in much the same way: with an eye on the clock and a palpable air of determination from both horse and rider en route to adding just 8.8 time penalties.

Most interestingly of all, though, is the fact that, in a bid to keep Hope from getting wound up, Pippa didn’t jump a single warm-up fence before leaving the start box — instead, she warmed the gelding up on the flat and then used the early single fences to get the experienced gelding in the air and feeling confident.

“It was a bit nerve-wracking with the warm up, because we didn’t warm up,” she says. “I kept him so far away and trotted and just went up the canter strip, and my practice jumps were the first two three fences So I maybe wasted a bit of time over the first three fences; I felt I was ten seconds down at one minute, which a little bit is me, from the old days with the steeplechase. I always used to start a bit slow, and then you felt the horse underneath you, and you get quicker and quicker. And so that’s what I did. But he was great. Really, really great. I mean, I can’t be unhappy with him at all — I thought he was pretty much foot perfect.”

Will Faudree and Mamas Magic Way. Photo by Libby Law.

Will Faudree was disappointed to pick up 12.4 time penalties with Mama’s Magic Way, dropping them from ninth to eleventh place, but he shouldn’t be, really — the 12-year-old gelding and his rider alike looked exceptional around the course, making light work of both the terrain and the colossal fences.

“He jumped great — he’s a real game horse,” says Will. “Unfortunately, I got in his way a little bit too much to catch the time, so I’m a bit perturbed with myself. But, you know, I got home, and I’ve just got to be better and come back and do it better.”

Now, he tells us, he plans to re-evaluate how he prepares for these big events: “I don’t ever really let him run fast at events at home, because nothing holds him back, and these jumps here actually do hold him back a bit, so I’m going to think about how to train better at competitions,” he says.

Part of it, too, comes down to Burghley’s unique terrain, which was a new experience for ‘Mason’.

“I was actually right on my minute markers up until the Rolex combination [at 15ABC], and then I slowed him down for [the steep Capability’s Cutting road crossing], but he got to the edge of it and just stopped,” explains Will. “I don’t think he’s ever seen anything like that. I also didn’t kick him up the Winners’ Avenue; I let him go kind of on his own, which in hindsight, maybe I should have kicked him up there. Because then I ended up having to add a stride to the corner to get him in front of me.”

Jessica Phoenix and Wabbit. Photo by Libby Law.

Canada’s sole representatives here, Jessica Phoenix and Wabbit, stepped up from 29th to 15th after adding 10.8 time penalties — a quick and efficient round that began with a tactical bit of steady riding out of the start box.

“I was hoping to be closer to the time than we were, but he needed me to just settle him a little at the start,” she says. “He’s a full Thoroughbred, and he raced, so sometimes when he hears people he loses his brain a little bit. But after minute three, he really settled in and then we found our rhythm, and then I was just so thrilled with him. He absolutely lives for this day. He loves the terrain, he loves when the fences are that big. He love the complexity of it all. He’s just got a brain that moves so quickly that he thrives under these conditions.”

Grace Taylor and Game Changer. Photo by Libby Law.

British-based US representative and five-star debutante Grace Taylor had to settle for stepping out of the top ten with Game Changer after they added 17.6 time penalties, moving them from seventh to 16th, but she certainly wasn’t disappointed with her first run at the level: “He tried his guts out,” she says. “He tired towards the end, but I think he had to help me out towards the beginning, which saps their energy. Hopefully next year I can come back and conserve his energy in the beginning and do better, but it’s really exciting.”

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Libby Law.

Jennie Brannigan and the very game FE Lifestyle dropped just three places, from 14th to 17th, after adding 15.6 time penalties in a confident campaign across both horse and rider’s first Burghley track.

“It’s quite special,” she says. “I’m probably a little in shock, to be honest, because normally I’d be, like, crying and freaking out! I’ve never felt him tired like this; this is his sixth five-star, and it’s definitely the hardest in the world. He’s just a gem.”

Tiana Coudray and Cancaras Girl. Photo by Libby Law.

Our final US pair, British-based Tiana Coudray and her debutant Cancaras Girl, sadly didn’t complete after a rider fall at the B element of the Irish bank complex — but we look forward to seeing them back out again soon.

Tomorrow takes us into the grand finale of the 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials, and first on the agenda is the final horse inspection in the main arena, set to begin at 9.00 a.m. local time/4.00 a.m. EST. Pending any overnight withdrawals, we’re down to 37 competitors from an original 58 — that’s a 63.8% completion rate — and of those, we’ve seen 25, or 43.1%, complete without jumping penalties. Once they’ve tackled that inspection, we’ll go into the morning’s jumping session from 10.45 a.m. local/5.45 a.m. EST, while the top 20 will jump from 14.15 local/9.15 a.m. EST. Then, we’ll have a winner — and what a competition they’ll have topped. As always, you can watch along on Burghley TV — and keep it locked onto EN for a full report and plenty more content from this special event throughout the day. Go Eventing!

The top ten at the 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials after cross-country.

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage

Everyone’s eaten their vegetables over the last two days, and now it’s time for the meat of the week: it’s cross-country day at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials! Let’s take a look at what’s to come over the course, which, unlike last year, has a much more intense final third…

THE TECHNICAL DETAILS

Length: 6325 meters

Fences: 29

Optimum Time: 11:06

THE COURSE MAP:

(Check this out in full on the CrossCountry App!)

THE NEED-TO-KNOWS

Fence 1: The Defender Starter

Fence 2: Lambert’s Sofa

Fence 3: The Pol Roger Table

The first three fences are simple, single jumps, just intended to help horses and riders find a rhythm and confidence as they move forward from the start.

Fence 4AB: The LeMieux Arena Rails

The first combination, but these wide overs are far enough apart that there’s not a set stride pattern. There’s a tonne of atmosphere in the arena, and huge cheers, so this is a focus question and a tune-up as much as anything.

A view through Defender Valley, with the A element on the right and that final corner on the left.

Fence 5ABCD: Defender Valley

The first real question on course; the direct route is a downhill approach to a set of clipped rails, then a pop over the ditch, and then over a big, left-handed timber corner.

Fence 6: The Triple Bar

A Derek classic: light, airy timber, a huge spread, and a tonne of airtime — certainly something that’ll give confidence and wake horses and riders up before they tackle the first major question on the course. The point of this one is to bolster bravery, and while it’s terrifying to look at, the feeling in the air will be unbeatable.

Fence 7ABCD: The Holland Cooper Leaf Pit

Okay, now we’re at Burghley! There’s some sentiments around that perhaps the iconic Leaf Pit is a bit more straightforward this year, with its brush questions, but it’s still a seriously tough question. There’s no video or photo in the world that can accurately convey how huge the drop down at A is, and then these fit, fresh horses will be freewheeling a bit as they run down to BC, a huge brush spread. Then, they’ve got a choice of a left- or right-handed brush at D, so they’ll need to know their horse’s dominant side and ride what they can feel underneath them to make a good job of this.

Fence 8: Defender Valley

There’s not a proper pass back through the Valley as there has been in previous years, but instead, a huge single fence. This is a nice mental break after the last couple of combinations; one of Derek’s strengths as a course designer is knowing exactly where to ease off the mental strain to allow horses and riders alike to save enough brain cells for the Advanced Calculus to come.

Fence 9: Herbert’s Hollow

I’m not a short girl — I’m nearly 5’8 if I actually stand up straight — and these are hard for me to see over. They are enormously tall, hugely deep, and achingly skinny, and there’s two of them on a line with undulating terrain in between, so this is really where we’re starting to test the accuracy and rideability. At this point, that initial freshness should be simmering down a bit, and it’s time to focus. As always, there’s a long route if something goes wrong or if this feels like too much of a question at this stage.

This year’s Trout Hatchery complex.

Fence 10ABC and Fence 11AB — The Defender Trout Hatchery

Let’s go for a splash! The Trout Hatchery is a unique water complex, because it’s effectively two ponds, and we always see interesting, influential questions here. It’s a touch more straightforward than last year; 10A is a kayak house coming down the hill, after which they’ll canter down through pond number one. Then they’ll tackle the BC elements, a pair of houses on a bounce distance, before cantering into the second pond. Then, it’s up a step and over an angled skinny, landing in the water and then cantering on away. There’s a long route here that does involve a log drop into water, so it’s all about knowing your strengths and weaknesses and planning accordingly. We’ve seen bounces into water at a few British four-stars this year, so hopefully, many competitors will feel well-prepared for this kind of question.

Fence 12: The Waterloo Rails

Just another airy timber spread after a bit of a gallop uphill away from the Trout Hatchery. A big jump, but a fair and straightforward one to reward the hard work undertaken at the Trout Hatchery.

Fence 13: The Voltaire Design Brush

The same again, really — it’s not a timber oxer, but this hanging brush-topped log-and-ditch is another run-and-jump to keep them moving at a good clip. This bit of the course is a chance to catch up on the clock, but riders have to be careful: there’s a tonne of terrain to come, and draining resources at this early-ish stage is unwise. It’s all about finding a positive cruising rhythm and settling into it — major adjustments use major energy.

Fence 14ABC: Joules at the Maltings

The Maltings is always packed with insanely huge white rails, whether in oxer form or corner form — and it’s the latter we’ve got here. The direct route is a big, beautiful carved hare, and then there’s a curving line between a left-handed to right-handed corner, which are about as wide as we’ve ever seen. It’s a fearsome angle, but those blue lines are a helpful visual aid — and, again, there’s a much longer alternate route that they can choose to take if this is too big an ask. We’ll definitely see that used — especially if we see those MIMs drop easily early on and riders change their plan accordingly.

Fence 15ABC: The Rolex Combination

There are two routes through this question, but this is the more direct of the two. That AB element is SKINNY, and it’s angled off a ditch, and followed by another one of those jaw-dropping big skinny brushes. There’s no mix-and-match between routes here, but this is all about picking a great line, establishing a great, positive pace, and committing. It’s proper five-star stuff.

Fence 16: The Parasol Table

Last year’s penultimate fence, which famously saw Oliver Townend have a freak tumble while up on the clock with Tregilder, is now at the midpoint of the course. It’s as wide as they come and pretty looky, but any horse that has a spook left in it at this stage is being fed on rocket fuel, frankly. It demands respect, so it’s not as straightforward a run-and-jump fence as some of the singles on this course, but it isn’t one of the major questions, either.

Fence 17AB: The Irish Horse Board Bank

As we turn onto the 400m or so of uphill pull that is Winner’s Avenue — one of the toughest stamina tests on the track — we meet one of the most talked-about fences. The A element is an Irish bank, which can be jumped or banked, and then there’s a log fence that’s perpendicular to it and can be jumped from either side. There’s plenty of space to work out all sorts of different curving lines to it, but as Harry Meade points out, the interesting thing will be deciding the approach to the A — do you gallop it for a guaranteed jump, or do you aim for a more compact canter and plan to touch down on top? We’ll see lots of different rides here through the day.

Fence 18: The Cottesmore Leap

Arguably Burghley’s most iconic effort. You can park a Land Rover in that ditch, but on the approach, if you keep your eyes up, it looks surprisingly doable. It’s all about finding pace and power and then letting your horse reach — so they’ll need to keep something in the tank while moving up Winner’s Avenue, or this will feel like a much bigger ask than it needs to be.

Fence 19AB: Fairfax & Favor at Keepers

A brush skinny to a brush corner on a bending left-handed line, which is made more difficult simply because horses will be feeling a touch weary at this point. That might mean it requires a bit more set-up and deft horsemanship than if it was an early question, and we could well see a few horses skim out the side door at that B element.

There’s no messing around at the Dairy Mound at 20ABC.

Fence 20ABC: Defender at the Dairy Mound

The Dairy Mound is a serious question this year. There’s an uphill approach to a huge oxer at A, then two big frangible triple bar skinnies at B and C, with a downhill left-handed approach to the last one. There’s a long route, but long routes add more steps, more time, and take more energy, so we’ll see a lot of people trying to go straight — and probably a lot of penalties accrued here through the day, whether through run-outs or MIM activations.

Fence 21: The Pardubice

Just simply one of the biggest, beefiest bits of brush you’ll ever see — but it rides brilliantly and has a very readable, sloping profile. A delightful mental break and a fence that acts like a pat on the neck for these exceptional athletes.

Fence 22: Rolex Grand Slam at Capability’s Cutting

The terrain on the approach here is the most interesting thing. It’s a road crossing, effectively, with a very steep downhill, a stride on the flat, and then a very steep uphill before meeting this corner on the flat at the top. That makes the approach much more of a challenge, but the uphill should also set horses back on their hocks and help them out a touch.

Fence 23: The Agria Lifetime Equine Slate Mine

A table you could hollow out and turn into a comfortable family home. Kick on.

Fences 24 and 25AB: The Boodles Raindance

A much more intense question here than last year; there’s two jewellery boxes on an angle and then a big drop fence into the water. Riders will hope the last couple of questions and that downhill run put some air back into their horses’ lungs, and they’ll need to really ride this last major question and help them out. It’s another question of committing to a line and being super positive.

Fence 26: The Lion Bridge

Just a straightforward rolltop wagon on a slightly downhill approach before…

Fence 27.

Fence 27: The Lion Bridge, part two

…a fish in the water that’s actually really, really small, which is a challenge in itself because horses can be tempted to get loose in front. It’s got brush on top now, but this will just demand a bit of respect. We’ve seen a couple of horses trip in this water before, too, so no complacency can sneak in here.

Fence 28: Horatio’s Garden

Another big old table en route to the last. Just keep respecting these fences.

Fence 29: The Defender Finale

And then, it’s everyone’s favourite fence: the last one. As before, this always needs to be respected, because silly things can happen at final fences. Then, it’s home safe and back to the support team — well done, folks!

Cross-country starts momentarily at 11:15 a.m. local/6:15 a.m. EST. Check out what riders have to say about the task ahead here, and tune in for live updates here. Kick on, and Go Eventing!

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage

Alex Bragg and Quindiva. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Though Britain’s Alex Bragg didn’t quite sneak into the upper echelons of this morning’s dressage leaderboard at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials, he was still delighted with 13-year-old Quindiva (Quintender 2 – High Roller) as she began her sophomore appearance at the level. They put a 39.7 on the board, which sees them sitting sixteenth currently — and, explains the rider, represents just another brick in the foundations of her education as she steps into the gap left by former partner Zagreb.

“She made a few mistakes,” he concedes. “But she’s been getting better and better all year about learning, and although she’s sensitive outside the white boards, she’s been more attentive inside them.  They weren’t giving away the marks, and those top guys on those good horses are still struggling for really good marks, so my coach said, ‘just go in there and ride for everything, because you’ve got nothing to lose’. Maybe I put a bit too much pressure on her and then she was quite alert and it got to her, especially in the second half of the test. But, you know, it’s a learning curve and yeah, I’m a little bit disappointed — but only because I think I’m responsible for her in there. Maybe I just asked a bit too much for where she is right now — but I’m a competitor, and she’s a competitor, so you can’t blame us for trying!”

Quindiva made her five-star debut this spring at Badminton, and though Alex ultimately retired her on course in the tough conditions, the experience, he says, was formative for her.

“For me, it’s a partnership,” he says. “Badminton is another big arena, with a big atmosphere, and she was on the Friday as well — it’s always busy on the Friday. But she went in again, and she was better with the cameras here — she hated the cameras around the arena at Badminton. It’s not something they see that often, that close. But when she got in the white boards, she was good, and it’s given me confidence that actually, I can get a performance in the arena one day that I do get at home. She’s not a big mover in the dressage, so I do have to give 100% — I can’t just sit quiet and keep getting sevens, I have to ride like mad if I’m going to get a seven!”

Alex Bragg and Quindiva trot up at Burghley. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

This year’s Badminton will live on in the collective memory of the sport largely for its extraordinarily tricky conditions and ground, thanks to the appalling spell of weather that’s plagued Britain this year. Alex was aware of the difficulty faced by his previous competitors out on course, and so he stepped back and made a tactical decision: he’d start, give the mare a good experience, and pull up at exactly the point he felt she could finish on a high.

“I left the start box because I felt it would be a good experience for her with the crowds,” he explains. “I went out with a plan at Badminton, because it wasn’t painting a great picture, if I’m perfectly honest — I think maybe we could have done a bit more to paint a better picture of our sport. That might be a bit controversial, but I think we should have — and so I made the decision that I was going to gallop round and leave it on a really good note for her, because I didn’t want to break her heart at Badminton on her first go. She has several more seasons left in her, and the better performances are still to come. I felt she jumped around the first half like a pro, and she made it feel easy, so to pull up when she was still fresh enough that she enjoyed herself, to trot back to the stables, to come away — she felt she had done a short format Badminton, and that was wonderful. And she came out for her next performance thinking it’s all great, and and I’ve kept her spirit, so I feel I learned a lot from her and it was a great experience for her, and I’ve still kind of nurtured that confidence in her. I felt that Badminton was a real positive for us as a partnership.”

Alex’s decision to put his hand up at fence 18, the MARS M before the Lake, was initially met with some confusion by viewers: from the ground, it looked as though the mare was still full of running. But it was that call that earned him justified praise for putting his horse first on the day — a decision similarly made by a number of riders in the moment, including Emily King and Richard Jones.

“You can definitely feel the tiredness before anyone can see the tiredness because as a rider, you can feel how much effort you’re having to now introduce into the round, rather than the horse taking you,” Alex explains. “From what I’d seen in the morning I had that favourable position that I thought, ‘do I want to be one of those or not?’ and I decided not to — so that’s why I made that choice. Hopefully we won’t have another year like this, weather-wise, and next year will be better and everything will be more fun.”

This week, at least, we’ve been blessed with some truly excellent going at Burghley, and now that his dressage is behind him, Alex is focusing on the big challenge to come — and on developing his partnership with Quindiva even more.

“I’ve not had a walk around the cross-country yet, because, you know, early Thursday dressage; only one horse — I’ve got plenty of time left, and what’s the sense in losing a night’s sleep before you have to?” he laughs. “But I’ve seen some of the fences just ambling around, and it’s a true five star here. It’s beautifully dressed. My mare is a good cross-country horse and super jumper, and the ground is amazing in comparison to what we’ve had for the spring. Exactly. That was almost painful to ride the horses on, whereas this is going to feel like a real treat. So I’m really looking forward to Saturday, and hopefully things will shuffle about a little bit and we’ll be playing for something on Sunday!”

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage

Ros Canter and Pencos Crown Jewel take an early lead at Burghley. Photo by Libby Law.

We’ve seen a neat little package of fifteen horses and riders up to the lunch break today at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials — and already, some of the entry list’s brightest stars are making an impact on the competition. But can they sustain their positive start? A lot will depend on how the judging shifts — or doesn’t — throughout the rest of today and in tomorrow’s second dressage day, because right now, the ground jury of Christian Steiner, Nick Burton, and Anne Mette Binder isn’t easily impressed.

Case in point? We’ve got as many competitors in the forties as we do in the twenties — one. And the average score today? A 31.7 — not shabby, by any stretch of the imagination, but not a patch on what we can realistically expect to see from high-flying first-phase performers such as, say, Tim Price’s Vitali or Oliver Townend’s Ballaghmor Class.

It’d have been a fairly safe bet by anyone’s reckoning that the woman of the moment, newly-crowned European Champion and this spring’s Badminton winner Ros Canter, would make an early bid for the lead. And that’s just what she did, riding the maternal half-sister of her partner for those two major wins. 14-year-old Pencos Crown Jewel (Jumbo – Cornish Queen, by Rock King) delivered a 26.9 to take a decisive 3.1 mark lead at this early stage.

“I’ll take that, any day,” says Ros with a smile. “Little Jasmine isn’t maybe as conventional as some of my others on the flat; she’s quite croup-high, so she finds it quite difficult to stay in balance.”

Jasmine, who Ros rides for Kate James and Annie Makin, finished ninth at Badminton this spring, but began her week there with a higher score of 29.2 — and Ros was keen to take what she learned there and apply it to a whole new warm-up plan today.

“The plan I had at Badminton didn’t quite come off, so I knew exactly what I wanted to do: I knew I’d worked for just five minutes too long at Badminton, and then she gets a little bit less enthusiastic about the flying changes. She has to think they’re her decision, and at Badminton, off the counter-canter I lost all momentum,” she explains. Today, she says, “I did a huge amount of walking. I’d pick her up for probably thirty seconds, then walk, then thirty seconds, then walk — and it just meant she had a bit more about her when she went in there.”

But minimising warm-up time in this way doesn’t come without its risks, particularly in an atmosphere like Burghley’s, and so Ros spent the morning prior to her final warm-up ensuring that Jasmine had enough time to truly settle into her environs — a tactic that required constant adaptation to the circumstances.

“She does have the ability to jog in her walk, so I brought her out [for a ride] this morning, and she worked amazingly,” she says. “I put her back after ten minutes and thought, ‘that’ll do’. Then I thought, ‘should I lunge her?’ But that would light her up, I thought, so I decided to just come out and walk her again for another twenty minutes. But when I did that, the loudspeakers came on and she lit up, so we did another ten minutes. Short and sweet with Jasmine seems to be the way forward.”

Emily King and Valmy Biats take an early second place. Photo by Libby Law.

Though she sits that three-and-change penalties behind Ros, for much of her test, Burghley debutant Emily King was trending pretty much on par with that leading score. But while 5s for her reinback, which didn’t quite feature clear, diagonal-pair steps, and a wide range of marks for one of her flying changes precluded a 20s score, Emily and her established five-star partner Valmy Biats still ended up on a respectable enough 30 to take second place so far.

“There were parts that were among his best work he’s done, and we’ve been a bit sort of trying to change things and improve the whole way of going — which meant that some parts were fantastic, but then a few little blips came with that,” reasons Emily. “Generally, though, for his progression long-term, I was really pleased with how he was.”

Fourteen-year-old Valmy isn’t, perhaps, built to find this phase easy — he’s blessed with a quite extraordinarily large head, which contributes to his natural tendency to get heavier in front. But slow, careful progress and teaching the gelding to sit and lift has been the making of this year’s Thoresby CCI4*-S winner, who’s found this season’s tricky conditions rather easier than most, in large part because he lives out, rain or shine, at Emily’s Cheshire yard.

“I’ve had him for about three and a bit years now, and he was really downhill and quite strong when he came to me, so I’ve been slowly trying to get him lighter,” she explains. “He’s always had a good bit of knee action, but then it’s getting that into cadence, lift and softness. So we’ve been, basically, working him really up, and trying to get a bit more lift. And then obviously that sort of rattles a few things that come out of the woodwork, so we’ve been doing that early on this week and then trying to just slightly tone things down before we went in. But as he’s strengthening off and finding it easier, I can feel that it’s going to be really, really good — and then it’s just actually keeping it all together on the day.”

For Emily, just starting her week of competition here is the culmination of a long-held dream. She first came to Burghley when she was just nine months old with mum Mary, and it’s always been a major feature on her family’s calendar: “it was always the end of the summer holidays for us, and we’d come for the whole week,” she remembers with a fond smile.

Tom McEwen and Luna Mist. Photo by Libby Law.

All eyes will certainly be on Tom McEwen tomorrow afternoon when he takes to the ring with Toledo de Kerser, who was spared from team duties this year to return to Burghley for the first time since 2017 and aim for his first British five-star win. But before the big man makes his mark on the leaderboard, Tom’s focus is on another hugely interesting horse in his string: the five-star debutant and former showjumper Luna Mist, who, in just under three seasons of international competition, has already impressed hugely, winning last year’s terrain-heavy CCI4*-L at Blair Castle and finishing fourth this year in the similarly mountainous Bramham CCI4*-L. She begins her week in provisional third place on a score of 30.5.

“It’s a great start — I’m delighted with her,” says Tom. “She was very smooth, with some great highlights and pretty much a clear round throughout the majority of the test. That’s exactly what we hoped for: it’s her first time in an atmosphere and with pressure like this, and she coped amazingly.”

But, he admits, the score itself is frustrating, particularly as the ten-year-old mare is so frequently a mid-to-high-20s earner at four-star.

“I’m definitely disappointed with the mark; hopefully it’s not just a Thursday morning thing and they continue like this,” Tom says. “That’s the worst thing about dressage! But her performance was awesome, and as good as we could have hoped for.”

Though many riders might prefer to ride their more seasoned horse first in their draw, Tom’s delighted to find his two horses in the order that they’ve been placed, because Toledo, who’s so often an early draw, gets to reap the potential rewards of a more fortuitous starting position.

“Toledo’s a star, isn’t he, but he usually gets put in a position that’s often not the best for him. However much we believe that dressage isn’t influenced by Friday afternoon, there’s definitely a few marks to be gained there!”

Oliver Townend and Tregilder. Photo by Libby Law.

The second combination of the day, Oliver Townend and Tregilder, sit equal with Tom and Luna Mist on a score of 30.5 — certainly not their loftiest mark, but one that Oliver was nonetheless very pleased with.

“He’s a huge horse with a high percentage of Thoroughbred in his pedigree, so dressage isn’t his natural thing, and it’s take a long time to get here,” he says. “I’m very proud of his flying changes, more than anything — he finds them difficult, but he got four clean changes today, so I couldn’t be happier.”

Oliver’s one of two riders to bring three horses this week — a feat that puts no small demand on the person in the irons. But throughout the season, Oliver explains, he’s utilised a number of different methods — including a sauna in his house — to keep his weight to a minimum and maximise his own strength, ready for this week’s exertions.

“I’m the fittest man you’ve ever met,” he laughs. “I’ve not had the most straightforward of preparations, but we’ve managed to sweat me down, and freeze me down, and walk me down, and I’m here now.”

Zara Tindall and Class Affair. Photo by Libby Law.

Zara Tindall rounds out this morning’s top five with the mercurial Class Affair, who continues his 2023 redemption arc after a very good run at Kentucky this spring. Though she’d have liked to have snuck a few marks better than the 31.3 she received today, Zara reasons that there’s still room for improvement with the often not-so-straightforward fourteen-year-old.

“Last year was a better score, but I think bits of it were better this year,” she says. “But I think when you’re going early, it’s hard to get that score down enough. You can actually hear the judges [in the boxes] as well — they should shut the windows! It’s kind of frustrating when you’re thinking, ‘oh, I thought that was good!’ He was really good in bits, but then some of it wasn’t quite as sparky as it could have been. But if we can finish on that score, I’ll be very happy.”

One of the new tools in Zara’s arsenal with the gelding is a double bridle, which she’s trialling this season to help him with some contact issues.

“It’s new for him this year, because he’s very tricky in his head,” she says. “If you shut his mouth, he tilts his head, and all the judges see is that, so I thought maybe if I have a double and he can open his mouth, an open mouth is better than tilting! It’s better in some ways, and maybe not in others, but I thought I’d try it.”

Details aside, Zara explains that she’s pleased with the bigger picture, and has learned that Class Affair is ready to do his best work nearer the end of the year.

“I think this is probably his best place to do dressage, because I’ve had the whole season to get him through. Sometimes he comes in and sees a camera or a person and is like, ‘ah!’, but today he was definitely better in that respect. For me, being able to ride him in the corners more is what we need, so the preparation [for the movements] is better.”

Boyd Martin and On Cue start their week well. Photo by Libby Law.

We’ve had our first North American competitor of the day, too — and Boyd Martin made a fine start with the 2021 Maryland 5* winner On Cue, who returned to competition late this spring after a year out with a Burghley debut in mind throughout the architecture of her comeback.

“We’ve been regrouping, and we spent the whole year building her up to this one,” says Boyd, who arrived in England on Monday and did his final prep work at Kevin McNab’s base, using the formidable Surrey hills for Cue’s last gallops. “We know it’s a huge test of fitness and stamina, so we really made sure she was prepared fitness-wise.”

They begin their week on a score of 31.8, which puts them in sixth place at this early stage.

“It’s not too bad — obviously, you always wish you could do it again! She probably got a bit nervous in there, and a bit tight, and so we had a couple of mistakes — but all in all, I’m very pleased with her. She’s one of my favourite horses, and to come to this epic competition… well, I think on Saturday, the dressage will be long forgotten!”

And on that ‘favourite horse’ note? Boyd, who will also ride longtime partner Tsetserleg TSF this week, explains that she ticks every box for top-level eventing.

“She’s a quirky horse; she’s very spooky, but I just love her because she’s everything you could dream of in a horse,” he says with a smile. “She’s a great galloper and a very intelligent animal, a beautiful mover, gutsy, and tough — and after a couple of huge wins, those horses really stick with you deep down.”

That’s not just true for the riders of these wonderful horses — it’s true for all their connections, and Boyd was delighted to meet Cue’s breeder at yesterday’s trot-up. The seventeen-year-old mare was born just twenty minutes away from Burghley, and there were tears all ’round for the big reunion; and, Boyd hopes, a sparkling homecoming.

This afternoon’s dressage will begin again momentarily at 13.45 local time/8.45 a.m. EST, with New Zealand’s Lauren Innes kicking us back off with Global Fision M. As always, you can follow along with the action live via Burghley TV, or join us for live updates and analysis from Cheg. We’ll be back later with another full report on today’s action, plus plenty more insights to whet your Burghley whistle. Until then: Go Eventing!

The top ten at the lunch break of day one at Defender Burghley.

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage

Will Faudree and Mamas Magic Way. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

And so the week begins at the 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials — and already, before the competition kicks off in earnest (and before anyone gets close to that beefy Derek di Grazia cross-country track), we’ve already seen some drama unfold at this afternoon’s first horse inspection, which was presided over in the main arena by ground jury President Christian Steiner (AUT) and members Nick Burton (GBR) and Anne-Mette Binder (DEN).

Christopher Whittle and Skip Mill. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Just one horse was sent to the holding box during the course of this afternoon’s proceedings: Christopher Whittle‘s 15-year-old Skip Mill, with whom he was intending to make his five-star debut, was first asked to trot a second time, before being held and, upon closer inspection and re-presentation by holding box vet Andy Bathe, sadly not accepted to start the competition.

Pippa Funnell: the Burghley first horse inspection’s best-dressed female rider. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Two prizes were awarded for sartorial choices; the best-dressed male award went to Phil Brown, making his sophomore start at the event with Harry Robinson (who was, erroneously but also charmingly, announced as the winner of the prize), while the best-dressed female award went to Pippa Funnell, who will ride the stalwart Majas Hope this week.

Jessica Phoenix and Wabbit fly the flag for Canada at Burghley. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Tomorrow’s first day of dressage will begin at 9.45 a.m. (4.45 a.m. EST), with Great Britain’s Harry Meade first in the ring aboard Away Cruising. Several of our strong North American contingent will be riding tomorrow: Boyd Martin and his Maryland 5* winner On Cue will ride at 10:25 (5.25 a.m. EST); Jessica Phoenix and Wabbit will ride at 15:18 (10.18 a.m. EST); and Jennie Saville will come forward with FE Lifestyle at 15:50 (10.50 a.m. EST). You can check out tomorrow’s times in full here.

There’ll also be a couple of undoubtedly insightful masterclasses on during the day in the main arena; during the lunch break, former British chef d’equipe Yogi Briesner will lead a demonstration titled ‘Better cross country — without hiring a course’, while current British team performance manager Dickie Waygood will lead one titled ‘The right platform for cross country success’ after the close of dressage.

We’ll be bringing you full coverage, with jam-packed reports at both the lunch break and close of the day – but if you also want to follow the action as it happens, make sure to get your membership to Burghley TV, the only place to stream this year’s competition. Your subscription will also give you access to a wealth of coverage from prior years, plus magazine programs and behind-the-scenes insights into the goings-on this week. Happy viewing — and Go Eventing!

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage

Richard Jones and Alfies Clover. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

We’ve had another couple of withdrawals from the Defender Burghley entry list this morning as we look ahead to the official start of competition at this afternoon’s first horse inspection. One of those, Oliver Townend’s Cooley Rosalent, is one of four entries for the rider, who could only bring three to contest the event with, but the other, Richard Jones’s Alfies Clover, comes as more of a sad surprise.

“Absolutely gutted to say that we have withdrawn Alfies Clover from Burghley,” writes Richard in a post on his social media accounts. “He sustained a very minor skin injury a couple of days ago which we were hopeful would not prevent him from competing, but after a final assessment this morning, we have made the decision that in the interests of his welfare, which is, of course, paramount to everything, it would not be appropriate to run him this week. So very sorry for his owners, our team, and all his connections. He is super fit and well, and we were very much looking forward to giving it our best shot at making this another very competitive Burghley.”

Richard and 14-year-old Alfie (Tajraasi – Aoifes Clover, by Clover Hill), who he co-owns with Dinah Saunders and Sandra Martin, would have been contesting their tenth five-star and fifth Burghley; they were seventh on their last appearance in 2022 and finished in the same place in 2018.

Attendants for Richard’s course walk, set for Thursday, will be happy to hear that this is still going ahead: “Details of time and meeting place will be send out later to the successful applicants,” he confirms. “Finally, the very best of luck to all of this year’s competitors, we will be cheering you on.”

The starting field going into the first horse inspection now sits at 59 horses.

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage

What a view! The extraordinary façade of Burghley House will usher competitors home as they approach the eleventh hour — or fence 27, the Lion’s Bridge — on this year’s course. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

We’re driving across this year’s Defender Burghley Horse Trials course — myself and Lucy Elder of Horse and Hound in the back; Event Director Martyn Johnson at the wheel, joyfully, recklessly, but maintaining an air of serious professionalism — and all I can think is how this means of doing things really pulls into sharp focus the way that terrain is the main character at Burghley. When you’re walking the course, you do feel it: certainly, the way that I walk it, gaspingly, stopping at each peak to turn to whoever is walking it alongside me and say, “are you kidding me? Shall we stop for a fag and some water?” does force you to feel those hills and dales, even as, inevitably, Tom McEwen jogs past you while you’re hunched over, hands on your knees, and he just looks… fine. He looks fine. Spritely, even. I will never understand it. The hills are serious.

Anyway, in these blacked-out spy cars — the very Land Rover Defenders from which the event gets its new-look full name — you begin to feel some validation for all those arduous walks. These are serious all-terrain vehicles, and this is serious terrain, which becomes even more evident every time Martyn opts to park up on a nearly-vertical knoll, big, square, matte black nose to the sky, and every time he feels for the floor with his accelerator foot and we gently, tentatively go into orbit for a second before swinging back down to meet something like flat ground.

Meanwhile, we’ve got course designer Derek di Grazia, returning for his sophomore year here after taking the mantle from longtime designer Captain Mark Phillips in 2022, radioing us all in from the head of the convoy, pointing out landmarks along the way as though they’re mildly interesting blue-plaqued buildings of some minor historic significance, rather than the very questions that’ll have competitors looking both inward and outward, facing their greatest fears, challenges, and dreams in just a couple of short weeks.

That’s not to say, though, that di Grazia doesn’t understand the magnitude of what he’s been tasked with — and certainly, his track record of designing courses that riders robustly praise precedes him. In taking on Burghley, he knew he had an important task at hand: preserve what makes Burghley unique — the terrain, those achingly big jumps, the need for gallop and stamina above very nearly all else — while bringing his own unique spin on the challenge.

Derek di Grazia takes on the mantle of course designer at Burghley for the second year in 2023. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

“First of all, I think Burghley has quite a few iconic fences, and so they’re always going to probably work into the mix,” he says, explaining that his starting point for understanding how to build upon the Burghley estate begins simply by walking its loops and routes in every direction to get a feel for the little secrets the ground is hiding. “Obviously you have a track that’s pretty dedicated here. And actually, last year, I sort of went off of that and added a new loop, which we had to think about that and get done early. But beyond that, you sort of go and you design like you would design normally, because that’s what you’re here to do. Not every designer is the same; everybody has sort of their own flair. But it’s just a matter of trying to find ways to use the kind of the terrain and to use the park in a way that is going to produce something so that you’re giving a different look, year after year.”

Figuring out inventive ways to recycle a familiar bit of ground, and less-than-obvious ways to place fences on it, is the driving force behind di Grazia’s enthusiasm and motivation for the job, which has seen him design a number of top-level courses — most notably, the Land Rover Kentucky track, year in and year out.

But designing, he explains, isn’t just about being the most inventive person in the room at any given point on the track — it’s also about being cognisant of how each piece of terrain will fit together, and the cumulative effect that’ll have on horses as they wend their way through your course.

This year’s Trout Hatchery complex.

“I try to look at things from all different sides, and to see the best way that that it could work, because it’s like fitting all the pieces together and creating a flow throughout the course. — and then thinking about what the horses are going to be feeling at each section of the course, which sort of determines a little bit about what you’re going to place in that part of the course,” he says. “The way I look at it is that there are so many ways to use the ground differently, year after year, and because there are just so many lumps and bumps and the ground moves here like no other place. So I think you have to just see how you want to present it that year, and also the types of jumps that you’re going to put in different places. And really, it comes down to having to have a balance: a balance of jumps, and a balance of how you’ve used terrain in different places. That work is enjoyable; it makes it fun.”

Inspiration can come from all sides. Di Grazia, like other designers, spends plenty of time studying others’ work — but he also trains riders, and in the process of doing so, often stumbles upon interesting new ways to set them challenges, oftentimes working those discoveries into his tracks. After all, it can be argued that if a top-level course designer has one responsibility, it’s this: to set questions that riders then have to train for, effectively filling in holes in their education that have become trends across an industry and, in turn, keeping everyone that bit safer in the long run.

When riders begin to analyse and break down the questions he’s asking and prove that they have the capacity for adaptability in any given combination, that’s when he knows he’s going in the right direction — and that’s when an athlete can truly consider themselves a five-star rider.

“When you have a piece of interesting ground, and you set a question up on it, you can go ‘well, this is set up as X number of strides’ — but that, to me, isn’t the way to look at it,” he says. “Instead, you have to think, ‘what does the ground allow me to do?’ Then, the riders, as they do, will want to go through that and have a stride pattern between everything, and to me, that’s not really how it’s going to work. It may walk as X strides, but on the day, it could ride completely differently. The riders have to be good enough to understand that and be able to react to that. That’s what makes a course interesting, and that’s sort of the whole thing about when you have courses that are on terrain. You can’t totally predict what each horse is going to do, because they’re all going to do something a little bit different. That’s the challenge for the riders.”

Derek di Grazia points out the line through Defender Valley on this year’s Burghley course. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

This philosophy carries us out onto the course proper, which we’ll give you a fence-by-fence rundown of in the week of the event itself. Instead, today, we focus our walk on the overall feel; a couple of the major combinations; and whether or not, exactly, di Grazia is managing to build a ‘proper Burghley’. (Spoiler alert: he is. It’s massive, as it always has been, but it’s also smart, and in front of you, and though the places where a rider can get it wrong and exist out the side door are numerous, nothing we see on our first glimpse looks unfair. Plus, the ground feels great right now, which isn’t something we’ve said often this year.)

Though the final distance and wheeling hasn’t happened yet, we’re looking at a course that’s roughly 6400m, and with a predicted optimum time of 11:11 (make a wish — that’s the same as in 2019). As always, the course will begin over a couple of simple single fences, including the familiar face of Lambert’s Sofa at two, and a seriously beefy table with a 1.90m top spread at three that’ll “really get horses up in the air”. The first combination of sorts will come in the main arena at 4AB, which is a pair of open rails set on a long enough distance that there’s wiggle room for different stride patterns, and really just serves as a set-up for the first significant combination at 5ABCD.

A view through Defender Valley, with the A element on the right and that final corner on the left.

That first significant combination is the first pass through Defender Valley, which begins with a tall upright rail, goes on to a ditch, and then down to a wide corner. There’s an alternative route here that’s going to add plenty of time early on, so it’s more likely to be used as a back-up for those who pick up an early issue here than as a real ‘plan A’.

“This is the first real question on the course,” says di Grazia. “They’ll come down the hill, which is actually part of the problem, because when they come down the hill, they’re really going to have to make sure they get the horses in the right canter and the right balance before they come to the rails here. Leading into the combination, the rails are on a MIM clip, so it’s another situation that the riders don’t want to have a clip broken here so early in the course. They really want to make sure they ride those rails correctly; jump in, as they jump in, the horses may just back off the ditch a little bit, but they want to really ride across the ditch up the slope and then be able to keep on moving to the corner at the top. That’s the straight way; there are a couple of different alternatives, but to me, I expect them all to go straight this early in the course. They’re not going to want to be wasting a lot of time taking alternatives.”

The Leaf Pit is early on again this year, and appears at 7ABCD. First, they’ll pop down the enormous, famous drop, then they’ll pop a double brush before picking one of two angled brushes, either a left-handed one, or a right-handed one. Something that’s notable is the composition of the brush itself — while it’s long been common to use tough, rigid black birch atop fences in the UK, di Grazia has spearheaded a real push for softer, younger green birch, which comes at a greater cost and must be installed at the very last minute, but which is kinder to horses, with less chance of lacerations as they push through it.

Event Director Martyn Johnson, Derek di Grazia, and the first of a double of cabins on a bounce distance at the Trout Hatchery. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The Trout Hatchery water will come up at 10ABC and 11AB. First, competitors will jump a kayak store at the top of the hill on dry land, before cruising down to the first of the two ponds, running through it, and then popping a bounce of houses at 10BC. That’ll take them into the second pond, which they’ll cross, jump up a step at 11A, and then over a narrow, brush-topped cabin at 11B, though with long route options peppered throughout — a boon to those riders who may feel they’ve done enough bounces into water this year and found them less than fun.

The Maltings complex, home of some of the widest white corners and most sprawling white oxers we ever seen in the sport, is no less intimidating this year. It begins with a rather sweet carved wooden hare, though dimensionally, ‘sweet’ and ‘adorable’ aren’t the first descriptive words you’d go for. After popping that, the straight route goes over a right-handed corner to a left-handed corner on a fiendishly tricky line — though once again, di Grazia hasn’t just set alternative routes, he’s also kindly lettered the complex so that riders can change their mind and go long at any point within their route.

The Maltings combination at 14ABC. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

That sympathetic bent towards giving horses and riders options continues through the bulk of the course. There’s an option everywhere you look — even at the truly iconic, unfathomably fearsome Cottesmore Leap, which comes after the 400m or so of slow uphill pull that is Winners’ Avenue.

“They’ll hit the eight-minute mark just before they get to the Cottesmore Leap,” explains di Grazia, while Martyn Johnson points out the kind, sloping profiles of the fences in this chunk of the course: “he’s been conscious, here, that horses will be starting to take a bit of a blow,” he says, “so he’s giving them a bit of a breather with the profiles.”

There’s no messing around at the Dairy Mound.

20ABC is the Defender at the Dairy Mound question, and though it’s relatively late on the course, it’s arguably one of the most serious questions on it. First, there’s a sharp upward slope to tackle en route to the first element, an enormous oxer — though, di Grazia explains, “that’s helpful, because it’ll keep them coming and give them the power for what they want to do”. Then, they’ll ride three strides on to an eye-wateringly narrow triple bar, down the slope, and left-handed to another narrow triple bar on ‘whatever they get’. As usual, there’s a long route, but di Grazia is conscious here that any addition time spent moving between fences will ask extra effort of an already tired horse, and so expects many to try to go straight — or have saved enough in the tank to allow for some wiggle room for a greener mount.

Sometimes, you need a person in there for scale and some sense of how enormous the fences — in this case, the narrow triple bars at the Dairy Mound — are. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

In all, the course gives the impression of extraordinary toughness — but also conscientious fairness. We won’t share all its secrets just yet — instead, we’ll be bringing you a fence-by-fence analysis in the week of the event, and before then, you can get a seriously in-depth view of what’s to come by signing up for the highly-praised Burghley TV, which, at £20 per annum, gives you access to the only place you can see all the live-stream action, but also provides you with behind-the-scenes and round-up programming, access to decades of highlights programmes, and much, much more besides.

This year’s Defender Burghley Horse Trials will take place from August 31 – September 3, and as always, you’ll be able to follow along with every bit of the action via EN. Stay tuned for lots more content from us in the lead-up to this year’s event, and until next time, Go Eventing!

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage