Classic Eventing Nation

Just in time for our First Horse Inspection at Defender Burghley, we’re locked and loaded with this year’s Form Guide to the field ready to battle it out for the top honors all week long.

As is usual, we’ve provided a quick summary of each pair’s recent form, laid out in drawn order, below. You can also use this link to view each horse’s database profile in EN’s Horse & Rider Wiki for more details. Additionally, the link list below can be saved or used to keep up with all of the coverage both here on EN and beyond.

This Form Guide was written by Cheg Darlington, who’ll also be handling our Live Blog on cross country day Saturday. Stay tuned for more and Go Eventing.

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🇺🇸 Caroline Pamukcu – HSH Tolan King

“Todd” made his CCI5* debut with Caroline Pamukcu at Maryland last season and finished up in a respectable 11th place, having been one of many to pick up cross country jumping penalties, but a bunch of high profile combinations were forced to bow out of the competition out on course that day, so a completion even with penalties was an achievement, especially for a rookie horse. He put that experience to good use at Kentucky this spring, logging his first 5* cross country clear and coming 14th.

We’re looking at mid-30s in terms of scores in the first phase, so he’s not likely to threaten the top of the chain after the dressage, but he improved on his Maryland score by a fraction over two penalties so he’s certainly headed in the right direction. He’s generally a reliable cross country jumper with 16 clear rounds from 19 on his international record, so there’s room for a leaderboard climb on Saturday. He’s yet to come close to the time above the 3* level, but this is a young horse at 11 and is still gaining his feet at the upper end of the sport. In terms of the final phase, he’s tended to be a two or none kind of guy in recent seasons; he had two at Maryland but he did keep it to just a single pole at Kentucky. This week will be about getting some more miles under his cinch and valuable experience over in Europe – this marks his first competition out of North America. You don’t know if you’ve got a Burghley horse until they’ve been round Burghley. What will “Todd” make of the British fall 5*? Time will tell.

🇳🇿 Tim Price – Global Quest

Global Quest made his CCI5* debut last season at Pau where he was given a sympathetic ride by Tim Price as he stepped up to the top and delivered a solid top-25 result in a field of over 50. The pair had only been together for a short time, so it was a getting to know you exercise as well as an educational outing for this lovely gelding. He put down a mid-30s score in the dressage, just a smidge over what he’d been delivering at 4*, then popped neatly round the cross country for a handful of time penalties. Their final phase wasn’t ideal; first to go, quite unexpectedly Global Quest stopped in the middle of the double combination, snapping a pole in the process. That understandably shook things up a bit and he went on to knock two more rails, with Tim nursing the gelding along carefully to help rebuild his confidence and thus accumulating the amount of time penalties more expected for a cross country round. He’d proved that all this was merely a hiccup however, having had a super run at the 4*-L Nations Cup event at Boekelo a couple of weeks prior, where he added just two seconds of cross country time to his dressage score of 29.8 across the competition to finish 4th and since Pau he’s completed a second 5*, having crossed the Pond to take on the Bluegrass of Kentucky, where he went sub-30 in the dressage, and then dropped down the order some having added frangible penalties and time on cross country, before jumping a superb clear in the final phase, albeit two seconds outside the time allowed. Will he put all three phases together at Burghley? There’s no better man on board than the World No. 1. Watch this space.

🇬🇧 Holly Richardson – Ballyneety Silver Service

This lovely Irish Sport Horse picked up a great 14th place at Burghley last year on his CCI5* debut. He came straight out of the blocks with the best first-phase score he’s had since 3* and then went on to jump clear across the country – not bad for his first time at the level. He came out this season at Badminton but sadly the event was a bit of a whoopsie sandwich. Things didn’t go at all to plan in the dressage and he posted his highest score he’s had with Holly, a 41.2. He more than made up for that tricky start with a superb clear inside the time on cross country day, but then five poles down in the final phase wasn’t the best end to the week. Nevertheless, he added a second 5* completion to his card and finished 27th in a field of 61, with some pretty high profile and experienced pairings on the DNF list, so overall, not too bad of a showing when we look at it in context.

Generally, dressage scores are mid-30s, all being well, so he’s likely to be in the middle of the pack going into cross country. He’s reliable for a clear round on Saturday, and proved he can be quick at Badminton. His show jumping record is not so clean, with poles down at all of his long-format runs across the levels. But this is a young horse at the early stages of his top-level career and it’ll be interesting to see his progression this week.

🇮🇪 Susie Berry – Clever Trick

It’s a first trip to Burghley for Clever Trick, who made her CCI5* debut at Kentucky in 2024 and finished just outside the top 20, before taking that experience forward to Badminton last season and jumping clear on cross country day to end up 29th from a field of 81. Both of those top-level runs started out with a dressage score in the 36s, so we can probably expect something similar this time around. The mare picked up a 20 at Kentucky on her step up to the level, where she was a little too keen for the job. Susie had the save of the day at the Head of the Lake, getting up close and personal with the massive crowd at the popular fence while she fought to stay in the plate. She’ll be hoping for far less drama this week. On their second go at the level at Badminton the following spring they banked a relatively steady but clear cross country jumping round. When things are going good, she can be quick and has made the time at the 4*-L level on multiple occasions. Two poles in the final phase at Badminton last year kept this pair from being closer to the top 20, although it was a day when clear rounds were few and far between, and they jumped clear at Kentucky the year before. If they do have penalties in the final phase, they generally keep it to a single rail.

It’s cool to see this mare at Burghley and she’s got the experience now to really give it some oomph on Saturday should Susie be feeling it with her. If all goes to plan, this pair should be aiming for a top-20 result at least, and perhaps a fair bit better.

🇬🇧 Tom Jackson – Hawk Eye

A top-20 result at Burghley on his CCI5* debut last season proved this gelding to be a Burghley horse, albeit picking up a fairly late 20 when the horse didn’t seem to lock on to the skinny arrowhead coming out of a water complex, but that didn’t detract from what was a really great round from the gelding over the biggest track he’d faced in his career up to then with a rider who’d only taken over the reins that season. He went to Badminton in the spring and had a really unlucky 20 when the horse stepped on himself in the middle of a rail-ditch-rail combination and pulled a shoe, putting him a spot which gave him no chance of jumping out without penalties. He wasn’t the only one to come unstuck at that fence, which claimed some high profile scalps that day.

They scored 35.1 in the first phase at Burghley and improved that to 33.9 at Badminton, but scores at 4* range from mid-20s to mid-30s, so the potential’s obviously there, it’s just about realizing it on the day. He’s generally a reliable cross country jumper, with those two mistakes a bit unlucky, really. They’re a speedy combination who’ve made the time at 4*-L and were far from the slowest around the track at Burghley despite having to circle back to jump the fence they had problems at. A clear round will be the priority this week but a quick one is certainly within this horse’s reach. They had a rail in the final phase at Burghley, and another one at Badminton, but a lot of competitors found the final phase tricky at both of those events; if he does add penalties on Sunday, he should keep it to just the one pole.

It’ll be really interesting to see this pair back at Burghley and they’ll surely be ones to watch as the horse banks experience at the level and progresses in his career at the top of his sport.

🇬🇧 Mary Edmundson – Lionel II

Hello, it’s Lionel, coming forward for a second start at the level after making his debut at Pau last season. They picked up a 20 at a skinny coming out of a big water complex fairly late on course, but they weren’t the only ones to collect penalties there that day. It was a steady round for his first time at CCI5* but he’ll have banked much useful experience to carry forward into this week when Mary will see if she’s got a Burghley horse on her hands.

Dressage is a work in progress with scores trending in the late-30’s with a hoof in the 40s on occasion; they scored 37.8 at Pau. But cross country day is what this striking chestnut gelding is all about, with an impressively clean record bar that 20 at Pau and one other, way back at his first ever international event in 2019. He’s not the swiftest horse in the stable, and no doubt Mary won’t be pushing him this time around, with a clear round the priority as this guy gets his 5* career truly underway. The show jumping phase thus far has proved to be a very mixed bag; he’s jumped clear at 4*-L but had seven poles down at Pau. He generally keeps it to one, but there are odd blips where there’s a few more. Nevertheless, a top-level completion is an achievement in itself, no matter how it comes about. Here’s hoping for deeper cups and a fun experience for both horse and rider this week.

🇺🇸 Cassie Sanger – Redfield Fyre

This talented young rider brings her own Redfield Fyre to Burghley for the second time. The pair made their CCI5* debut together at Kentucky last season and finished up just inside the top 20; but for a flag penalty out on course they’d have been closer to the top 10. They bagged another top-20 result at Burghley last fall, with a clear round across the country really proving that this gelding has got what it takes to party with the best of them. Badminton in the spring didn’t go their way with a surprising mistake on cross country ending their competition early; but for a flag penalty it was their first time in 26 international competitions to have a jumping error.

We shouldn’t expect this combination to be in the hunt following the first phase, with dressage scores trending in the high-ish 30s, but, bar that anomaly at Badminton, we absolutely should be seeing this pair crossing the line with a clear jumping round on Saturday. They won’t be the fastest in the field, but the gelding’s no slouch either, so at the end of day we should see this pair a fair bit further up the order than they were at the start. There will likely be rails to add in the final phase; it was three at Kentucky and four at Burghley, but another completion at the British fall 5* – inside the top-20 – will be what Cassie’s going for this week.

🇳🇿 Clarke Johnstone – Domasco

Making his CCI5* debut this week, this 13-year-old Thoroughbred has been slowly produced by Clarke since the start of his international eventing career, with two seasons spent at the 4* level, albeit focusing on short-format events. He comes to Burghley in good form, having won the 4*-L at Millstreet in Ireland last month, where he showed he’s got the stamina to keep up a good gallop around a longer track. Dressage scores at 4* have been around the mid-30s mark, so we can expect a little increase for his step up to 5*. He’s proved that he’s a reliable cross country jumper across the levels and he can obviously be quick, he was born to run, after all. Clarke takes this guy on the Spanish show jumping circuit in the winter, and it shows in his final phase scores, with just the odd pole on his record, but many, many more clears.

Domasco is quite the world traveler: he was initially purchased at the Tattersalls foal sale (after being bred in England), and then was sent to the southern hemisphere to race. Finding little success there, he was introduced to eventing by Heelan Tomkins, whom Clarke used to ride for. Domasco has seemed to take to eventing like a fish into water, with several FEI wins under his belt to date.

We love to see a Thoroughbred at 5* so it’ll be exciting to see how this guy finds the step up. It’s bold to bring a rookie horse to Burghley, but Clarke’s super experienced and knows his way around a top-level track.

🇮🇪 Joseph Murphy – Calmaro

This exciting 15-year-old made his CCI5* debut at Pau in 2021 with and came 14th before crossing the Pond to take on Kentucky the following spring and picking up another superb placing at the level, top-10 this time with only cross country time added to his score across the competition. The 2022-4 seasons were focused on Nations Cup and European Championships duties. He returned to 5* last spring at Badminton where an expensive round on the final day dropped him down the order to 33rd and now he comes to Burghley for the first time off the back of some strong 4*-S results this season at the likes of Bramham, England and Millstreet, Ireland.

We’re looking at an early-30s dressage score which should see him well in the mix for a leaderboard climb on Saturday, when a clear round will be the order of the day; he hasn’t had a cross country jumping penalty since 2021. He’s unlikely to be the quickest in the field, but he’s a horse with plenty of experience, albeit mostly at the 4* level, and his jockey is brave and bold as they come, having started out on the hunting scene. The gelding tends to be a one or none kind of guy in the show jumping, but sometimes a couple more rails do fall, it just depends on the day. In terms of 5*s, he rolled four at Badminton last year, one at Pau on his debut and jumped clear on his trip to Kentucky. Whatever happens, watch out for this pair as they hunt their way round the track on Saturday in true cross country style.

🇬🇧 Gemma Stevens – Chilli Knight

Gemma Stevens’ redemption run at Badminton this spring after heartbreak in the show jumping the previous year did not go to plan when the gelding threw a shoe around the Vicarage Vee area and there was too much slipping for it to be safe to continue. The year before they were still on their sub-30 dressage score after cross country day, when he delivered one of only six clears inside the time from a field of 81, and were in third place going into the final phase. Then the rails fell, five of them, and with them a tumble twelve places down the leaderboard. What made the whole scenario worse was that this horse is a relatively careful jumper usually; yes, he’s prone to a pole down at CCI5*, but no more. Eventing sure is a rollercoaster. However, we put those disappointments aside and continue on and here they are at Burghley for a second go around the mighty track after logging a top-10 finish in 2024.

After a false start to this horse’s 5* career (he was withdrawn before the final phase at Pau in 2019), he came back out at the pop-up event at Bicton and marked his card as a top-level winner, doing so in style with a finish on his dressage score of 27.9. He’s also got 14th and 15th placing at Badminton on his card. So this is an exciting prospect for Gemma, should the chips fall her way.

He’s been in the high-20s in the first phase at 5* and is generally a really reliable cross country horse, although he’s not totally immune to a bad day at the office, such as happened at the Eventing Spring Carnival at Thoresby, England, this season, where he picked up 40 penalties. However, that certainly seems to have been some sort of a blip and Gemma’s a technician, she’ll have gone back and worked out what was going on and done her homework and then some. Gemma’s a quick rider and this is a quick horse; they beat the clock at Badminton twelve months ago, were inside at Bicton on their way to the win, and were the sixth quickest of the day at Burghley last season. We’ve talked about the colored poles, he does tend to have a rail at 5*, although he jumped clear at Bicton, and then there’s the anomaly of Badminton last year. For sure, Gemma will be holding her breath a little bit as she goes into the ring on Sunday, but it would be pretty cruel if history repeated itself, particularly if they’re in a good position going into the finale, which, if form is anything to go by and luck’s on their side, is pretty likely.

🇬🇧 Tom Bird – Cowling Hot Gossip

This game gelding’s got a double of Burghley and Badminton completions under his cinch now and has really proved himself to be very much part of the CCI5* scene. There’s no two ways about it, though, Cowling Hot Gossip goes to three-days for Saturdays. The best day. He’s a sweet guy who’s workmanlike for Tom Bird in the first phase, getting the job done so he’s allowed to progress to the fun bit. His dressage scores trend in the mid-40s. But don’t be fooled. This horse is almost unrecognizable from the white boards to the cross country start box. Out he goes and grins the whole way round, digging deep and hunting along, having the time of his life.

He jumped clear round Burghley in 2024 on his CCI5* debut, and has two Badminton clears on his card. His boldness was his undoing at Burghley last year though and he had a drive by for 20 penalties at a fence that caught a fair few out that day, but that’s one of only three cross country jumping penalties on his entire international record from 30 competitions. We’re not expecting him to make the time, although he put in his fastest 5* round to date at Badminton, picking up just 8 faults, but that doesn’t take away from what a fun ride this guy must be. Much like the dressage, he’s not really that into show jumping – he’s a cross country horse through and through. He had five rails at Burghley last year but had kept it to three at Badminton that spring, both an improvement on the seven he had down on his debut at the level, although Badminton this year was a particularly tough showing, with ten fences falling.

Enough of that. Eyes on this one for a joyous watch on Saturday. Blah blah dressage. And a 5* completion is a great thing, no matter how many poles are sacrificed to get there.

🇬🇧 Jack Pinkney – Clara Olala

This 12-year-old comes forward for his first CCI5* after gaining ground at the 4* level over the last couple of seasons. He’s had some good placings in hotly contested classes around meaty tracks the likes of Bramham, England, and Scone Palace, Scotland, and certainly on paper looks to be ready for the step up to the top of the sport.

Dressage scores at 4* tend to be mid- to high-30s but cross country is this gelding’s forte, with just one penalty on his international card with Jack. He won’t be the fastest in the field but nor will he be the slowest, but a clear jumping round will be foremost in Jack’s mind for this horse at the start of his 5* career. Show jumping thus far has been a little mixed; he can jump clear at long-format events, but he can also roll up to three poles, so it’s a bit of a wait and see situation.

It’s always interesting to see how the new kids on the block take to the biggest tracks in the sport, and Burghley is one mighty undertaking. You don’t know if you’ve got a Burghley horse until they’ve been round Burghley, so Jack will be more the wiser come Sunday. There’s lots to suggest that this guy will be up for it though.

Brought onto the international eventing scene by Michael Ryan before Jack took to the saddle in 2023, bringing the horse through 3* up to the top of the sport.

🇬🇧 Alex Bragg – Jaeger Master

This 12-year-old may be a rookie stepping up to the level but Alex is no such thing and the gelding couldn’t be in better hands. Alex has only had the ride for one full season but the horse gained experience through the levels first with Izzy Taylor and then Tom Woodward, and has had some competitive results at meaty 4*-L events such as Ballindenisk, Ireland, where they were 2nd, and Bramham, England, where they posted a top-10 result in a field of 51. The pair certainly seem to have gelled, with a couple of sub-30 dressage scores on their card at 4* and a bunch of quick clears cross country, although they did have a blip in the 4*-S at Alnwick, England, last month, where they had their first jumping penalties together. They’re not so clean in the final phase and we can expect one or two poles on Sunday based on their long-format record, but an educational and confidence-building completion will very much be Alex’s aim for this gelding as he makes his debut in the big time at Burghley.

🇳🇿 Tayla Mason – Centennial

This New Zealand Warmblood made his CCI5* debut in 2021 at Pau and scored a solid completion, but didn’t appear back at the level until three years later, also in France, when he showed an improvement across all three phases and came 26th. After squeaking onto the Badminton line up at the very final second last year, some expensive mistakes in the changes during the dressage phase meant he started a little off the pace, but he more than made up for it with a clear and quick cross country round, his first jumping clear at the level, having had a 20 on his first attempt and picking up a frangible penalty on his second. His was the ninth fastest round of the day from a field of 81 and the two poles he had in the final phase was an improvement on the three and four he’d had previously, and kept him inside the top 20 when all was said and done. He made the trip to Maryland in the fall and came 8th, with a missed flag on cross country day keeping him out of the top placings. But all that was leading to his best result, which came at Badminton this season, where he added just 1.6 show jumping time to his score across the competition and bagged himself an excellent 6th place finish.

The 40.2 he scored in the first phase at Badminton last year was really out of character for this guy, with previous results at the level being low- mid-30s, which would put them in the middle of the pack going into cross country, when a leaderboard climb will be the order of the day. He’s bold and brave and really covers the ground, and if his performance at Badminton is anything to go by, Tayla must be super excited for Saturday. Burghley is a different entity, but this pair know each other inside out and are sure to be working as a team when they take on the Burghley terrain. He does tend to have rails at long-format events – one, two, maybe three – but he jumped clear at Maryland and then again at Badminton this year, so he’ll keep us on the edge of our seats right to the end, particularly if he’s right up there in the top placings going into the final phase, which he could well be.

🇬🇧 Max Warburton – Deerpairc Revelry

This stunning Irish Sport Horse burst onto the CCI5* scene with Max Warburton at Burghley in 2024 with a sub-30 dressage score, a clear round across the country, more clear jumping on the Sunday and a top-20 placing. So far, so exciting. Sadly things didn’t quite continue in that upward trajectory, but that’s not unusual for a young horse that’s stepped up to the level; mistakes do inevitably come along. At Badminton last season he started out in the low-30s after the first phase, so not quite the same kind of pizazz we’d seen the previous fall. He was having a really smooth and confident round across the country until the horse seemed to tire suddenly after looking fabulous almost the whole way round. He had a frangible penalty late on the course and then picked up a 20 a couple of fences later; Max then helped the horse home, and they picked up a fair few time penalties in the process. The gelding came out the following day none the worse for wear and jumped a lovely clear round, so a lot of education banked on the horse’s second time at the level. They went on to contest Burghley for the second time last fall and seemed back on track, with a sub-30 score going into cross country day. He set off ears pricked and looking very ready but a sticky jump quite early on course caught up with him a little further down the line and they had a 20 at one of Burghley’s infamously tricky combinations. It was kind of unlucky, really, and they went on to have another educational round before jumping clear in the final phase. It was a little mixed again at Badminton this season, with a low-30s dressage followed up with a clear and relatively quick cross country round seeing them in an exciting place going into the final phase, where two poles dropped them down the order. They finished 13th, which is obviously a great placing, but there must have been a bit of a feeling of what could have been. To be fair, many, many combinations had rails that day.

Deerpairc Revelry sure has showed his potential though and there’s big things to come for him, no doubt. Those low dressage scores will have him in the mix from the start, he’s proved he can jump clear round a massive track like Burghley, he’s beat the clock at 4*-L and surely it’s only a matter of time before he does so at 5*, and clear rounds on the Sunday of a three-day are a valuable asset to have in a horse, which this guy is very much capable of putting in. It’s exciting to see how this clearly talented horse’s career progresses as he really settles in at the pinnacle of his sport.

🇨🇭 Nadja Minder – Toblerone

19-year-old Toblerone has taken Nadja Minder through Young Riders right to the top of the sport. Longtime pals and partners, this pair are ones not to miss for a cute display of just what a trusting partnership looks like around one of the toughest courses in the world. They made their CCI5* debut together at Pau in 2023 and came 25th, then opted for Burghley the following season and added a top-20 placing to their record. 2025 saw them contest Luhmühlen where they finished 16th, and then they added a further top-25 placing at Badminton to their list of 5* accolades this spring, so all-in-all it’s been a pretty successful top-level run for this combination thus far.

We’re looking at low- mid-30s in the first phase, with a 30.5 at Pau, a 31 at Burghley, a 35.5 at Luhmühlen and a 30.3 at Badminton on their card at the level. This sweet guy is reliable for a clear round across the country, with just one jumping penalty in his time with Nadja which came on his 5* debut. They picked up frangible penalties at Luhmühlen in what was otherwise a smooth round, but it they were clear all the way at Burghley and Badminton. They won’t be the fastest pairing in the field, but they were in the top 25% when it came to time at Luhmühlen, the top third at Burghley and the top half at Badminton, so time penalties shouldn’t be too expensive on Saturday. Three rails in the final phase at Luhmühlen sadly dropped them down the order some, they’d have been in the money if the poles had stayed in the cups, and four rails at Badminton this spring were costly, but they jumped clear at Burghley last year, so adding penalties on Sunday isn’t necessarily inevitable and there are plenty of long-format clears on the horse’s record.

It would be very cool to see this combination right up there when all’s said and done this week. They truly are a joy to watch together and regardless of the final placings, this horse has done his best friend very proud over the years.

🇫🇷 Benjamin Massie – Filao de Perle

This talented gelding may only be an 11-year-old, but he’s got four CCI5* starts to his name already, including 7th place at Pau last year when he was one of only six to make the time on cross country day and 9th at Badminton this season. He’s amongst the fastest horses in the field, having added just 3.6 time penalties across all of his seven long-format runs across all levels, bar Luhmühlen last year where he had a run out and had to circle back and then was held on course due to another competitor, which would have disrupted his rhythm; his was the fastest round with jumping penalties by quite a margin though, and was quicker than some of the clear rounds.

Dressage scores at 5* have thus far spanned from 31.1 to 37.4, but this is a smart customer and he’s still coming into his full strength, so we can certainly expect more consistency as he progresses in his career and his quality sure suggests that he’ll be sub-30 at some point. He’s not infallible to a pole in the final phase, he had one at Pau last year and one at Badminton in the spring, but jumped clear at Luhmühlen, and the damage is always limited to a single rail. With a finishing score like the 35.2 he had at Pau, despite adding 4 faults on the Sunday, this horse really is an exciting prospect and there’s little doubt we’ll be seeing him on a 5* podium before long.

🇬🇧 Simon Grieve – Autograf

One of the most popular riders on the circuit, Simon Grieve’s enthusiastic interviews waxing lyrical about his game partner win him even more fans at each event he contests. The gelding’s debut at the CCI5* level at Burghley last year really did prove his mettle, when guts and stamina and pure heart were the order of the day on a really demanding cross country track, and this guy’s got all that in bucketloads. He is super fun to watch across the country, a real eventer’s eventer, and it’s no wonder Simon was so thrilled when he crossed the finish line because their round looked like a whole lotta fun. They replicated that joy at Badminton in the spring with another top-level clear cross country round.

We’re looking at mid- to high-30s in the dressage, but this gelding’s not in the game for that. He’s most certainly in it for the cross country, where he barrels round bravely with a grin as big as Simon’s on his face. Bar one hiccup, his jumping record is flawless across 21 international competitions, and although he’s not the quickest horse on the block, he is a great watch as he takes on whatever Simon points him at with gusto and then some. He jumped clear at Burghley on the final day, albeit with a couple of time faults, and finished up in 18th place, a very cool result for a very cool horse. An unfortunate two poles at Badminton dropped them down the order a little, but there were few clear rounds in the stadium that day.

Whatever happens, this pair are ones to watch for their happy-go-lucky outlook and just plain love for the sport.

🇳🇿 Caroline Powell – High Time

This KWPN gelding has had four appearances at CCI5* and bettered his result each time over the first three. He made his debut at Pau in 2024 and finished 31st, then went to Badminton last season and came 21st, before heading to Burghley in the fall and bagging a top-10 result in 8th place. Sadly that upwards trajectory turned downwards at Badminton when a fall late on course ended his competition early. It was at a fence that caught out a few that day, just a really unlucky catch of the knee making for a skewed jump, propelling Caroline out of the side door. Horse and rider were none worse for the wear and they’re back at Burghley this week looking to replicate that great result from last year, or go even better.

This exciting gelding’s first phase scores are generally low- mid-30s at the 5* level, his best coming at Burghley in the form of a 31.1, so he’s likely to be in a big bunch coming into cross country day. He really is a talented cross country jumper, with just a frangible penalty on his record (which came at Pau on his debut) in recent times, bar that fall at Badminton. Caroline’s a naturally quick rider and has beat the clock at Badminton three times on three different horses, although this guy wouldn’t be the quickest of the bunch; he picked up 11.2 time penalties at Burghley last year which put him about halfway down the field of finishers in terms of speed, but Caroline knows exactly what she’s got under her now, an out-and-out Burghley horse, so she may try and shave a little off this time around. The gelding does tend to have a pole in the final phase at long-format events, but he jumped clear on the final day last year, albeit at the cost of a second.

As a former Badminton and Burghley winner, Caroline knows exactly what it feels like to lift a 5* trophy and there’s no doubt she’d like to do it again. If everything comes together for them, they’re sure in with a shot.

🇬🇧 Emma Thomas – Icarus

This striking KWPN gelding had a great start to his CCI5* career with a clear round at Burghley in 2023 on his debut at the level, followed by another clear round on the Sunday and culminating in 18th place. Since then he’s clocked up two Badminton completions and a further two Burghley finishes.

There’s no two ways about it, this horse gets hot, hot, hot in the dressage phase. Like, fireworks. We’ve seen him wave at the judges before now. It’s a shame because he’s a lovely mover, but the excitement of the occasion very much gets the better of him and Emma does a masterful job with this very difficult ride. His PB at the level is 37.3, which came at Burghley last fall, but he’s been as high as 51.2 and there’s a mixture of scores in between. However, we all know that the best day of a three-day is Saturday and that’s when this guy really can shine. Yes, there’s been some mistakes along the way, primarily at 5*. He had a 20 for a drive-by at Burghley in 2024 as a result of his keenness, then the same situation occurred at Badminton last year. At Burghley last fall they picked up a really unfortunate 60 penalties for two ‘refusals’ at the same fence. It was at a step up out of water before a bounce very early on course and saw a lot of problems that day. Icarus had been incredibly enthusiastic but came to a really surprising stop, looking round as if to say he didn’t get what to do. Emma brought him round and they continued on with the job but they were judged as having stepped back before she did so and thus incurred the extra penalties. It was a real shame as the rest of their round was superb, total cross country grit on show from both horse and rider and massive jumps that elicited oos and aahs from the crowd as they made their way around the meaty track. They’ve had a bit of a tricky 2026 season thus far, with jumping penalties at each of their three FEI events, including Badminton, but let’s hope they’re back on form this week at Burghley. That run of mistakes has continued into the show jumping phase, but they’ve jumped clear at Burghley twice previously and the four fences they had at Badminton really was an anomaly for them.

So things have been a little hit and miss, a little unlucky, but with plenty of fun for this pair as they’ve galloped and jumped their way around the world’s toughest tracks. We shouldn’t be expecting them to make the time on Saturday, but what we can bank on is a round that’s great to watch for its bold jumping, solid partnership between horse and rider and a combination who really do exude love for the sport.

🇦🇺 Samuel Jeffree – Santoro

Exclusively competing down in Australia until now, this 14-year-old gelding has two CCI5* starts under his cinch, both at Adelaide, where he came 4th in the spring. Both top-level starts saw him post a high-30s dressage score and although there were cross country jumping penalties on his debut at the level, he put that well and truly right on his second go with a clear inside the time. You couldn’t get more difference between Adelaide’s city cross country course and Burghley’s massive terrain, but eventing is a sport of variety and it’ll be interesting to see how this guy takes to competing in the northern hemisphere. He’s proved he can be quick at long-format events, although he’s yet to jump clear on the final day of a 5* and we can probably expect something added to his score on Sunday. Nevertheless, it’s really cool to welcome eventers all the way from Australia to England’s eventing scene and above everything else, we wish this pair a fun trip around one of the toughest courses out there, and Samuel has plans to stay abroad for about a year to continue his own education and development in a big hub of the sport.

🇬🇧 Harry Meade – Et Hop Du Matz

“Hoppy” hopped the Pond from the UK to the US last year to gallop on the Bluegrass and bagged himself a podium place at Kentucky after adding not a single penalty to his dressage score across the competition, the only horse to keep a completely clean sheet that year; in fact, only 5% of those who’ve competed at Kentucky ever have. It wasn’t his first time on US soil; he went to Maryland in 2024 to make his debut at the level, but a very uncharacteristic tumble from Harry meant he didn’t get a completion score for his record. Success in the spring at Kentucky though was followed by a spin round Burghley in the fall with the third-fastest round of the day leading to a 9th place finish, which could have been closer to the podium but for a couple of unusual poles on the final day dropping him down some. He was back out at Badminton in the spring and although we didn’t see one of Harry’s characteristic clears inside the time, it was a smooth ride all the same for the pathfinder who looked convincing from start to finish.

He won’t be threatening the lead after the dressage phase, think low- mid-30s, but he’s bold and fast across the country and is reliable for a clear, quick round, so we can expect a bid for a leaderboard climb on Saturday. He’s a bit of a 50:50 kind of guy in the show jumping, but generally keeps it to just the one rail if he has any; that second one at Burghley was a bit of a blip, really.

Could this be Harry’s time to finally win a 5*? He’s obviously got high hopes for another podium for this exciting gelding, and so he should. If he can stay in touch in the first phase, do what he does best on cross country day, and then keep the poles in the cups on Sunday, there’s every chance he’ll be up there once again.

🇬🇧 Yasmin Ingham – Goliath du Loir

This 10-year-old Selle Français gelding makes his CCI5* debut at Burghley this year after spending last season honing his skills at 4*. He came out this season with a PB in the dressage, scoring sub-30 for the first time in the 4*-S at Belsay, England, although we can probably expect a first-phase score around the mid-30s this week for his first time at the level. His cross country record isn’t without mistake, with a couple of 20s dotted in there and a frangible penalty in the Nations Cup 4*-L event at Boekelo, Netherlands, last year, but he’s on a streak of six clears since then around some of the tougher British 4* tracks. We’re going to see time penalties added on Saturday, a confidence-building, educational clear round will very much be Yas’ plan for this gelding as he starts his top-level career, but what we can look forward to is a clear jumping round on Sunday if his recent form is anything to go by, this guy is careful over the colored poles which is a very useful trait to have at a big three-day.

🇳🇿 Jesse Campbell – Cooley Lafitte

This Irish Sport Horse has eight CCI5* starts under his cinch, but things haven’t been easy for this partnership. The gelding isn’t the most straightforward horse but Jesse Campbell’s a master horseman and leaves no stone unturned in his work with Cooley Lafitte in a constant effort to help him produce the quality work he’s so capable of.

He stepped up to 5* at Pau in 2023 but a fall out on cross country had them looking for a first completion at Badminton the following spring, which they secured in fine style with 15th place. A trip to Burghley later that season added another solid completion to their record, where they finished just outside the top 20. Last year they made three starts at the level but things were tricky, to say the least. The sensitive gelding got very upset in the dressage phase at Badminton and Jesse opted to withdraw before cross country, taking him home to try and work out what was going on with him. They rerouted to Luhmühlen where they picked up an early 20 at a combination where the horse looked to be quite difficult. They continued on but ran into more troubles late on course and Jesse put his hand up. Back to the planning board then, before a trip to Burghley in the fall where, sadly, things didn’t go right either. The round started out a little sticky and then came to a halt early on at fence 7, when the horse didn’t pick up after jumping up a step out of water; to be fair though, it was a fence that caught a number of combinations out that day. Another walk home for this pair, then, although an opportunity to try one more time with a reroute to Pau, where they ended the season on a high note with a quick clear across the country and 20th place. Badminton this spring was a little mixed, with dressage going OK for a 38 but then the line through the Vicarage Vee eluding them; a jump to the right of the red flag looked uncomfortable and cost them 20 penalties. They were relatively quick overall though, considering they had to come back round and represent.

As we’ve seen, things are a little unpredictable with this horse so it’s hard to look at his form. He’s scored between 32.6 and 44.7 in the first phase, and just about everything in between. When he’s good, he’s great on cross country day, putting in the seventh quickest round of the day at Pau in the fall and joint-ninth quickest in a field of 68 at Badminton in 2024. He had four rails in the final phase at Pau, which is a lot for this horse, but there were few clears that day. He had three down at Badminton in 2024, but again, it was a difficult day in the show jumping ring and clears were a rare and valuable commodity. He kept it to just the single rail at Badminton this year and he has jumped clear at 4*-L though, in fact, he’s finished on his dressage in the 4*-S at Kronenberg, Netherlands and Alnwick, England this season, so he’s definitely got all the required attributes on his day.

No matter where they end up, we’ll be behind this pairing all the way, willing them on to add another completion to their card, and hopefully the great placing we know this horse is capable of.

🇮🇪 Sam Watson – Ballyneety Rocketman

This Irish Sport Horse had his first CCI5* season last year, starting out at Badminton and ending up at Burghley, banking two top-level completions in the process and improving on his performance across all three phases on his second go. His Badminton began with a 40.5 in the dressage and he bettered that by almost 5 marks at Burghley. He had a late 20 out on cross country at Badminton in what was an otherwise really confident round, picking up a frustrating drive-by at a skinny second element when he was just a few fences from home. This guy is speedy and cat-like, really clever with his feet and well-able to get himself out of trouble if things get a little scrappy, attributes he very clearly demonstrated in his round at Burghley, which was classic cross country, where he hunted round, full of grit and bravery. Sam’s a naturally quick rider but this horse eats into the seconds with his enthusiasm and so picked up a fair few time penalties at Burghley despite looking to be speedy and keen the whole way round. That certainly wasn’t the case at Badminton in the spring, where the pair really looked like a partnership and they put in a smooth round, coming home just two seconds outside the optimum time.

The final phase is a little hit or miss; he had a pole in the final phase at Badminton last year, but clear rounds were a rare commodity that day, and jumped clear at Burghley, ending up in 13th place from a field of 52, but rolled two at Badminton this year which dropped them down the order a fair few placings to 20th. Sam’s a determined kind of guy and impeccable in his homework, and there’s a real sense that this pairing are just waiting for everything to come together over the three days so they can really and truly make their mark on the competition.

🇳🇿 Jonelle Price – Chilli’s Midnight Star

Chilli’s Midnight Star is an interesting addition to Jonelle Price’s string and one to look forward to watching as he settles into his CCI5* career. He stepped up at Maryland last season and banked some very good experience, supported by Jonelle who really gave him a superb ride, particularly during some green moments. He was particularly impressive in the first phase, flashy and secure enough for a score in the very low 30s; 30.8 in fact – not a bad start at all. He got a little keen on cross country, resulting in a broken frangible device and a 20, but it was a course that saw off a lot of established competitors and despite those penalties and the resulting time, a clear round on the final day saw them finish up in 9th place. He came back out at Badminton this spring and further impressed, with clear cross country and show jumping rounds and just a handful of time added to his dressage of 33.8 resulting in a 12th place finish from a field of 61. He also has some good 4*-L experience in the top placings, so it’s exciting to see what he makes of Burghley this week with that solid Badminton showing under his cinch.

🇬🇧 Michael Owen – Monbeg Darwin

Monbeg Darwin made his CCI5* debut at Badminton with experienced top-level rider Michael after banking some solid 4*-L experience in his progression to the top of the sport, with runs around meaty tracks such as Scone Palace, Bramham and Blenheim, which stood him in good stead as faced the biggest test of his career. It was a solid showing, with a steady clear across the country proving this guy to be a valid 5* campaigner and a 28th place finish from a field of 61.

We’re looking at mid-30s in the first phase for this young Irish Sport Horse gelding as he’s still developing his strength between the white boards, but Michael will be looking to make up a little ground on cross country day with this very good jumper. He hasn’t had a jumping penalty as such since he stepped up to the 4* level, with just one flag penalty on his card. He’s capable of being relatively swift, which he showed in the 4*-L at Scone Palace last season where he put in the eighth quickest round from a field of 42, but he’s still gaining experience at the level and Michael won’t push him beyond where he’s confident. His show jumping record is a bit mixed, and we can expect at least one rail on Sunday based on his long-format form; he had two at Badminton. Regardless, if he’s there at the end and bagging a 5* completion as a newly minted Burghley horse, it will be a very exciting prospect for his future at the top of his sport.

🇬🇧 Matthew Heath – Benedict Radau

Matthew has had a full season with this big, scopey 14-year-old Irish sport horse now, stepping him up to the CCI5* level at Pau last fall, where they had an educational round and completed in 37th place. Burghley is a different entity than the French 5*, but the gelding’s had trips round some meaty 4*-L tracks in the UK, the likes of Bramham, Scone Palace and Blenheim, so he’s not short of match experience. This pair won’t be troubling the dressage leaders, trending mid- high-30s in the first phase, but the horse is a reliable cross country jumper, with 23 clear jumping rounds across the levels on his card. He picked up a flag penalty at Pau as well as time, but all-in-all it was a confident showing for a first time at the level and the horse finished full of run. Seven rails on the final day were obviously expensive, and although he does tend to have poles, generally it’s been three or four at long-format events. Nevertheless, a completion on the first time of asking is a good thing and no doubt Matt will be looking to add another one to this gelding’s record this week, hopefully with a clear cross country round to boot.

🇬🇧 Sarah Bullimore – Corimiro

This stunning homebred gelding may only be a 10-year-old, but he’s got two excellent CCI5*s on his card and is likely to add another this week. He made his debut at the level aged just 9 at Pau last season and delivered a clear inside the time, ending up in 5th place. Sarah Bullimore didn’t even have her clock on, she’d knocked it off accidentally but just went with the horse’s rhythm and wasn’t worrying about the time anyway, given he was a young horse stepping up to the level. But this chap’s got an enormous stride and really covers the ground, and he finds his job so easy that there’s not much setting up to do at fences and therefore no time wasted. Their clear inside the time, one of only six that day, had them in the lead going into the final phase, but a pole dropped them down into 5th – still, not a bad showing from this young lad and an incredibly exciting start to his 5* career. He proved it wasn’t a fluke at Badminton in the spring where he delivered one of only seven clears inside the time and headed into the show jumping in third place. Two rails down dropped him to 10th but took nothing away from another excellent showing at the top for this very exciting young horse who surely will be on the podium at a big event before long, perhaps even before next week.

This gelding is really flashy on the flat, a super mover, and as such has been posting sub-30 scores at 4* for some time, as low as 24.4. The mark crept up to a straight 30 at Pau, and they posted a 32.1 at Badminton, but he’s maturing all the time and hasn’t yet reached his full strength, so it’s absolutely fair to say he’ll be tough to beat one day. And the quality continues into cross country day. There’s just two jumping penalties on his international record since he was a 7-year-old and we’ve already seen that he can be quick. The only chink in his armor is the final phase, but having the odd rail can’t really be considered that much of a chink, a small scratch perhaps.

It’s super exciting to see this horse at Burghley, where he’ll face the biggest terrain of his career. He’s certainly a star of the future, if you can call a horse who’s already had a 5th place at 5* that. How bright will he shine at Burghley?

🇫🇷 Arthur Marx – Church’lle

Homebred Church’ile made his CCI5* debut with Arthur Marx at Pau back in 2022 and has since started at the level seven further times, but clear cross country jumping has thus far eluded this sweet gelding. It’s safe to say his record at the level is a bit patchy, but that’s not for want of trying, and sometimes his DNF results have come down to pure bad luck. At Badminton in 2024 he ended up crossing his tracks after Arthur came back around and muddled his way through an alternate route at a combination fence. They continued on and the horse was jumping brilliantly but they were pulled up as they neared home due to earlier faults meaning they’d accrued the maximum three refusals. At Pau in 2023 they were having a fabulous spin, until a broken stirrup put an end to their competition, no matter how determined Arthur was to continue on. The crowd had a field day as the pair joyfully jumped some fences, missing out others and went for a gallop round the main arena, all the while pedalless, but the ground jury eventually put a stop to their antics and they had to walk home. They had arguably their best round at Badminton in the spring, and despite picking up 11 frangible penalties at the Vicarage Vee and having a couple of heart-in-mouth moments, they added just 1.6 time and Arthur was clearly thrilled as he crossed the line with his longtime pal.

“Pumba” isn’t the flashiest in the first phase and scores tend to be mid- high-30s. He achieved his best at the level at Pau in 2024, a 33.4; at Badminton earlier that season he scored 43. He’s a bold jumping horse and is capable of putting in some clever footwork as he hunts his way round the world’s biggest tracks and it’s not hard to root for him on cross country day. The horse is great, the mistakes and mishaps have been a bit unlucky, really, although he’s clocked up five completions now.

All this is to say that this horse absolutely deserves that clear on his record and we’ll be behind him hoping for it to happen this week. We won’t be expecting a clear round on Sunday, he’s had between one and four rails each time he’s jumped on the final day, but it really is all about the cross country for this pair, and adding a sixth 5* completion to the horse’s record.

🇬🇧 Tom Strawson – Public Address

This extraordinary point-to-pointer turned eventer made his CCI5* debut at Burghley last season and showed he’d got the heart and the guts and then some to duke it out at the top of the sport. No, he’s not a dressage horse, with a score of 39.8 at Burghley being a good showing compared to his usual scores in the 40s, but cross country – absolutely this guy’s got that part of eventing down. He jumped clear round Burghley with 25.6 time penalties to the delight of owner-rider Tom Strawson who had a ball out there on course. Theirs was a round that really did look like the best of fun – bold and brave with some very natty footwork from the gelding, particularly when he added a stride at a bounce combination to make it work for him, clever pony. He finished up on Sunday with four rails in the final phase which dropped him down a few places to 21st, but that didn’t diminish the fact that he’d almost hit the top 20 at Burghley on his very first time at the level, and had a ball doing so. Unfortunately, their trip to Badminton in the spring wasn’t such a happy outing, with the horse tying up out on cross country. He was tended to by the vet team on site and has had a quiet rest of the season, but it’s really good news to see him at Burghley this week and hopefully in for a fun time of things once again.

🇬🇧 Tara Dixon – Master Smart

At the level for the third time and looking for their first completion, Tara and this 13-year-old Irish sport horse made their debut at the level at Burghley last year but ran into early penalties at a bounce step out of water, as plenty did that day, and then had more problems a couple fences later, meaning a walk home just a third of the way around the course. Sadly, their reroute to Pau served up some deja vu, and it was another early hack back to the stables after being eliminated for three refusals at the sixth fence. Will it be third time lucky for this pair?

We’re looking at mid- to late-30s scores in the first phase, the 34.9 they put down at Pau was a PB at the 4 and 5* level. Historically, things haven’t been straight forward for them out on cross country; as well as those two DNF results at 5*, there are jumping penalties dotted throughout their card across the levels, although they have gone clear around British 4*-S tracks the likes of Alnwick and Thoresby, and Ballindenisk in Ireland. It’s hard to gauge their speed, due to the problems, but this is a strong and very keen horse and setting up the more enthusiastic ones does waste seconds, we see that time and time again on cross country day when the ones which are pulling pick up more penalties. In terms of the final day, we’re going back to 2024 to find a long-format completion on this combination’s record; a clear round at Kronenberg, Netherlands, so it’s hard to sum up the horse’s form, but he tends to be a one or none kind of horse across the levels. Hopefully he’ll get to show his show jumping at on Sunday, and come out of the week with a 5* completion under his cinch.

🇬🇧 Kate Rocher-Smith – Dassett Select

This family-owned gelding made his CCI5* debut at Badminton last year and started out his top-level career with a completion on his card. He’s not the easiest contender, for sure, but Kate’s super experienced and has had this guy for five years now, so knows him pretty well. We’re looking at mid-30s in the first phase; they scored 33.1 at Badminton, shaving a little off their trending scores at 4*. There are cross country penalties on his card, but he’s become more reliable the last couple of seasons. He won’t be the quickest in the field, these strong, keen horses rarely are, and if Badminton’s anything to go by, he’s likely to come home with a good dollop of time penalties, but come home all the same. He’ll add on the final day too, generally it’s between one and three poles, but at Badminton it was 6, however it should be noted that the track was tough that time around with competitors picking up a fair few penalties and clear rounds not at all easy to come by. So a completion is the name of the game for this combination, perhaps aiming for the top 30.

🇮🇪 Lucy Latta – RCA Patron Saint

What a start this pair had to their CCI5* career, recording the fastest round of the day at Badminton in 2024, resulting in a mammoth 43 place climb after cross country, and ultimately taking the runner-up spot, firmly making their names known at the top of the sport as they did so. Lucy Latta rides as an amateur but comes from celebrated horsey stock, with Grand National winners and 5* eventers amongst her family. Her 93-year-old grandad was cheering on from home when she made her epic Badminton debut, reliving the days when he too rode round the British big Bs in the 1970s.

The rest of their debut season didn’t go at all to plan, with a bout of colic after traveling over from Ireland meaning they missed out on Burghley that fall. There was further disappointment when Badminton last year also didn’t happen due to “Paddy” cutting himself at home a few days before the to the event. We had wait until Burghley last season to see them again at the level, but unfortunately it wasn’t the sophomore run Lucy was hoping for. She was having an absolute peach of a ride until the gelding came to a sliding stop in front of the C element at the Trout Hatchery, despite having jumped the first two fences in the combination brilliantly. It can’t always be your day and there was experience gained nonetheless. They still finished a perfectly respectable 22nd. They were back at Badminton this spring, where they proved just why we’d all been talking about them, once more delivering a brave cross country round for just a couple of time penalties and finding themselves jumping for a podium place on the Sunday. It wasn’t to be however and three very expensive rails dropped them down the order to 17th.

This gelding has got Saturday leaderboard climber written all over him. He’s mid-30s in the first phase but let him loose on cross country day and he eats up the fences and ground like nobody’s business. A real gritty, get on and do the job kind of horse, he is amazing to watch as he hunts his way round the track. And we know he’s quick. There will be penalties to add on Sunday, he’s had two or three down at each of his 5* runs, but he should be close to his dressage score before that. They were costly at Badminton this year but he came second last year with those two rails.

Whatever happens, keep an eye out for this pair on Saturday if you’re into real, proper eventing horses, which of course you are.

🇮🇪 Austin O’Connor – Sixmilewater

Although this lovely Irish Sport Horse gelding may not be quite at the caliber of the ever-popular Colorado Blue just yet, he sure is an exciting prospect in Austin’s string. He made his CCI5* debut at Burghley last year with a sweet, educational round, picking up a green 20 on cross country at a fence which caught even seasoned campaigners out, but looking every inch a Burghley horse. He went to Badminton this spring and delivered a clear cross country jumping round with time, finishing up in 33rd place.

Dressage scores for this guy tend to vary at 4*, with everything from 28.8 to 39.7, the latter of which came this season; at Burghley he scored 33 and at Badminton, 38. There are jumping errors dotted through his record but Austin’s a master in the saddle on cross country day and there’s no one better to do the work and support a horse round the toughest tracks in the world. Everything certainly suggests that those reliable clears will come as this horse continues his education. He’s unlikely to be the fastest in the field for now, but Austin will be positive and the gelding’s got two runs under his cinch now, so perhaps we’ll see him opened out a little more this time around. Until Badminton, you’d say he was good for a clear on the final day, with more penalty-free rounds than not at long-format events, despite having a rail at Burghley on his debut. But then came springtime and Sunday at the first British 5* of the year and three rails on the ground, the most this horse has ever had. So, a little like the dressage, this guy’s going to keep us guessing.

It’ll be interesting to see how this lovely gelding gets on at Burghley this week for some insight into how he’s progressing as he really gets stuck into the top level.

🇬🇧 David Doel – Galileo Nieuwmoed – WITHDRAWN

With thirteen CCI5* starts to his name, spanning six of the world’s seven top-level events – at which he’s had top-10 results across the board, the only horse on record to do so – including eight clears inside the time, Galileo Nieuwmoed has been a force at the pinnacle of the sport since he almost won Pau on only his second start at the level in 2021 and is arguably one of the best horses not to have topped the podium, yet that is. He made his 5* debut following/during the Covid hiatus at the pop-up event at Bicton and the scenes out on course when he was pulled up by David after tiring suddenly, with spectators and riders alike piling in to help cool the horse down with water from their drinking bottles and Spencer Sturmey in the commentary box failing to contain the tears at the emotional sight, surely is one of the most memorable and iconic moments to sum up the eventing community. Chill bumps, for sure, just thinking about it.

He came back out refreshed that fall and truly showed his mettle as a top class horse with a sub-30 dressage and a clear inside the time on cross country day putting him in the lead and on track to win the whole dang thing. Sadly, a couple of very expensive poles in the final phase dropped them to 15th, but really took nothing away from the exquisite performance from a horse new to the level. The following year, the pair burst onto the Badminton leaderboard, finishing 6th with David the highest-placed Badminton first-timer. It was jumping clear all the way, adding just 1.2 cross country time faults to their dressage of 32.4. Later that season they returned to Pau for another clear inside the time, and only dropping one pole on the final day saw them tantalizingly close to the 5* podium in fourth. And then began a run of five consecutive events where he finished on his dressage score, including at Kentucky in 2023, where he was 8th, and Burghley that fall, where he stepped up to the podium in runner-up spot, just 0.7 penalties behind the leader. He was 9th at Luhmühlen in 2024 and then made the trip to Maryland, where he added a second 5* podium to his record, finishing 3rd after adding just a single show jumping rail to his score across the competition. And then came a blip. He fell agonizingly close to home at Badminton in 2025, and then again at Burghley that year after scoring sub-30 in the dressage for the first time since 2021. The mistake came early enough on course for a reroute to Pau, where things were back on track and he added yet another 5* clear inside the time on cross country day to his record and finished 9th. This spring he flew out to the Bluegrass to take on Kentucky and finished on his dressage score of 30.8 in third place.

For a horse that at 15 is in his prime, he hasn’t half clocked up the miles and it’s hard not to think that the best could still be to come and there’ll be that elusive and well-deserved 5* win on his card before much longer. Will it be this week? Maybe, just maybe. Don’t count them out, and don’t be surprised if David’s lifting the trophy on Sunday.

🇬🇧 Anthony Clark – Ballinaguilkey Fortunus

This 15-year-old Irish sport horse makes his CCI5* debut this week after picking up plenty of 4* experience (albeit mainly at the short-format), over the past five years with Anthony. A somewhat late starter, he contested his first international event as a 10-year-old and now finds himself at the top of his sport. His form shows mid-30s to low-40s dressage scores but we all know this sport’s about the cross country, really, and he’s proved himself to be fairly reliable, with jumping penalties just twice in 18 starts. He won’t be the fastest horse in the field, and for his first time Anthony will be looking for an educational, confidence-building round. His show jumping form tends to be one or none, with clears and poles coming at both long- and short-format events, so we can hopefully look forward to a sweet ending to this pair’s competition on Sunday and a 5* completion on their card.

🇺🇸 Jennie Brannigan – FE Lifestyle

“Foxy” made his CCI5* debut at Kentucky in 2021 and has returned each year since then. His appearances started out on a clear upwards trajectory, from 24th place on his first time, through 16th and 12th place, to top 10 in 2024. But there was disappointment on his fifth time contesting the big one at the Horse Park; after what was shaping up to be a superb start to the round, this usually reliable cross country horse picked up a really unfortunate 20 at fence 12. He had been cross entered for Badminton the following week and Jennie had been in two minds where to take him. She quickly put her hand up, walked off course, and prepared for a flight to the UK to reroute. Sadly, “Foxy” had a trailering accident which meant he couldn’t take up his place on the Badminton start list. After a season on rest and rehab, he came back out at Maryland in the fall and achieved his best ever 5* result, 5th place. This spring he came 13th at Kentucky.

Generally we’re looking at low- mid-30s scores in the first phase, although some of his best scores have come at 5*, with a 31.1 at Burghley in 2023 and a 32.8 at Maryland last year. In his season opener this year at Carolina, he went sub-30 for the first time in his career, albeit at the 4* level. Super reliable across the country, there’s just two jumping penalties on his card from 41 international competitions, one at his first ever 5* and then that anomaly at Kentucky last year. Foxy is jumper-bred, only about 37% blood, but Jennie describes the horse as having “no bottom” when it comes to tough cross country tracks. He can be pretty nifty on his day, coming home just one second over the time at Kentucky in 2024, the joint fourth best time of the finishers. He does tend to take a rail in the final phase at 5*, but ordinarily he keeps it to just the one. If everything goes to plan, it would be really cool to see this combination duking it out at the business end of the leaderboard this week and there’s every chance they will be.

🇦🇺 Ema Klugman – Chiraz

Chiraz stepped up to the CCI5* level at Kentucky this spring after picking up a 4th place finish in the CCI4*-L at TerraNova, making the trip over to the Netherlands for the 4*-L at Boekelo, and picking up 9th place in the 4*-S at the Horse Park in 2025. He completed Kentucky in 23rd, albeit with a couple of educational penalties out on cross country. Typically mid-30s in the first phase, we shouldn’t expect this lovely gray to be right up there in the mix after the dressage, but this pair are a gutsy duo come cross country day and should things come together for them, they may well find themselves moving the right way on the leaderboard on Saturday. There may be a pole or two on Sunday, there generally is at long-format events, but a solid completion will be the order of this week and experience banked over the Burghley terrain which will stand him in good stead as he progresses in his top-level career.

🇨🇭 Robin Godel – Dealer de la Bride

This Selle Français gelding steps up to the CCI5* level at Burghley after picking up a bunch of 4* experience over in Europe through the last couple of seasons. Robin took over the ride in 2022 when the horse was a 9-year-old and has brought him from 2* through to the top of the sport. Dressage is still a work in progress, with scores in the high-30s to occasionally a hoof in the 40s but in terms of cross country jumping, he’s proved himself to be a reliable contender, with penalties on just two occasions. He won’t be the quickest round the track on Saturday, and Robin will be looking to give this guy a confidence-building ride with the future in mind, so won’t have his pedal to the metal. He tends to be a one or none prospect in the final phase, but a 5* completion will be very much the aim of this outing, with placing coming second to giving the horse a good experience as he gets his top-level career underway.

🇺🇸 Tiana Coudray – D’Artagnan

D’Artagnan has been competing internationally with UK-based US Olympian Tiana Coudray since 2022 and made his CCI5* debut last fall at Pau, taking in the likes of the big 8- and 9-year old class at Blenheim and the 4*-L Nations Cup event at Boekelo on his way to the top of the sport. Trending in the mid-30s in the first phase at 4*, he put down a PB (at the time, he’s since gone sub-30), of 31.6 at Pau. The horse’s cross country record is impressive, with fast clears around some of the UK’s beefy 4* courses, although he did pick up a 20 at Pau in what was otherwise a confident round. His stadium jumping’s not on par quite yet, with rails down more often than not, it was two at Pau, but since then the clears have started to come and no doubt will be more consistent as this clearly talented gelding gains experience at the top three-days. This horse is an exciting prospect for Tiana and it’ll be cool to watch him become a Burghley horse this week.

🇬🇧 Katie Magee – Treworra

This exciting gelding burst onto the CCI5* scene and instantly proved his mettle, navigating a very wet Pau with Katie in 2024 magnificently, adding just cross country time to his score across the competition and ending up in 13th place from a field of 73. They started out last season by finishing just outside the top 10 at Badminton, but for a couple of expensive poles they would have been close to the podium, and ended up with a top-20 placing at Burghley. They came back out was a bang this spring, going clear inside the time at Badminton and adding just a single rail to their score across the competition for 5th place. Without that rail, their score would have been good enough for second. So far so great for this guy’s 5* career.

Dressage scores at the level have been a little mixed, with 35.3 at Pau, 31.8 at Badminton last year, going sub-20 at Burghley with 29.3 and then back up to 33.3 at Badminton this spring. But as long as he’s not too far off the pace after the first phase, which he absolutely shouldn’t be, we’ll for sure see a leaderboard climb on Saturday. He’s a great cross country horse with clears at Pau and Badminton on his card. Katie’ll looking to add Burghley to that list this week, after a late 20 last year when the horse had a good look at the ditch in the middle of Defender Valley resulting in the C element of the combination being just a step too far. Should all go to plan, they’re likely to be amongst the quicker rounds. This talented gelding can keep the poles in the cups at the level, he did at Burghley and Pau, with the two down at Badminton last year quite out of character and it should be noted that clear rounds weren’t easy to come by across the field that day.

Absolutely expect this pair to be duking it out on Sunday and maybe even looking for a podium finish.

🇺🇸 Will Coleman – Very Dignified

New to Will’s barn last season, this Irish Sport Horse was produced through the CCI4* level by Robbie Kearns and makes his top-level debut this week at Burghley. It’s bold to take on the British fall 5* for a horse’s step-up, but this mare comes well-prepared with a runner-up finish at Kentucky 4*-S in the spring and third place at Morven Park in the 4*’L last fall on her card; she also banked valuable miles at the likes of the 4*-L Nations Cup event at Boekelo and the big 4*-S class for 8- and 9-year-olds at Blenheim under Robbie’s tutelage.

The mare’s showing real potential on the flat with scores at 4* coming in the very low-30s and she’s a real cross country jumper, with just a frangible penalty on her card with Will and no jumping penalties since 2023 on her international record. She’s swift too, with two clears inside the time at 4*-L to her name. Add to all this the fact that she’s careful in the show jumping stadium with many, many more clears coming than poles, and then only ever one, and Will is certainly looking like he might have a triple threat on his hands.

This is an exciting debut and will really set the mare up for the great things that are surely to come in her career.

🇬🇧 Holly Richardson – Bally Louis

Long-time pals Holly Richardson and Bally Louis are at Burghley for their fifth start at the CCI5* level and looking for their second completion. They had an exciting debut in 2023 at the British fall 5* offering, when the horse absolutely proved his mettle for the task with a clear cross country jumping round and a finish just outside the top 20. Sadly, they hit a bit of bad luck after that great start, with a technical elimination at Badminton the following spring where they were pulled up close to home due to missing a jump out on cross country, then withdrawing from Burghley that fall before the final horse inspection. Their redemption round at Badminton this spring wasn’t to be, with Holly opting to retire on course after running into problems and picking up jumping penalties. But we’ll channel that first Burghley performance and wish this pair well for a repeat.

This gelding will be mid- to high-30s, perhaps even a toe in the 40s, in the first phase, but this sweet horse isn’t an eventer for the dressage, it’s all about the cross country for him, an attitude eventing fans can empathize with. Their steady clear on their debut is their best run at the level, with a late 20 in what was otherwise a really great round on their second trip to Burghley. They won’t be out to beat the clock, they’ll be looking to have a good spin together, so there will be time to add, but it’s a clear jumping round that’ll be the priority for this pair. Show jumping isn’t this gelding’s best phase, but is something that Holly’s been working on; the only time they’ve jumped on the final day at 5* they had two rails, and the horse generally has one, but recently it has only been one. But again, that’s all academic as this week will be all about the completion for this combination and it would be great to see this great partnership get back on track with a score on the board when all’s said and done on Sunday.

🇬🇧 Tom Jackson – United 36

This pair went into the horse’s first CCI5* at Badminton in the spring full of confidence fresh from a win in the 4*-S at Britain’s Eventing Spring Carnival at Thoresby Park, where they finished on their dressage score. And what a confident start to the 10-year-old’s top-level career it was, missing out on the podium by just 0.7 of a penalty. He sure is an exciting young horse with plenty more to come in the future. Watch this space.

With dressage scores consistently in the low-30s, which we can assume will drop into the 20s as the horse comes into his full strength over the next couple of years, he won’t be a million miles away from the business end of the competition when he sets out on cross country, and his record there is impeccable. With 18 clear rounds from 18 international runs, there’s no doubting his aptitude for the sport. He’s also fast. He was inside the time in the 4*-L Nations Cup event at Boekelo last year and round the meaty 4*-L Bramham track. At Badminton, the toughest course of his career at that point, he picked up just 3.2 time penalties. This horse is a class stadium jumper too, with a clear round on the final day at Badminton, on a day when the poles fell and fell. He sometimes takes a second or two to produce that quality though, as he did at Badminton.

This is a serious contender for some more very big stuff to come. Burghley is a different entity to Badminton so it’ll be really interesting to see how he steps up to the unique challenge that the terrain at the Stamford event throws up. But don’t be surprised if he’s fighting for a podium place on Sunday.

🇺🇸 Caroline Pamukcu – HSH Blake

Break-out star HSH Blake stepped up to the CCI5* level last season at Maryland in fine style with a 4th place finish, adding just cross country time penalties to his score across the competition. He followed that great result up with another this spring when he was runner-up at Kentucky. He’s across the Pond fresh from competing at the World Championships, but a shortened time out on cross country after Caroline took a tumble sees him taking on Burghley this week.

A real talent between the white boards, he’s consistently sub-30 in the first phase, with a 28.2 at Maryland putting him and Caroline Pamukcu in second overnight, and he improved that by almost 2 marks at Kentucky. He’s just as stylish across the country, with just a very uncharacteristic 20 at the Paris Olympics and a missed flag in the 4*-S at Kentucky last year marring an otherwise pristine international record in terms of jumping penalties. He showed he could beat the clock at the 4*-L level at Tryon in 2024, where he finished on his dressage score and took the win, but we haven’t seen that kind of speed since; at Maryland his was one of the slower rounds of the day, although the cross country track last year beat a fair few prolific competitors so a completion was a feat in itself, let alone coming home clear, albeit a little steady, and it was his first time at the level, after all. At Kentucky he added 2 time penalties, making him the fifth fastest round from a field of 24. This young star is shaping up to be a bit of a triple threat, with relatively clean record in the show jumping phase too. There’s the odd pole dotted through his performances, but they are few and far between, and he jumped clear at both Maryland and Kentucky, so that’s a pretty good indication of what we can expect on Sunday. He’ll certainly be in the mix after the dressage, and likely to still be there or thereabouts after Saturday’s excitement. Wherever he lands after that will likely hold, or improve, depending on what happens to those combinations above him. How will Blake find Burghley? Time will tell.

🇮🇪 Susie Berry – John the Bull

John the Bull is back at CCI5* after making his debut at Badminton in 2022 and finishing in the top 20. He spent the following season on the sidelines and has spent the last three years contesting 4*s in England and Ireland but he’s on the Burghley start list and what a treat that is for eventing fans. His awesome name might have you fooled into thinking this guy won’t feature in the first phase, but joke’s on you. He’s been sub-30 multiple times at 4* and laid down a 28.8 at Badminton. He sometimes sneaks into the low-30s, but this is a horse that’s got the moves. He’s also a great cross country horse, bold and brave and a great partner to Susie. Sure, there’s the odd penalty on his card, most notably 60 penalties in the 4*-S at Hartpury, England recently, but there were a whole bunch of problems out on course that day and there are many more clear jumping rounds than times he’s picked up penalties on his record and he was clear at Badminton around what was the most challenging track he’d faced. He’s been inside the time around both long- and short-format events, so he’s got an extra gear when needed, but we can probably expect a bit of a steadier, confidence-building round given the gap between this week and the gelding’s other 5* run. Very much not a bull in the stadium, he’s really careful over the colored poles, just the kind of horse you want to be sat on for the final phase of a three-day. This is a really cool return to the top and it would be pretty special to see this pair giving it their all for a great placing on Sunday.

🇳🇿 Tim Price – Falco

Pau winner and Maryland runner-up Falco comes to Burghley for his first time at the event. Although he’s 17, he’s relatively lightly run, with just four CCI5* appearances, however he’s been a successful championships horse for Tim, earning him a bronze medal at the Worlds in 2022 and 6th place individually at the Paris Olympics as well as representing the Kiwis in Aachen a couple of weeks ago.

As for Tim and Falco’s owners’ decision to bring Falco to Burghley with a quick turnaround from Aachen, he elaborated further to Horse & Hound. “We’ve looked him his whole career, which is why he’s been such a healthy, sound horse. There have been some years where he’s only done one three-day event while we’ve been looking after him for a championship or something later in the year,” Tim told H&H’s Pippa Roome. “I’ve been very much guided by him in deciding to go to Burghley. He’s very happy and with an older horse, it’s really the preparation that puts the wear and tear on to them. He had a really good preparation up through to Aachen and he’s come through a brilliantly. Now we can use the same preparation and have some fun hopefully at Burghley.”

He is for sure going to be well in the mix following the dressage phase. Tim’s a master between the white boards and Falco is equally talented on the flat. He scored 22.1 in the first phase on his 5* debut at Pau back in 2021, where just 0.4 time in the show jumping kept him from finishing on his dressage score on his way to the win at his very first time at the level. That score remains his PB though and he was in the 27s at each of his subsequent 5* runs until this spring, when he scored 29.9 at Badminton. There are cross country penalties dotted throughout his record, with a 20 at Kentucky last year late on course in what had otherwise been a round that was smooth as butter, but there’s obviously plenty of clears, including at Pau, Maryland and Badminton. He’s not necessarily the quickest horse in the field but we all know that Tim rides the tightest lines out there and shaves off every single second he can; don’t be surprised to see him add a few penalties on Saturday though; it was 4 at Badminton. But we can absolutely safely say that there’ll be nothing at all to add on Sunday, with just two rails in his entire international career of 32 rounds. Seriously, this guy is a jumper.

This pair have been first and second at the level, can they be up there when all’s said and done this week? Perhaps. As long as they keep the time on cross country to a minimum, they’re in with a really good shout.

🇬🇧 Harry Meade – Cavalier Crystal

This lovely mare from Harry’s herd made her CCI5* debut in fine form at Burghley in 2023, a bold move for a step up to the level, but Harry knows his horses and she proved her mettle at the top of her game with a 3rd place finish, a feat she’s delivered for three consecutive years; in 2024 she well and truly laid down her marker as amongst the best in the world when she finished on her dressage score, one of only two horses from a field of 66 to do so. Impressively, she replicated this feat at Badminton last season, again one of only two horses to keep a clean sheet across the jumping phases. This woman is class with a capital C.

Whilst “Nell” hasn’t yet managed to sneak sub-30 in the dressage phase, she’s been tantalizingly close with a 30.5 at Burghley in the fall of last year, and there’s every indication that under Harry’s masterful tutelage she will in fact dip down into the 20s one day, and when she does, well, watch out the rest of the field. She has but a single cross country jumping penalty on her international record, from way back in 2017 when she was but a baby, and as we can see from those FOD results at two of the toughest 5*s in the world, she’s a quick one. Her show jumping record is equally enviable, with clear rounds coming out of her ears.

Might Mr Meade win Burghley and quiet his insistent door knocking on a 5* victory? Mr Meade might. He’s got two shots at the crown, both exciting chances, but this is arguably his best one. Watch this space. Also, keep an eye out for Harry’s infamous choice of colored pants at the first horse inspection. Apparently he’s color blind and has no idea what’s been picked out for him, but he’s sported everything from lime green to baby pink in the past, so it’ll be fun to see what shade he dabbles with next.