Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
There’s something incredibly soothing about watching Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo go into battle for a major victory. Such is their composure and consistency that nothing they do ever feels hurried, harried, or at-risk – and that was certainly the case today when they entered the arena as the last to showjump today. There was, of course, plenty on the line: the chance to defend the title they won last year, the chance to crown ‘Walter’ as the first horse ever to win two Badmintons and two Burghleys, the conservation of their totally unblemished five-star showjumping record and, of course, the small matter of Ros’s pregnancy – but the rail she’d had in hand at the start of the day had turned into two rails by the time the bell sounded for her, and all she and the thirteen-year-old gelding had to do was exactly what they do best: stay unruffled, and get it done. Easy-peasy.
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
“I didn’t feel cool and calm!” she laughs. “I’ve gone through phases during the day. It’s never a prospect you look forward to, something like this. I’m always a bit of a self-doubter and hope that I can see a stride at the right time and everything else. But fortunately, I’ve become quite well practised, fortunately, in situations like this.”
That practice paid off in spades. Though they added 1.2 time penalties to their two-phase score of 22.4, which stopped them from beating the Burghley finishing record (a record they already hold!), they did match it perfectly, closing out their tab on 23.6 and lifting the Defender Burghley trophy for the second year in a row.
It was a long old wait until their round, which came at about twenty past three this afternoon – but Ros had plenty of tactics to help her through the day.
“Sometimes when you’re nervous it’s easy to not focus, because it’s like an avoidance tactic,” she says. “I set alarms on my phone a lot on the day: ones to remind me to stop and think, then an alarm to make sure I switch off again, and an alarm to make sure I get changed at the right time, just so I don’t worry about missing things. Because if I worry about missing things, then I never switch off, and that’s a dangerous place to be, too.”
And so, between alarms, she “whittled away quite a lot of the day. I did a lot of course walking. I helped Cassie [Sanger], which was nice. I had lunch with [husband] Chris and [daughter] Ziggy – I didn’t manage to eat much, but I had lunch. I read my book. I’m not really sure what I did, but thankfully I’ve done it now, so I can enjoy the rest of it!”
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Despite the visual ease of their round, Ros felt as though it wasn’t quite perfect – but equally, that their partnership allowed for that.
“I felt like I probably hooked him off the floor a little bit,” she says. “But he’s quite used to me doing that in these situations, so I think he kind of half expects it. But I think he tried his absolute best, didn’t he? He’s not classic in the way he jumps — he doesn’t drop his neck. He’s kind of a true Grafenstolz in a way, in that they like to go with their heads up a little bit, and that’s what makes them the amazing horses they are cross country. But he’s certainly got a conscience, and he wants to leave those poles up.”
Ros Canter and her winner’s spoils! Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
At the start of the week, there was much speculation about whether Ros, who’d withdrawn from contention for the Europeans due to her pregnancy, would even run – and again, while she remained outwardly level about the situation, she was internally contemplating all her options.
“[It wasn’t ever] in the sense of picking up the phone to [owners] Michelle and Archie Saul and saying I’m out, but of course I had doubts,” says Ros. “I think I’d only be human to question myself. There were moments during the week where I needed to reassure myself I was in the right form to give Walter the ride he deserved. [The pregnancy question] was a big deal [for me]. It was a big deal on Thursday, and probably on Wednesday, Thursday, before I’d actually been in the competition and performed, and performed well. I felt probably quite bodily self-conscious, because I know I’m bigger than I was. But the moment I’d done my dressage test and I was up there and I felt I rode well, I pretty much had no doubts after that that I’d be running cross country.”
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Of course, she continues, having a partner like Walter made her decision easier, too.
“What can you say? He is the ultimate event horse,” she smiles. “He can do every single phase. In particular, I guess the cross country is his standout, but he just doesn’t have a weakness. What a lucky girl I am! He just tries his hardest. He just loves occasions; he loves these big competitions. Sometimes he’s a little bit on edge in the stables, but the moment I put my foot in the stirrup, Walter relaxes and it’s where he wants to be.”
But, she continues, “from that point of view, I couldn’t be luckier, but equally, that comes with a fair amount of pressure. Someone asked me earlier, does it get easier because you’re on such a great horse? The answer is no — it probably gets harder. Because I know that at some point, something will go wrong, and when it does, it’ll probably be my fault.
“So the preparation, the mental side of it, the thoughtfulness, and all the planning remains the same, whether you’re on Walter, who’s won before, or if you’re on a first-timer, it’s equally as important. That takes up quite a lot, for all of us, on a week like this. So it’s great now — I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this moment, as are my team and everybody that’s a part of Walter. But there’s been plenty of hard work behind us to get here.”
Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Austin O’Connor can drive away from Burghley this evening basking in the afterglow of having ticked a big box: he and the incredible Colorado Blue, who have had such a spate of successes at the top level, have finally made it all happen for themselves at this biggest of Bs, too. Their week started with a level-best dressage score of 27.8 – their first sub-30 at five-star – and continued on in fine Salty style with the second-fastest time of the day on cross-country yesterday, which saw them add just 0.8 time penalties. Today, they tipped a late rail at fence 10A, but that didn’t do their final result any harm: they retained the runner-up position they’d held overnight and further cemented themselves as one of Ireland’s greatest ever to do it.
In some ways, Austin says, this is kind of like adding another five-star victory to their tally.
“Being second to this lady (Ros) is as good as winning, because I think the history books will say this is the best-ever combination to grace five-star eventing. So it’s like a win to me, really.”
For Austin, one of the happiest parts of the day was also the thing that caused their rail: that 16-year-old Colorado Blue felt so extraordinarily fresh and jolly after yesterday’s tough challenge.
“He was like a five-year-old, not a 16-year-old,” he laughs. “He just went in there, and for the first time in his life he was mad fresh, pulling my arms out. Which is great, but that’s why we had a rail. But hey-ho, it didn’t make any difference at the end of the day.”
Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
When Harry Meade was midway through his first round of the day, jumping out of order in the morning session with Et Hop du Matz, he must have had a moment of grim déjà vu. Yesterday, as pathfinder for the day’s cross-country, he’d very nearly completed a peach of a round – and then, at the penultimate, a straightforward single fence, he was pitched forward on landing and came achingly close to hitting the deck. Two horses later, the same thing nearly happened again – a less dramatic save, this time, but probably no better for the collective Team Meade stress levels.
And then, this morning, he and the eleven-year-old ‘Hoppy’ were executing a similarly confident, smooth round when it all, briefly and inexplicably, went a bit pear-shaped. After jumping neatly into the double over the first element, an oxer at 5A, they marched down two of the three strides to 5B, an upright, and suddenly lost momentum. Hoppy chipped in two tiny strides, considered stopping, and then, quite gamely, decided to jump the moving target of the falling top rail. The pair managed to use that little fistful of momentum to travel down to the third element, which they jumped but knocked, and then delivered the second half of their round without any further issues.
Those 8 penalties, plus an extra 0.4 on the clock, was an inauspicious start to the day for the busy rider with his trio of top-ten denizens, and it knocked them from an overnight sixth place right out of the top ten – at that point, anyway. As the afternoon’s competition unfolded, they were able to regain enough ground to finish in ninth place, and less exciting rounds from Harry’s other two rides secured him fourth place with Annaghmore Valoner, who had one rail to retain the place she’d held overnight, and third place for the third consecutive year with Cavalier Crystal, with whom he delivered one of today’s six faultless rounds.
Harry Meade and Annaghmore Valoner. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
“I think for me it was just about them having a really good weekend — coming out better horses, enjoying themselves, and go away really confident and able to come back another time,” says Harry. “And in the meantime, they’ll have a well-earned rest in the field. It’s been a little bit of a job to try and get here and get through it, but I’ve had a really great team behind me. The main thing is we got here and they all went well. I was determined to try and get the three horses here and not drop one on the way because of my injuries — and I didn’t have to do that.”
Of his best-placed horse, the exceptional Cavalier Crystal, he says: “She was amazing. She’s the most lovely jumper. She’s the kind of horse everyone ignores until it gets to a five-star week, and then she’s just in her absolute element. She’s as good a jumper as I’ve seen in the sport, in a way, and she’s done it again and again. All her four-star long events, all her five-star events — she’s just been amazing.
“But they’re not machines; they’re all able to make mistakes. So we were all just wanting to go in and deliver what I felt she could do. My first horse jumped really well — he was just a little bit green in the treble, so I felt I had a bit of a point to prove to myself. I’d gone in a little bit relaxed, thinking ‘I’ve got nothing to prove because I’ve got three horses’. And then I sort of put a bit of pressure on myself and said, ‘I’ve got a lot to prove now, so I really want to jump a clear round.’ And she jumped beautifully.
“Then the third horse, Annaghmore Valoner, she was lovely. As good a round as I felt she’s ever jumped. She was just really unlucky to have that one rail at the penultimate fence.”
Harry Meade and Et Hop du Matz. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Though the win he feels so richly owed eludes him for this year, Harry’s triumph this week is yet another testament to his ability to bounce back despite seemingly insurmountable setbacks. We’ve seen him overcome breaking both elbows quite catastrophically; we’ve seen him return again after a re-injury to those old wounds; now, we’ve seen him claim 33% of the Burghley top ten despite puncturing a lung and breaking a chocolate box selection of ribs less than two months ago. (Look, Harry, you’ve made your point now – we promise we’ll all be very emotional when you win a five-star even in full health, thank you, please, thank you.) It’s a trio of achievements that he can add to third and fourth place at Kentucky and fourth and sixth place at Badminton, and third and fourth at Burghley last year – and that’s just the last twelve months’ worth of highlights. (Also worth noting: his tiny, infinitesimal smattering of time penalties yesterday are the only ones he’s added on cross-country across all those placings. If there are words for that kind of consistency, they’re well beyond our reach at this point in the week, frankly – but once again, it’s a privilege to get to witness this kind of career run.
Alice Casburn and Topspin. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
For Alice Casburn, the rail she and her homebred Topspin tipped at fence 9 might have felt like a bitter disappointment in the moment – after all, the much-loved duo are among the sport’s best showjumpers, and the pressure cooker of being just 23 years old and having already achieved an incredible four top-ten finishes at five-star is a not at all insignificant one.
But we hope that when that initial disappointment fades, there’ll be for Alice the realisation that she’s done it again, and on a horse she’s had in her family since he was born and she was just six years old. Their round today, and their personal best dressage of 31.4 – plus their swift 4.4 time penalty effort yesterday – secured them fifth place for the second time, a weeklong climb from first-phase 20th.
“I’m absolutely delighted with him,” says Alice. “I’m obviously slightly frustrated and a little bit disappointed with myself. He’s been nothing but spot-on this week, and I should have gone forward, should have done something. I took a bit of a pull. But he jumped great in there, and he loved it in there this time as much as he did the first time. So it’s great to have him at this stage, still absolutely loving his job. He enjoyed every second.”
Burghley has been the consistent pair’s happiest hunting ground, and they’ve never finished outside the top ten here – despite having their first of four starts when Alice was just twenty years old.
“I think this place will always be quite special to me,” she says. “It’s really silly — it was special to me before I rode here. So being here and riding here, and everything else, with family members here is really, really exciting. He’s part of the family. I joke time and time again — that’s not really a joke, it’s fact!”
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Had Tim Price and Vitali finally delivered a clear round at this level today, it would have been a bittersweet sort of success, because they still wouldn’t have been able to win – so in a funny sort of way, we almost hoped it wouldn’t happen for them. Maybe, we posited, they could get their three-rail average at five-star down to a scant one, retain their two-phase third place, and go home having lost out on nothing, but gained in so much in terms of the horse’s projected performances on the final day.
That wasn’t quite how it went down – they ultimately tipped the first part of the treble combination at 5A, and then fence 8, too, to drop to a final sixth place – but even that improvement gave Tim plenty to be happy about.
“He actually jumped really well — he’s using his whole body and feeling good,” says Tim. “And for me, the experience of warming up and him jumping a good warm-up fence relaxes me, and I feel a little bit — dare I say — confident. He jumped the first few really nice, and into that line, his stride was just getting a little bit longer. He just doesn’t need a reason to have a rail — just a little bit close to the oxer, and bam. And then he jumped clean all the way around. A little bit close to the plank, light touch. The rest, he was great.”
Though there’s a touch of “what if” about the whole thing – Irish showjumper Shane Breen, who’s been successfully helping Tim with Vitali’s jumping prep, got stranded en route with a blowout and couldn’t make it in time – Tim remains characteristically pragmatic about it all.
“I’m lucky. I keep telling myself I’m privileged to ride him,” he says. “He’s such an amazing horse, and we are improving. I’ve had five down before, and three down, and four down. He did jump well here last year, and this track, I think, is a little bit bigger. But no, what I’m really proud of each time is I bring him through to Sunday in really good form. He was super sound last night — sleeping, eating, drinking. Super sound this morning. And that’s been the same theme. I’m happy to have him, and I’m looking forward to the challenge next year of trying to do better.”
Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza II. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
British-based Frenchman Gaspard Maksud and his gritty Zaragoza added a seventh place finish here to the sixth they scooped last year after a swift round that just saw them knock the final element of the treble.
“That was alright!” says Gaspard. “We made one like last year with four faults but she jumped very well, to be fair. I’m very happy with her. She’s been very consistent. It’s a competitive field here, and being top 10 at a five-star is a good achievement, as a rider. It’s hard to be top five, top three, but you come back and try to do better. The main thing is she jumped well, she was very happy jumping today, and we go home with a happy horse.”
Caroline Powell and High Time V. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Former Burghley champion Caroline Powell jumped an excellent clear round on the relatively inexperienced High Time, adding just 0.4 penalties for adding a second on the clock. They’d already been snuck an early entry into the top ten this morning, thanks to Harry’s rails with Et Hop du Matz, which allowed them a chance to move up one place from overnight eleventh – and after executing their classy round, they could sit pretty and let the rest of the field orchestrate their climb for them. Ultimately, they’d finish up in eighth place, capping off a week that’s seen High Time step up from the boy he was on his five-star debut at Badminton, where he finished 21st, to a man.
“He finished [yesterday] and he could have gone around again, which means we probably could have gone a bit faster and made more of him,” says Caroline, reflecting on her week. “But the more we get to know him at this level, the more we can start using him. He just seems to be, ‘gotta keep it going.’ He doesn’t stop. When he came out this morning, and I was like, ‘oh god!’ But he’s a beautiful horse and he jumped so well. I can’t wait to get into a winter of training and then hopefully Badminton again.”
Laura Collett and Bling. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Laura Collett’s Bling, too, showed off her development since Badminton throughout the week’s competition: at the spring five-star, which was the rangy mare’s debut, they picked up a 20 on cross-country and finished in 43rd place, and this week, they round out the top ten after a 31.4 on the flat, a confident, capable clear with 8.8 time penalties yesterday, and a one-rail round today.
“To come out after what she did yesterday and then go into an atmosphere like that – it’s a very different top-10 atmosphere compared to being 40th at Badminton,” says Laura. “She’s taken it all really well, and hopefully she’s had a really positive week and we’ll roll along next year. She’s on a very big learning curve, and it’s just about giving her a positive experience. She’s the kind of horse that, if she has a nice time, she takes it on board and comes out 10 times better the next time.
“So that’s been the key this week — just to give her a really good experience, which I think she has. She’s really taken everything in her stride, and in the stables and things like that, she seems really happy. She doesn’t hide anything — you know how she’s feeling — and she’s definitely happy and pleased with herself.”
Cassie Sanger and Redfield Fyre. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Whatever happened in the ring today, Cassie Sanger was always going to be able to leave the event knowing that she had a bona fide Burghley horse on the lorry – and that she, too, was a true-blue Burghley rider. Her excellent round yesterday with the eleven-year-old Redfield Fyre ensured that; the pair went from strength to strength as they made their way around the tough track, and Cassie rode with a maturity and empathy that belied her 20 years. She knew, too, that at this early stage in his upper-level career, ‘Yogi’s’ showjumping is still a work in progress – and one that she’s well-equipped to develop as she continues her tenure in the UK with trainer Ros Canter.
So while the four rails that fell in their round might feel like a disappointment after such a successful week otherwise, Cassie – who won the prize for being the Best Burghley First-Timer, and took a final seventeeth place – has plenty to celebrate, and plenty to fuel her for the 2026 season.
“You never know how they’re going to come out on a Sunday during a five-star, and I’ve just loved this whole week,” says Cassie. “It’s been such a good experience; I’ve learned so much, and we have more homework to do. I think the hills took it out of him yesterday, but that’s okay. We have so much more to keep working on, and I’m excited to do that. We’ve always known he’s not the most careful show jumper, but that’s what makes him so good cross country. So you know what? If I had to choose, I’d want a cross country horse any day, and he’s exactly that.”
And so we come to the close of the 2025 Defender Burghley Three-Day Event: a brilliant, bold, innovative week of competition that’s served as the perfect segue into our jam-packed autumn international season. For now, that’s all from us at EN, but don’t stray too far: we’ll have plenty more to come, including a special edition of the Go Eventing Podcast, recorded in a haze of joy and delirium and service station fast food. Until then: thanks for joining us for the ride, and Go Eventing!
Your 2025 Defender Burghley podium, from left to right: Austin O’Connor (Colorado Blue), Ros Canter (Lordships Graffalo), Harry Meade (Cavalier Crystal). Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
The 2025 Defender Burghley top ten.
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