Burghley Horse Trials 2023

This year’s Defender Burghley Horse Trials is here and Horse & Hound’s team of expert equestrian journalists are on hand to keep fans up to date with all the headlines during Britain’s autumn five-star, plus big name interviews, analysis of the action, videos and beautiful photography throughout every day of the competition.

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The autumn five-star will take place under the leadership of Martyn Johnson, who was appointed Burghley Horse Trials director in October 2021. The course-designer will once again be Derek di Grazia, who took over the reins from H&H columnist Mark Phillips, who had designed the course for some 30 years up to 2019.

Latest Burghley Horse Trials news

Burghley Horse Trials dates

The Defender Burghley Horse Trials will be held on 31 August to 3 September 2023.

How much prize money will the 2023 Burghley winner receive?

An increase in prize money for 2023 will see the winner take home £110,000. This is £10,000 more than the £100,000 that Piggy March took home after winning with Vanir Kamira in 2022.

Does Burghley help any charities?

Horatio’s Garden, a charity that nurtures the wellbeing of people after spinal injury in beautiful, accessible, restorative sanctuaries within the heart of NHS spinal injury centres, has been named as the event’s official charity in 2023.

Where is Burghley Horse Trials held?

Burghley Horse Trials is held in the grounds of the Burghley Estate, which is located in Stamford, Peterborough.

Burghley Horse Trials history

The first Burghley event was held in 1961 and the horse trials had never been cancelled or abandoned until Covid-19 took out the 2020 and 2021 renewals.

Anneli Drummond-Hay was the event’s first winner, riding Merely-A-Monarch, who also became the first horse to win both Badminton Horse Trials and Burghley when he took the Gloucestershire event the following spring.

Andrew Nicholson’s ride Avebury, who won the event in 2012, 2013 and 2014, is the only horse who has won Burghley three times. The only other horse to be listed among the Burghley Horse Trials winners more than once is Ginny Elliot’s ride Priceless, who won in 1983 and 1985, when he was also crowned European champion.

Burghley has also hosted the European Championships on five other occasions, the most famous of these being in 1971 when Princess Anne took the title on Doublet.

What is Burghley Horse Trials?

Burghley Horse Trials is one of just seven five-star events in the world. Five-star is the highest level of eventing competition, where the very best horses and riders in the sport compete against each other in three phases: dressage, cross-country and show jumping. The same horse and rider combinations take part in all three phases and their penalty scores are added up. The horse and rider with the lowest penalties is the winner.

STAMFORD WEATHER