Walk the Burghley Horse Trials showjumping course *PICTURES*
With the final day of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials upon us (6 September), we find out what horses and riders face in the showjumping phase.
Here, you can take a “walk” around the track for a glimpse of the fences.
Fence one
This oxer is approached on a line that requires horses to be ridden very close to the wings of fence seven which could cause them to be distracted slightly at this very early stage in the course. (Post in front of the fence will be removed).
Fence two
This upright is on a slight right-handed dog-leg line, seven strides from fence one.
Fence three
A full 180° right-handed turn from fence two, this oxer is not too many strides off the side of the arena.
Fence four
This airy gate follows another right-handed turn from fence three.
Fence five
After a left-handed turn from fence five, this triple bar will require riders to inject some pace into their horses going away from the collecting ring.
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Fence six a, b, c
This triple combination will mean that riders need to quickly re-balance their horses after the previous fence. This combination consists of an upright, one stride to an oxer followed by another one stride to an upright. Riders cannot afford to be too over-protective of their horses over the first upright, in case they cannot then clear the back bar of the oxer in the middle of this combination. These fences are also ridden towards the crowd which may cause horses to lose focus.
Fence seven
Situated after a left-handed turn around the decorative rugby posts.
Fence eight
On a six stride related distance from fence seven, this oxer has a water tray underneath it which may cause them to spook.
Fence nine
On a slight right-handed dog leg line, six strides from fence eight, this airy upright is jumped directly towards the collecting ring.
Fence 10
This oxer comes after a 180° right-handed turn from fence nine.
Fence 11
This double combination, comprising an oxer and an upright, is on a five stride related distance from fence 10. This double is on two strides.
Fence 12
This upright is very close to the crowd and follows a left-handed turn from fence 11.
Fence 13
Riders will need to ride inside the rugby posts in order to get the time on the approach to this final fence.
Join us for H&H Live coverage of the showjumping
Full report from Burghley in next week’s H&H, out Thursday, 10 September — 17 pages of photos and analysis, including columns from Ruth Edge, Lucy Wiegersma and Mark Phillips.
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Gemma is an experienced journalist, who was a member of H&H staff from 2014 to September 2025. She is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at Epsom in August 2018. Gemma’s has reported from numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.