‘I just can’t believe it’: the new face on Burghley’s podium, just two years into a five-star career
From a non-horsey family, hooked on riding by her cousins’ ponies – how one rider’s rapid rise led to an emotional Burghley result with “one in a billion” Treworra
Katie Magee finished runner-up at the 2026 Defender Burghley Horse Trials aboard Treworra, with Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake completing the podium in third – rounding off a week in which Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight took the title.
“I just can’t believe it,” Katie said. “I’m trying not to be too emotional and embarrass everyone, but it just means the world. What an event!”
It caps a rapid rise for a rider who came to the sport from a non-horsey family, having first become hooked on riding through her cousins and their ponies.
Katie’s first five-star came in 2024, when she and Treworra finished 13th at Pau. Just two years on, the now 12-year-old gelding has become one of the most consistent horses in the sport, not finishing outside the top 10 in any of his eight runs this year.
Treworra added just 4.4 showjumping penalties to his cross-country score to finish on 43 – producing a round Katie was thrilled with despite the atmosphere getting to him early on.
“He was actually quite fresh and a bit lit up by the crowd, so he was a wee bit tight at times, but he tried his absolute heart out – that’s all any of us can ever ask for, isn’t it?”
Her plan going in was simple. “I just wanted to ride as good a round as I could, stay on the tighter lines, and make sure I made his job as easy as possible. I knew he’d try for me, and I just wanted to support him.”
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Any thought of expectation had been set aside long before she went in. “I try not to think about expectations – I just wanted to do him justice. I firmly believe he’s one of the best horses in the world, and I’m incredibly lucky to ride him. I just want to savour every second – he’s one in a billion.
“Somebody very wisely once said to me, when you get to this level, if you can keep them sound, they just get better and better, mentally and physically. It’s just about managing them and keeping them healthy and happy – it’s a privilege to have a horse like that to do it with.”
For now, Treworra has earned a proper break. “He’ll have a very well-deserved holiday now – he’s had an amazing season; we couldn't have asked any more of him. He’s got a best friend called Claude, and he’ll be snoozing in the field with Claude by tomorrow.”
2026 Defender Burghley top 10
- Gemma Stevens (Chilli Knight) – 29.6
- Katie Magee (Treworra) – 43.0
- Caroline Pamukcu (HSH Blake) – 44.0
- Tom Jackson (Hawk Eye) – 46.1
- Nadja Minder (Toblerone) – 46.7
- Yasmin Ingham (Goliath du Loir) – 46.7
- William Coleman (Very Dignified) – 47.2
- Benjamin Massie (Filao de Perle) – 47.3
- Jonelle Price (Chilli's Midnight Star) – 47.8
- Harry Meade (Cavalier Crystal) – 48.4
- To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout Defender Burghley Horse Trials, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website and pick up a copy of Horse & Hound magazine, in shops from Thursday 10 September
Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).