Defender Burghley Horse Trials (4-7 September) is so close now we can barely contain our excitement and information about the cross-country course is starting to come out.
H&H sent double Burghley winner Pippa Funnell to take a look at Derek di Grazia’s course, which has a new feel because the route has been reversed for the first time since 2017. You can read all her thoughts in this week’s magazine (dated 28 August), plus we’ll have videos of Pippa walking the key combinations online soon. In the meantime, scroll on down for an early look at a few fences…
The Boodles fences at 6ab and 7abc are the second water question on the track, so horses who don’t fancy getting their feet wet will be found out early. Here, Pippa eyes up the line over the Boodles Raindance (7abc), where horses bounce from the step over an angled brush on the direct route.
Pippa Funnell at Fence 7ABC: Boodles Raindance, during the cross-country course preview of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the grounds of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the UK on 11th August 2025
(Image credit: Peter Nixon / Defender Burghley)
The Defender Dairy Mound (fence 9abc) is a three-part combination, with the quickest route consisting of a parallel, then a turn to a brush corner (brush to be added after these photos were taken) and then down the mound to an arrowhead. The terrain here means horses will have to be quick and clever with their footwork.
Pippa Funnell at Fence 9ABC: Defender Dairy Mound, during the cross-country course preview of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the grounds of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the UK on 11th August 2025
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
Pippa Funnell at Fence 9ABC: Defender Dairy Mound, during the cross-country course preview of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the grounds of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the UK on 11th August 2025
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
This combination, Fairfax and Favor at Keepers (fence 10ab), leads into the turn at the highest point of the course, with the fearsome Irish Horse Board Cottesmore Leap following. Fence 10a, a log, is pictured and it’s followed by a left-handed turn to the second element, a corner.
Pippa Funnell at Fence 10AB: Fairfax and Favor at Keepers, during the cross-country course preview of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the grounds of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the UK on 12th August 2025
(Image credit: Peter Nixon / Defender Burghley)
More corners at Joules At The Maltings (fences 17ab and 18ab) where the direct route takes riders over a hare (17a, not pictured), a left-handed corner (17b), a parallel (18a) and a right-handed corner (18b).
Pippa Funnell at Fence 17AB: Joules at the Maltings, during the cross-country course preview of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the grounds of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the UK on 12th August 2025
(Image credit: Peter Nixon / Defender Burghley)
Pippa Funnell at Fence 18AB: Joules at the Maltings, during the cross-country course preview of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the grounds of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the UK on 12th August 2025
(Image credit: Peter Nixon / Defender Burghley)
Competitors come to the Trout Hatchery (fences 21abcd and 22) on the way home this year. Pippa Funnell paces out the direct route, which involves a roll-top into water, then a swing left-handed and a slope up out of the water to an arrowhead, followed by a continuation round the curve left to another arrowhead.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Pippa Funnell at Fence 21ABCD: Trout Hatchery, during the cross-country course preview of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the grounds of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the UK on 12th August 2025
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
Pippa Funnell at Fence 21ABCD: Trout Hatchery, during the cross-country course preview of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the grounds of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the UK on 12th August 2025
(Image credit: Peter Nixon / Defender Burghley)
The Holland Cooper Leaf Pit (fence 26abcde) is one of the last serious tests on the track, with the big drop followed by two arrowheads on frangible devices.
Pippa Funnell at Fence 26 ABCDE; Holland Cooper Leaf Pit, during the cross-country course preview of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials in the grounds of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the UK on 12th August 2025
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
Pictures of Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course by Peter Nixon
Read Pippa Funnell’s thoughts on the track in Horse & Hound magazine (issue dated 28 August). Stay up to date with all the breaking news from Burghley and other major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
