‘A great challenge for us to get our teeth into’: riders’ thoughts on Burghley’s cross-country course
Top riders have shared their initial reactions to the 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course, designed by the US’s Derek di Grazia.
The general consensus is that it is a horse-friendly track, but still has plenty of questions peppered throughout.
Watch riders talk about this year’s course in the video below
Harry Meade, who has three rides at this year’s Burghley in Away Cruising, Cavalier Crystal and Tenareze, has some insightful thoughts on the course.
“I think it’s a really good course and really interesting. It’s a classic Burghley in that there are some very big jumping efforts, but I think it’s very fair,” says Harry. “There’s a good variety of profile of fences as well so not everything is square boxes or square parallels. Derek eases you in at the Defender Valley [fence 5abcd] and then the Holland Cooper Leaf Pit [fence 7abcd], which will cause some problems but possibly not as many as last year.”
Harry “really likes” the Defender Trout Hatchery at fence 10abc and 11ab: “I think it’s very clear to horses if you ride that fence well. It’s got a real flow to it and it’s very horse friendly.”
He thinks it will be “interesting” to see how certain combinations ride: “The first is the Irish Horse Board Bank [fence 17ab]. The log is set at a 90 degree angle to the first element, so you are literally jumping towards the end of the log and you’ve got to make a turn. The bank has grass on the top and if you’re galloping at it the horses will jump out over it, but if you come steadily to it – which you’re going to have to – I wouldn’t be surprised if horses bank it. Therefore you ask yourself the question, do you actually come deliberately really slow, pop up onto it and then step down, or do you try and jump it, but then risk going a little bit quick and potentially miss the turn?”
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Harry says that fence 20abc, the Defender at the Dairy Mound, could cause some problems too.
“Those types of triple bar arrowheads never ride that well as they don’t back horses off. Horses arrive at the Dairy Mound in a very flat-footed way because it’s near the highest point on the course and they’re quite fatigued by that stage, so it’ll be interesting to see how that rides.
“You can have problems anywhere around the course but overall, I think it’s really well thought out and it’ll be a great challenge for us to get our teeth into.”
Derek di Grazia’s Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course
Tom McEwen says that he thinks this year’s Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course is “awesome”.
“For me it’s a kinder ride this year compared to last year as in it’s not square oxer after square oxer, but at the same time, it’s a true five-star test – there’s Burghley terrain and there’s challenges all the way around and it’s going to be accumulative,” explains Tom. “There’s probably not something that you walk up and think ‘God, how are you going to jump that?’ but the corners at the Joules at the Maltings [fence 14abc] are huge.”
Tom agrees with Harry that there will be some “head-scratching” at the Irish Horse Board Bank.
“I think the head-scratching will only be because we have an option – if there was no option people would just jump it, but options always cause chaos,” laughs Tom. “The Leaf Pit also looks smoother to the eye than last year, but I actually think it’s possibly tougher, but hopefully it’ll ride really well.”
Oliver Townend says that he thinks the course “comes a little easier earlier on”.
“Obviously there’s the Leaf Pit to the angled brushes early on, but I think it is a little kinder early on but at the same time, it might lure you into a false sense of security,” he explains. “There’s plenty to do and it won’t matter what they’ve built out there – it’s the terrain at this place that makes it such a tough test.”
Zara Tindall says that she would like to get “further than the Leaf Pit” this year, after her past two Burghley campaigns came to an end there.
“Hopefully I can get past fence seven and then have a crack at the rest of it – that’d be great,” she laughs. “Pippa [Funnell] and I have had a little walk around and I think it looks great and is nice and flowing. I think Derek has learnt a lot about the ground from last year and there’s some big combinations out there.”
Newly crowned European eventing champion Ros Canter says “there’s lots to jump” on this year’s Burghley Horse Trials cross-country track.
“There’s lots of places where you could have a little whoospie and also lots of places that look a bit friendlier than previously, but it’s definitely big,” she says.
Phil Brown, who completed with a steady clear round last year, thanks in part to a variety of long routes being available to riders, made an interesting point about some of the questions on this year’s track.
“I think there’s a few more angled questions than last year, which are probably not as easy for the horses to read and we’re going to have to work a bit harder – sadly for me, Derek’s taken away quite a lot of the long routes!”
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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.