13 heart-stopping moments at Burghley Horse Trials *PICTURES*
If, like us, you are suffering from serious Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (3-6 September) withdrawal symptoms, you may enjoy reliving the drama from the eventful cross-country day.
Germany’s Michael Jung won his first prestigious plaque on Winners’ Avenue with La Biosthetique – Sam FBW (pictured top) on his first visit to the Lincolnshire event.
Second place was secured by New Zealand rider Tim Price riding Ringwood Sky Boy. This horse pulled out all of the stops to jump his first ever clear round on the final day at a three-day-event.
Third and fourth spots went to Australia’s Christopher Burton, who up until this year had failed to ever complete the cross-country course at Burghley.
Best of the Brits was Tina Cook and 10-year-old Star Witness, who was contesting his first four-star. The pair finished eighth after surviving this particularly hairy moment at the Land Rover Trout Hatchery.
Also to fall foul of the Trout Hatchery was Oliver Townend. Oliver was in a very competitive position after the dressage (fifth equal), when his usually incredibly reliable cross-country horse, Armada, ran past the final element.
Louise Harwood got chased on the cross-country course by a loose dog on her second ride, Whitson.
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Jeanette Brakewell sits tight as her horse, Lets Dance, hits the gate at the Dairy Farm very hard. They finish cross-country clear with 13.6 time penalties for 17th place, but were spun at the final vets inspection.
Emily Lochore gets thrown forward as her horse, Hexmaleys Hayday, jumps very boldly into the Trout Hatchery. The pair went on to complete the cross-country course with two stops but unfortunately were eliminated in the showjumping following a fall.
Warren Lamperd’s horse Silvia reaches for the back rail of the Elephant Trap. They jumped a steady clear across country and finished in eventual 46th place.
Paul Tapner has a run out at the first of the hedges in the influential Discovery Valley riding Vanir Kamira. Paul finished in 34th place after this horse jumped a clear round showjumping. He was 13th on his other ride Kilronan.
Gina Ruck gets a real dunking as she falls after jumping the alternative in the second part of the Trout Hatchery with Rehy Too.
Continued below…
Ride around Burghley Horse Trials with William Fox-Pitt *HATCAM*
Watch a headcam video of William Fox-Pitt's ride around Burghley on the joint dressage leader Fernhill Pimms
Top riders give their thoughts on the Burghley cross-country course *VIDEO*
Horse & Hound talks to riders at Burghley to find out what they think of the new-look cross-country course
Emily Chandler’s horse, Coopers Law, does the splits jumping out of the Trout Hatchery. They finished the course with no jumping penalties, but two rails down on the final day saw them finish in 21st place.
Ros Canter and Allstar B are another to run out at Discovery Valley. After a strong dressage performance which left them in 10th place, a clear showjumping round with just one time-fault left this promising combination in 37th place.
Hannah Bate survives at the same combination riding Finbury Hill. They went on to complete in 29th place.
Andrew James and Movistar climb their way out of the Trout Hatchery. This horse dropped two rails in the showjumping after a clear cross-country round to complete in 33rd place.
Finally, the man who went on to win, Michael Jung, got very wet at the Lion Bridge on his first ride FischerRocana FST. They had been sharing the lead with William Fox-Pitt and Fernhill Pimms until this point.
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.