Want to find out how to watch Defender Burghley Horse Trials live (4-7 September)? Read on for everything you need to know about following the British autumn five-star.
New presenter Tom Stanley joins the line-up, alongside Nick Luck, while John Kyle and Nicole Brown will again anchor the commentary, supported by Tina Cook and Nicola Wilson. Nick Burton will give his dressage insight, with Carl Hester also on the mic on Friday.
Between them the team will deliver interviews and feature content plus a daily highlights show, and every step of the action from the Wednesday trot-up to the final showjumping rounds and prize-giving, as well as the masterclasses. The Burghley young event horse final will also be shown.
The £25 annual subscription enables you to watch live or on demand, plus gives access to archive footage dating back to 1990.
Will the BBC show Burghley Horse Trials?
The BBC will show a highlights programme on BBC2 on Sunday 7 September from 5pm to 6.30pm. If you want to watch all the live action, you will need to subscribe to Burghley TV.
How to follow all the action with H&H
Horse & Hound will have four journalists and a photographer on the ground at Burghley throughout the competition.
Website
Horse & Hound will be creating extensive online coverage of Burghley in addition to what will be included in the magazine report. Our coverage will include:
Course photos of the five-star cross-country track on Wednesday, 3 September.
Fashion photos from the first trot-up.
Times for the next day’s competition so you know when your favourites compete.
Breaking news and numerous reports on all the action as it unfolds throughout the event.
Interviews with first-timers, comeback stars, British heroes, grooms and more.
Report on the Dubarry Burghley young event horse final.
To keep reading after five articles, readers will need to buy a subscription either to the website or to the magazine (see details of subscription offers below). If you are already a magazine subscriber, find out how to activate your website access at horseandhound.co.uk/subscription-benefits
Magazine
28 August issue: preview including course-walk with two-time Burghley winner Pippa Funnell.
4 September issue: full form guide with details of every horse and rider competing.
11 September issue: 20-page special report, containing the best photos, analysis and insight from our team on the ground at Burghley, as well as from experts including six-time Burghley winner William Fox-Pitt. We will also report on the Burghley young event horse final in this issue.
Video
Video interviews on our website and social media.
Horse & Hound subscription offers
Magazine and website unlimited subscription: six issues for £6, followed by our flexible offer of £29.99 quarterly, saving 29%. Visit: magazinesdirect.com/XHH/DJ59M
Website unlimited subscription: save 40% – pay £52 for a full year of access. Visit: horseandhound.co.uk/join
How to watch Burghley Horse Trials live from anywhere
Not in the UK right now? You don’t have to miss out on any of the action from Burghley Horse Trials.
A Virtual Private Network will alter your device’s IP address to make it appear to be in a different country, allowing you to access your usual streaming services from anywhere in the world. It’s great for watching racing on the move, and it’s also handy even if you’re watching at home. VPNs are designed with internet security in mind, creating encrypted connections that keep your data safe from third parties and improve streaming speeds by preventing bandwidth ‘throttling’ from your internet service provider.
There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. We’d suggest using a paid-for service such as NordVPN, which is the best VPN in the world according to our colleagues at TechRadar.
Get 76% off, four extra months free and a £50 Amazon gift card with NordVPN TechRadar love NordVPN’s ability to unblock streaming services, its compatibility, and its top-level security. It comes with a big discount in time for Burghley Horse Trials and a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try it 100% risk-free.
Why Burghley Horse Trials launched Burghley TV in 2022
“At Burghley we strive towards the best possible quality, whether that is the footing for the horses, the visitor experience or the way in which a global audience can watch this top-class event,” Defender Burghley event director Martyn Johnson told H&H when Burghley TV launched in 2022.
“Many sporting events have moved towards pay-to-view livestreaming, often offering quite a basic model. We believe we can offer a significantly upgraded viewer experience with sophisticated production and better, more in-depth content.
“Burghley TV will offer a really first-class viewing package with excellent presenters, guests, features and special footage that showcases our event and the wider sport – in the way that it deserves.
“We’re really excited to be launching Burghley TV – this will be a comprehensive production of unprecedented quality, which offers a wealth of content both in terms of live sport, but also with superb added value from our team of expert commentators and presenters.
“With streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime considered mainstream viewing these days, we felt now was the time to establish our own, bespoke TV production service. It gives us the scope to create a unique viewing experience for anyone unable to visit in person or who prefers to watch from the comfort of their sofa. It also means we have global reach and the opportunity for international eventing fans to access the competition.”
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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.
