Piggy March and Vanir Kamira win Burghley: ‘This horse deserves to have her name on a plaque on Winners’ Avenue’

Piggy March and Vanir Kamira topped the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials 2022 results this afternoon (4 September).

Trevor Dickens’ mare becomes the 14th horse to win both Badminton Horse Trials and Burghley and this was a fairytale result for the 17-year-old “Tilly”, who started as the favourite.

“It’s a dream come true as a young rider growing up – I think Burghley is the toughest event in the world and probably the hardest to win,” said Piggy.

“To have a horse that’s come second twice and fifth once and only has just over four time-faults in four cross-country rounds, she’s a true Burghley horse and deserves to have her name on a plaque on Winners’ Avenue. I can’t think anyone here doesn’t think she deserves it.

“This horse isn’t naturally the best mover or the best jumper. It’s her personality, her heart, her will to do the job for you and that’s what stands her apart from any other horse I’ve had and makes me so proud.”

Vanir Kamira tapped her way round Paul Connor’s track but only had down fence 4a, the first part of the blue and black double. The pair won with a fence in hand because an expensive round for the overnight runners-up, Tim Price and Vitali, gave her some breathing space.

“I think we hit every fence, we always have, sometimes they stay up, sometimes they don’t,” said Piggy. “I knew I could have two down, but would have loved the feeling that I could have three. I said to Tom, [Jackson, eventual runner-up] ‘You could have knocked one down and made me a bit more comfortable!’ Some good horses were having three down.”

British first-timer Tom Jackson scored an extraordinary result when he skilfully piloted Patricia Davenport, Milly Simmie and Sarah Webb’s grey Capels Hollow Drift to a clear, which moved him up from fourth overnight to second.

New Zealand rider Tim had to settle for third when the Giannamores’ Vitali – whose showjumping has often been his weak phase – had fences two plus two elements of the treble at fence eight down.

Tim’s wife Jonelle Price also dropped down one place, to fourth, when she and 19-year-old mare Classic Moet took out fences 8a and 10.

Alice Casburn, 20, rode a beautiful round on the home-bred Topspin to come home penalty-free and move up from eighth overnight to fifth at her first Burghley.

Vendredi Biats touched the front rail of fence five and it came down, but he and Kitty King retained their overnight sixth.

Ros Canter dropped down the order from fifth overnight when she and Pencos Crown Jewel had fences six, 8b and 10 down. The finished 11th.

Debutante Bubby Upton also had an expensive round, with four faults down plus a 0.4 of a time-fault, which dropped her and Cola III from seventh overnight to 14th.

You might also be interested in:

Piggy March puts in brilliant Burghley round on 17-year-old Vanir Kamira: ‘She was really up for it’

Burghley completion for rider who rode his horse’s dam – who came from a trekking centre

Burghley Horse Trials first-timer realises ‘childhood dream’ – wearing a bracelet in honour of another very special horse

Top-10 contender among two horses held at Burghley final trot-up, plus three withdrawn

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