Burghley Horse Trials: Crowds gather for world class eventing with Royalty expected this weekend

Large crowds have gathered at the historic house for the annual competition, which is one of the highlights of the three day eventing calendar.

People have travelled from across the globe to compete and to watch.

The week of action is building up to ‘Super Sunday,’ when the winners of the events will receive their trophies from Princess Anne.

The Princess Royal will visit Defender Burghley Horse Trials in her role as President of World Horse Welfare, which is the Lincolnshire CCI5* event’s supported charity for 2026, and as President of the British Eventing Support Trust.

The enthusiastic crowds packed around Burghley’s Main Arena will have an opportunity to salute Britain’s gold medal-winning squad from the recent FEI World Eventing Championships in Aachen, Germany, as the four team members - double Defender Burghley heroine Ros Canter, Laura Collett, Tom McEwen and Gemma Stevens – and individual rider Caroline Harris parade in Defender vehicles before the CCI5* prizes are awarded.

And there is bound to be plenty of emotion as Burghley pays tribute to one of the greatest event horses of recent times, dual Burghley champion Ballaghmor Class, as he canters round the Main Arena for a final time under Oliver Townend. The brilliant pair not only won Defender Burghley in 2017 and 2023, but also Olympic team gold for Britain in Tokyo five years ago. At the age of 19, the much-loved grey gelding, who is owned by Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan, is being officially retired from eventing at Burghley that day.

Burghley’s Event Director Martyn Johnson said: “We are very honoured that HRH The Princess Royal is attending Burghley again this year. As a former winner of Burghley, and a British gold medallist herself, it is highly appropriate that Her Royal Highness will play a role on a day which celebrates so much British equestrian sporting achievement.”

Nadja Minder has made history at Defender Burghley Horse Trials on the first day of competition on Thursday (September 3) as the first Swiss rider to take the lead in the event’s 65 years. She scored 29.5 in her dressage test on the veteran Toblerone, at 19 the oldest horse in the field.

The combination has made regular appearances on the Swiss team since 2021 and acted as brilliant cross-country pathfinders at the European Championships last year, as well as finishing 20th on their Burghley debut in 2024.

“It was really cool,” said Nadja, 30. “Toblerone is a pro now and I just have to make him believe he can do good dressage. When a horse knows its job so well, it is just about getting them fit and supple and Piggy March [2022 Burghley winner] has helped me a lot with that.”

Britain’s Gemma Stevens, 41, was delighted to be in second place by just 0.1 of a penalty, on the 16-year-old Chilli Knight, a horse she has ridden all the way through his career, winning the CCI5* at Bicton in 2021.

“I just love this little horse. He’s so much fun,” she said. “My aim was to get into the 20s - dressage is not his forte, but this time he was so obedient and I felt I could ride every blade of grass.

“He was a cheeky monkey at Badminton and we got our worst ever five-star score, so I have been trying to ride him more in front of the leg and that worked. All four of his flying changes were really good.”