Is it a gate? Is it an oxer? Why, it’s both of course. Welcome to Burghley. Photo via CrossCountry App.
The start of September marks the beginning of fall here in the UK; the weather’s turned, the trees are shedding their load and the mud has already begun to make its comeback after the long, dusty summer. But before we get bogged down in the audacity of surviving the British winter with horses, let’s embroil ourselves in a big weekend of CCI5* eventing as I bring you live updates all day long from the cross country at Defender Burghley.
The title’s up for grabs for a new contender, with the reigning champ Lordships Graffalo enjoying a holiday after his World Championships work, and there’s everything to play for as this year’s hopefuls line up to duke it out over Derek di Grazia’s course.
Experience was the name of the game in the dressage phase, with the top three horses having a combined age of 52. Here’s a look at the leaderboard as we head into today’s test:
1️⃣ 🇨🇭 Starting off their Burghley in super fine style is Nadja Minder and her Young Riders to 5* veteran partner, 19-year-old Toblerone, who delivered a superb PB on Thursday and held onto the lead over both days. They’re on 29.5.
2️⃣ 🇬🇧 Very much in the mix, just 0.1 of a penalty behind is Gemma Stevens and the 5* winning stallion Chilli Morning’s son, 5* winner in his own right, 16-year-old Chilli Knight, who put his best hoof forward for a score of 29.6.
3️⃣ 🇳🇿 Rounding out the podium placings after the first phase is World No. 1 Tim Price with his exceptional jumper, 5* champ and 2026 Badminton runner-up, 17-year-old Falco, who made their mark on the competition with a score of 30.5.
You’ll find the full scoreboard right here.
The live blog will begin when the action down at the start box gets underway, so while we await the first countdown of the day, here’s some links for your perusal:
▶️ For absolutely everything about the competition this week, including schedules, reports, how to keep up with what’s going on and allsorts more, be sure to bookmark our ‘Ultimate Guide’ which is positively brimming with all the deets.
▶️ Follow along with the form via EN’s signature Form Guide, including a round-up of relevant results as well as fun facts about the horses and riders you’ll see today – find it all here.
▶️ Take a look at today’s track from the perspective of our boots on the ground in our Course Preview and check out every fence in detail on CrossCountry App.
▶️ We’ve wrangled the riders for their reactions to Derek di Grazia’s shenanigans – read all about their thoughts, plans and what’s messing with their head in Riders React.
▶️ Missed out on the dressage and want to know what went down? We’ve got the ticket. Check out EN’s classic daily reports: [Thursday AM] [Thursday PM] [Friday].
And that’s not all – there’s also frolics galore happening over on our Instagram channel @goeventing – follow along with the fun here.
With all that said, a little ‘refresher’ on the no. 1 rule of following EN’s classic live blog: refresh, refresh, refresh – and all will be revealed.
If you’re catching up with this later and are the type to like things in order, scroll ⬇️ and read ⬆️. If going backwards is more your jam, have at it.
We’re counting down to kick off… The first horse and rider pair – the USA’s Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Tolan King – are due to go at 12:30pm CEST / 6:30am EST.
Let’s do this thang – and go eventing!
Defender Burghley: [Website] [Tickets] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [CrossCountry App XC Preview] [EN’s Burghley Field Wiki] [EN’s Ultimate Guide] [Burghley TV] [EN’s Coverage]
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6:30
FIRST COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: 🇺🇸 Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Tolan King
Dressage Score: 34.4
Place: 14
Caroline leaves the box and Burghley cross country day is underway!
The crowds are already packed around the start of the course and it looks to be a beautiful day at Burghley.
They’re smooth over the first three and then drop into the water to go under the Lion Bridge and over the barge at 4. All good so far. They return to the water for the 65th Anniversary Splash over a carefully carved swan. They are very neat over the Raindance at 7. That fence caused a lot of bother last year but absolutely no question for Caroline.
Tolan King is is a nice rhythm as they gallop up the hill and clear the World Horse Welfare pardubice at 8 and then add a stride through the combination at the Dairy Mound but the jumping is very clean. They get an iconic shot over the Cottesmore Leap at 11 and then get to gallop down Winners’ Avenue, what a feeling that must be.
The horse has a little to say about coming back for the Stable Gates at 12 and shakes his head but they clear the two oxers there. Caroline’s got a bit on her hands but they’re getting the job done.
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Defender Burghley: [Website] [Tickets] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [CrossCountry App XC Preview] [EN’s Burghley Field Wiki] [EN’s Ultimate Guide</a] [EN's Form Guide] [Burghley TV] [EN’s Coverage]
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6:28
Just a couple of minutes to go… Eyes on eventing fans!
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