Before we commence the cross country action at Defender Burghley, let’s get a quick update on the other feature of the weekend: the Dubarry Young Event Horse Finals, held earlier in the week at the Burghley venue!
The following is taken from a press release sent out by the Burghley press office.
Caroline Powell, who won the CCI5* competition at Defender Burghley Horse Trials in 2010, took the 2026 Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Final for five-year-olds at the Lincolnshire event on Cath Tomson’s Irish Sports Horse WSL Cula Bula.
This prestigious competition, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, is designed to highlight the CCI5* horses of the future.
New Zealander Caroline promised that her winning mount, will “be back here in four years’ time.” The bay mare, by KMS Rooney Van de Veeldbaile out of Ebony AS, was bred by Caroline’s partner Greg Kinsella’s mother, Gwen.
“We’ve had her from birth and she’s gorgeous,” said Caroline, who is riding High Time in the CCI5* at Burghley. “When I had a knee operation, she was the one I rode first as she is so well balanced. She’s a horse I’m excited about.”
WLS Cula Bula was 10th in the dressage, judged by Christina Klingspor and Angela Tucker, second in the jumping, judged by Andrew Heffernan and Nicky Roncoroni, fourth in “suitability and type”, assessed by John Killingbeck, and fifth in the gallop, overseen by Australian Olympian Clayton Fredericks.
Kitty King took second place with the Hugo Syndicate’s Parc All The Hype, an Irish sport horse by Kilferagh High Society. Dual Burghley winner Ros Canter, who really set Vanessa Fleming and Nick and Alex Moody’s Dutch-bred Reuben alight to lead the gallop section, was third overall.
Both Caroline Powell and three-times Burghley winner Oliver Townend had two horses in the top 10. Caroline’s Rockefeller Scais was fourth with Emma Carmichael in the saddle for the gallop; Oliver, contesting this competition for the first time, was sixth on Very Cooley (ridden by Lucy Owen in the gallop) and eighth with Mystique Noir.
Ros Canter and Kilcorig Gotcha Talkin. Photo by DBHT / Peter Nixon.
Ros Canter – Burghley CCI5* champion for the past two years – won the four-year-old Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Final with Patrick Murray and Lauren Palmer’s Kilcorig Gotcha Talkin, by Tyson out of Gotcha Nema, bred by Catherine Jackson. The pair topped the dressage section and were either second or third in the other phases.
Ros said: “He was only dropped off to me just over a week ago. He was produced in Ireland and won a young horse class there. They were bringing him over for this, and asked if he might be a horse I might ride in the future anyway, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to have a go here and see how we got on together. “We were definitely getting to know each other today, but he was just super-easy with an amazing temperament.”
The top four were all Irish sport horses. Ireland Susie Berry, who rides John The Bull in the CCI5* this weekend, was second on Longfordpass El Quality. Carole Powell completed an excellent afternoon with third place on WLS Kingston and Oliver Townend was fourth on Stormbird.
As one of only six CCI5* competitions around the globe, Defender Burghley always attracts the very top athletes, and ranks alongside Wimbledon and The Masters as a sporting “major”. The event offers superb shopping opportunities, delicious food and drink, elegant hospitality options and lots to entertain children and less-horsey members of the family. HRH The Princess Royal is visiting Burghley – where she won the European Eventing Championships in 1971 – on Sunday, 6 September to present the prizes after the final showjumping, and in her role as President of Burghley’s supported charity for 2026, World Horse Welfare, and as President of the British Eventing Support Trust.
Major International Events This Weekend
Defender Burghley: [Website] [Tickets] [Entries] [Timetable] [Timing & Scoring] [CrossCountry App XC Preview] [EN’s Burghley Field Wiki] [EN’s Ultimate GuideBurghley TV] [EN’s Coverage]
U.S. Weekend Preview
The Event at Skyline (UT): [Website] [Entries/Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
Flora Lea Fall H.T. & YEH Qualifier (NJ): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times]
CDCTA Fall H.T. (VA): [Website] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Links and Reading
Sponsor Corner: Gearing Up for the Morven Park Fall International CCI & H.T.
We’re already seeing some stellar entries coming in for next month’s Morven Park Fall International CCI & H.T., so it’s time to start making those plans to come on out to Leesburg! In the $200,000 US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final, we’ll see some big names like 2025 runner-up Will Coleman with Off the Record, Maryland International 4*-S winners Laine Ashker and Lovedance, AEC Advanced runners-up Mary Bess Davis and Imperio Magic, U.S. Olympian Lauren Nicholson with three rides, including 2025 Bromont 4*-L winner Landmark Jungle’s Gold, and many more planning to enter eventually. The bright side of not having a fall five-star in the U.S. is that we should see a better-than-ever entry list into this near season-end CCI4*-L (and of course, $200,000 in prize money is the largest non-5* prize in eventing, so that’s worth noting).
The best way to experience Morven Park as a supporter or spectator is through their awesome hospitality and tailgating options. You can find out more and begin planning your trip here. If you’re thinking of entering and want to see the Omnibus listing, click here.
Training Tip of the Day
Biomechanics matter for both horse and rider. In this video, you can learn how your body may be influencing your horse’s perceived tendencies or weaknesses:
Go Eventing
Take a virtual walk around the Defender Burghley cross country course with us!
