One Big Thing: Defender Burghley entries are now open
Entries are now open for both the CCI5* competition and the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Finals at Defender Burghley Horse Trials on 3-6 September.
A high-quality international field is anticipated for the CCI5* – the autumn highlight of the sport of eventing globally – presided over by a ground jury comprising Xavier Le Sauce (FRA, president), Joanne Jarden (IRL) and Sandy Phillips (GBR).
Entries for the CCI5* will close on 10 August, and will be revealed on 12 August. The draw will take place on 18 August.
Defender Burghley’s Event Director Martyn Johnson said: “We’re expecting a really top-class entry this year, including several former winners, which will make for an extremely high standard of competition. The event site has had an exciting upgrade for 2026, with a new look for the main hub of the site, including a new shopping avenue, which we hope will elevate our visitors’ experience even further. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming athletes, owners, grooms and spectators to Burghley in just a few weeks’ time.”
The Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Finals for four- and five-year-old horses – Britain’s most prestigious young horse championships and the source of many future Burghley and Olympic contenders – take place in the House Arena at Burghley on Friday, 4 September.
Your 2025 Defender Burghley podium, from left to right: Austin O’Connor (Colorado Blue), Ros Canter (Lordships Graffalo), Harry Meade (Cavalier Crystal). Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.
Dressage at the finals will be judged by regular championship and CCI5* ground jury members Christina Klingspor (SWE) and Angela Tucker (GBR), and jumping by Dutch Olympic rider and national team coach and recently appointed Adelaide CCI5* course-designer Andrew Heffernan (NED) and CCI5* rider and young horse producer Nicky Roncoroni (IRL). Highly respected vet John Killingbeck will judge “suitability and type”.
The qualifiers for the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse finals, which take place all over Britain and Ireland throughout the summer, have been particularly strong this year. Three riders – Emma Carmichael, Michael Jackson and Max Warburton – have qualified five horses apiece for the finals, while Holly Woodhead has four qualified. Hayden Hankey, Willa Newton and Storm Straker each have three horses qualified.
Michael Jackson, who achieved back-to-back successes in the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Finals for four-year-olds in 2023 and five-year-olds in 2024 with Oscar, said: “Burghley is a very special place, and the ultimate showcase for British young horses, with an incredible atmosphere. To win again would be a dream for me and my owners.”
[Click here to see the Defender Burghley CCI5* schedule or submit entries]
[Click here to see the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Finals schedule or submit entries]
For a full timetable to help you plan your trip to Defender Burghley and to purchase membership and general admission tickets, visit burghley-horse.co.uk. Burghley’s supported charity for 2026 is World Horse Welfare.
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