What’s on when and who’s riding at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials 2024 taking place near Stamford this week
About 300 horses, 76 riders and 500 shopping opportunities are on their way to the area for this year’s Defender Burghley Horse Trials.
The annual sporting at Burghley Park in Stamford starts tomorrow (Wednesday, September 4) with the ‘afternoon tea and trot up’, which includes a talk by Captain Mark Phillips, Olympic gold medalist and a former cross country course designer for the trials.
Thursday and Friday are dressage days, with keen-eyed judges checking how well horses hold their composure in the arena, while Saturday brings the cross country competition over a course once again designed by Derek di Grazia.
Sunday is for showjumping, the final day of the competition, which this year includes four past Burghley winners, eight five-star event winning combinations, two former world champions, 11 Paris Olympians and 25 Burghley first-timers.
Riders to look out for are Britain’s gold medal-winning Paris Olympics team members Ros Canter and Tom McEwen, Zara Tindall, Pippa Funnell and Oliver Townend.
Alongside the big names’ performances, there will be plenty of other equine entertainment, from pony club jumping and the Shetland pony Grand National to the young event horse competition, which involves potential future Burghley participants.
And then there’s the shopping - clothing, jewellery, accessories, furniture, art, kitchenware, gifts and gardening, as well as lots of food and drink.
Children can pick up a Buddy activity booklet, which includes quizzes, colouring and a quest to find Buddy’s friends hidden in five cross-country fences.
Day tickets are £33 per person on the gate except Saturday, when they are £55. Car passes are £20 on top of the ticket price.
Advance tickets are slightly less and available at burghley-horse.co.uk
