Stamford’s riders get ready for the Burghley Horse Trials 2023
At this time of year Burghley Park on the outskirts of Stamford is a hive of activity.
Teams of people are busy putting the finishing touches to attractively designed cross country jumps and are installing vast marquees to cater for thousands of visitors.
Recent showers and sunshine mean the parkland is lush and green, and the grass has been mown into broad stripes ready to be the backdrop to a world-famous event.
Burghley Horse Trials begin on August 31 and, according to the Met Office’s long-range forecast, more settled weather is in store.
This is good news for the 160,000 or more visitors expected over the four days, as well as the 67 riders announced as competing in the dressage, cross country and show jumping events.
At least two of the riders have local links and are expected to draw extra encouragement from the crowds - Phil Brown and Greta Mason have both lived in Stamford.
This year’s Burghley will be Phil’s second. When he debuted in 2022, the 36-year-old was living within a horseshoe-fling of Burghley Park and received huge support from the crowds.
He will be back with his horse Harry Robinson to take on a cross country course he describes as “dimensionally enormous”.
“Everything about the Burghley course is big and the terrain here makes it more difficult than some,” he said.
“There are jumps that stand out for me. The Cottesmore Leap is iconic and last year I just wanted to jump it and hoped someone would take a good photo capturing the moment.”
The Cottesmore Leap is defined as “a jump that frightens the riders more than it does the horses”. A 3m ditch sandwiched between two brush fences - one 1.45m high - it has the dubious claim of being one of the most photographed jumps in the world.
Greta Mason, who is taking on the trials for the first time, may not have first-hand experience of the cross country course, but she is familiar with it, having visited the horse trials each year since she was 12.
The 24-year-old was born in Melbourne, Australia, but moved to England when she was eight and lived in Stamford. As a member of Burghley Pony Club she started to ride in competitions and although she now lives and works in Wiltshire, she has friends and supporters who live locally.
“I grew up here and saw Burghley as the one event I wanted to get to,” she said.
“I’m so excited - it’s been a dream come true and my whole family will be watching.”
Phil and Greta will be competing against some of the biggest names in eventing, including last year’s Burghley winner Piggy March, 2019 champion Pippa Funnell, Tim Price, who won in 2018, and 2017’s winner Oliver Townend.
Oliver and fellow competitor Harry Meade will ride the 2023 course three times on three different horses, a way to increase their chances, albeit an exhausting one.
One regular who will not compete this year is Andrew Hoy, who has won Burghley twice, a quarter of a century apart.
The 64-year-old Australian, who now lives in Leicestershire, triumphed in 1979 and again in 2004, interspersing his career with eight Olympic appearances from which he’s taken home three gold medals, two silvers and a bronze.
He will skip Burghley this year to focus on the 2024 Olympics in Paris but remains an official ambassador for the event.
Commenting on the course, he said: “What I love about it is that it’s the most beautiful estate and park and it’s a real challenge to be able to ride around it.
“I first rode it in 1979 with my pony club horse and that feeling is terrifying.
“One of the years I remember going over the fence at the Trout Hatchery jump and landing in the water some way from my horse.
“But the way the course is presented and the way it is prepared is exceptional. The ground is good now and looks like it will stay fine in the next couple of weeks.”
This year the 29-jump cross country course has again been designed by the American Derek di Grazia, who picked up the reins from Captain Mark Phillips.
Riders are expected to complete the cross country in just over 11 minutes and, if they have time to look, will spot a model of Daniel Lambert, who was famed for his large size and is buried in Stamford, two giant carved hares, and a spectacular view of Burghley House through the arches of Lion Bridge.
Derek is working alongside event director Martyn Johnson, and Land Rover is continuing its sponsorship.
Tickets for the Burghley Horse Trials start at £27 (under 12s free) and are available at burghley-horse.co.uk/tickets or by calling 01780 752131. They can also be bought on the gate.