Defender Burghley entries are now open

The CCI5* competition, which is widely considered to be the most exciting and challenging top-level eventing contest in the world, will be presided over by a ground jury consisting of president Christina Klingspor (SWE), Robert Stevenson (USA) and Nick Burton (GBR). Christina and Robert will be newly returned from fulfilling the same roles at the Paris Olympics, while Nick was president of the ground jury for the Tokyo Olympics three years ago and also served as a member of London 2012 ground jury.

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 - will be judged by Harry Payne and Sandy Phillips (dressage), Darryl Scaife and Nick Turner (jumping), British eventing team vet Liz Brown (suitability and type) and former British team trainer and chef d’equipe Yogi Breisner (potential to gallop).

Defender Burghley Director Martyn Johnson said: “An Olympic year is often a good year for the CCI5* entry at Burghley as lots of the top international riders are based in Europe for the summer with their strings, and we are expecting a strong presence from nations such as the USA and, perhaps for the first time, Japan. We also look forward to welcoming the very best British riders, of course, such as last year’s Burghley winner Oliver Townend and 2023 European team gold and individual silver medallist Kitty King.”

Defender Burghley CCI5* entries may be made here: https://burghley-horse.co.uk/competition/cci5

Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Finals entries may be made here: https://burghley-horse.co.uk/burghley-young-event-horse

And while Defender Burghley is a feast of horse sport, it’s probably equally famous for its superb shopping. There are around 500 carefully chosen retailers from which visitors can purchase everything from clothing, jewellery and accessories to furniture, art and sculpture, kitchenware, lovely Christmas presents you can’t find on the high street, everything equestrian, books and impossible-to-resist food and drink.

Burghley’s supported charity for 2024 is My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which is dedicated to funding the search for effective treatments and ultimately a cure for Motor Neurone Disease. There will be a special tug-of-war competition featuring stars from the eventing and rugby worlds in the Main Arena on Saturday, which should be very entertaining viewing.

There’s plenty to entertain children – for example, the Buddy Activity Booklet includes quizzes and colouring, and sets younger spectators in pursuit of Buddy’s friends hidden among five cross-country fences.

Burghley’s famous Masterclasses this year star Carl Hester, William and Alice Fox-Pitt, William and Pippa Funnell and Henrietta Knight, while the new Insights Stage will feature discussions, interviews and demos from a range of well-known personalities.