Nadja Minder and Toblerone make sweet start at Defender Burghley
Nadja Minder has made history at Defender Burghley Horse Trials as the first Swiss rider to take the lead in the event’s 65 years. She scored 29.5 in her dressage test on the veteran Toblerone, at 19 the oldest horse in the field, and heads the leaderboard after the first day.
The combination has made regular appearances on the Swiss team since 2021 and acted as brilliant cross-country pathfinders at the European Championships last year, as well as finishing 20th on their Burghley debut in 2024.
“It was really cool,” said Nadja, 30. “Toblerone is a pro now and I just have to make him believe he can do good dressage. When a horse knows its job so well, it is just about getting them fit and supple and Piggy March [2022 Burghley winner] has helped me a lot with that.”
Britain’s Gemma Stevens, 41, was delighted to be in second place by just 0.1 of a penalty, on the 16-year-old Chilli Knight, a horse she has ridden all the way through his career, winning the CCI5* at Bicton in 2021.
“I just love this little horse. He’s so much fun,” she said. “My aim was to get into the 20s - dressage is not his forte, but this time he was so obedient and I felt I could ride every blade of grass.
“He was a cheeky monkey at Badminton and we got our worst ever five-star score, so I have been trying to ride him more in front of the leg and that worked. All four of his flying changes were really good.”
Nadja and Gemma have so far earned the only sub-30 marks from the ground jury of Xavier Le Sauce (FRA, President), Joanne Jarden (IRL) and Sandy Phillips (GBR).
Another British rider, Max Warburton, was next best in third place, scoring 31.2 on the 12-year-old Irish sport horse Deerpairc Revelry to lie third at this stage. The pair finished Burghley in 23rd place last year and came 13th at Badminton in the spring.
Max revealed that his usual dressage trainer, David Trott, was busy moving house this week, “which was a bit stressful”, and he also gratefully accepted help from Piggy March.
“The horse was super,” he enthused. “It was a real clear round - he has a very good brain. Piggy said to me, ‘your training is done, now you just have to present the horse,’ and that is what I tried to do.”
New Zealander Tim Price, the last non-British rider to win Burghley (in 2018 on Ringwood Sky Boy), is in fourth place on a relatively new ride, the 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse Global Quest, with a score of 32.1.
Like the other riders, he has been assessing Derek di Grazia's imposing cross-country course and considers it to be a touch more intense than last year.
“The thing I love about Burghley is when I walk the course I get nervous and wonder how to do my job,” Tim explained.
“There are not many places like that. The feeling you get walking here is that you are questioning everything, and in a funny way that means there is a closer relationship with the course designer because you trust him and try to see the particular question he is asking through his eyes.”
The 2022 world champion, Yasmin Ingham, is the highest placed of the Burghley first-timers at this stage, in fifth place on the 10-year-old Selle Français Goliath Du Loir.
Still to come tomorrow are Jonelle Price with Chilli’s Midnight Star, Sarah Bullimore and her rising star Corimiro, Swiss first-timer Robin Godel (Dealer De La Bride), world team bronze medallist Will Coleman from the US (Very Dignified), plus Tim Price and Harry Meade on their second rides, Falco and Cavalier Crystal respectively.
Tomorrow’s action starts at 10am with Irish rider Sam Watson first into the dressage arena on Ballyneety Rocketman at 10am.
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.
Every minute of the action from Defender Burghley, from the first horse inspection to the final trophy lift, as well as the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Finals and the Main Arena Masterclasses, is broadcast on Burghley TV.
For the full timetable and to plan your visit to Defender Burghley visit 2026 Timetable.