Run in the park at Burghley House since 1961, Defender Burghley is one of the seven five-star three-day events the FEI ranks at the top of the sport.
Defender Burghley, one of the FEI’s seven five-star three-day events, returns to the park at Burghley House in Stamford, Lincolnshire, from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 September 2027.
Horse trials have run at Burghley since 1961. The house’s owner, the 6th Marquess of Exeter, offered his park after suspected foot and mouth disease cancelled a three-day event planned at Harewood House.
Burghley went on to stage the first World Championship in 1966. No other international site has held as many championships, a record ten.
With Kentucky and Badminton, Burghley forms the Grand Slam of Eventing, for a rider who can win all three in succession. William Fox-Pitt has won here six times, more than anyone else, beginning with Chaka in 1994. Gemma Stevens took her first Burghley title in 2026.
Two days of dressage on the Thursday and Friday test the horse’s training. Saturday is the cross country: more than four miles and thirty fences across the park, with the crowd standing close to the fences. On the Sunday the show jumping, on a course by the international designer Paul Connor, settles the result in front of the house.