Take a sneak peek at Pippa Funnell walking the new-look Burghley cross-country course

Defender Burghley Horse Trials (4-7 September) is so close now we can barely contain our excitement and information about the cross-country course is starting to come out.

H&H sent double Burghley winner Pippa Funnell to take a look at Derek di Grazia’s course, which has a new feel because the route has been reversed for the first time since 2017. You can read all her thoughts in this week’s magazine (dated 28 August), plus we’ll have videos of Pippa walking the key combinations online soon. In the meantime, scroll on down for an early look at a few fences…

Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course 2025: sneak peek

The Boodles fences at 6ab and 7abc are the second water question on the track, so horses who don’t fancy getting their feet wet will be found out early. Here, Pippa eyes up the line over the Boodles Raindance (7abc), where horses bounce from the step over an angled brush on the direct route.

The Defender Dairy Mound (fence 9abc) is a three-part combination, with the quickest route consisting of a parallel, then a turn to a brush corner (brush to be added after these photos were taken) and then down the mound to an arrowhead. The terrain here means horses will have to be quick and clever with their footwork.

This combination, Fairfax and Favor at Keepers (fence 10ab), leads into the turn at the highest point of the course, with the fearsome Irish Horse Board Cottesmore Leap following. Fence 10a, a log, is pictured and it’s followed by a left-handed turn to the second element, a corner.

More corners at Joules At The Maltings (fences 17ab and 18ab) where the direct route takes riders over a hare (17a, not pictured), a left-handed corner (17b), a parallel (18a) and a right-handed corner (18b).

Competitors come to the Trout Hatchery (fences 21abcd and 22) on the way home this year. Pippa Funnell paces out the direct route, which involves a roll-top into water, then a swing left-handed and a slope up out of the water to an arrowhead, followed by a continuation round the curve left to another arrowhead.

The Holland Cooper Leaf Pit (fence 26abcde) is one of the last serious tests on the track, with the big drop followed by two arrowheads on frangible devices.

Pictures of Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course by Peter Nixon

• Read Pippa Funnell’s thoughts on the track in Horse & Hound magazine (issue dated 28 August). Stay up to date with all the breaking news from Burghley and other major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in:

‘Different dynamic’ as Burghley cross-country course reversed for first time in years

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‘It’s played a massive part in my career and life’: three-time Burghley winner Oliver Townend reflects on past wins and memories ahead of 2025 event

14 things you absolutely must do if you’re going to Burghley Horse Trials

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Pippa Roome

H&H magazine editor and eventing editor

Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.